History of Robots

First Timespan

Period: 200 to Jan 11, 1496

Water Clock

270

The Greek inventor Ctesibus of Alexandria designs water clocks that have movable figures on them. They are buil to t tell time and use the momentum of water to move and run them. Link: http://www.thocp.net/reference/robotics/robotics.html

The Pidgeon

350

*** 350 BC ***The Greek mathematician, Archytas of Tarentum builds a mechanical bird dubbed "the Pigeon" that is propelled by steam. It serves as one of histories earliest studies of flight, not to mention probably the first model airplane. Link: http://robotics.megagiant.com/history.html

Plato's Writings

427

*** 427 BC *** In some of his writings, Plato expresses ideas, several millennia before the advent off the computer that are relevant to modern dilemmas regarding human thought and its relation to the mechanics of the machine. Link: http://www.thocp.net/reference/robotics/robotics.html

Arab Writings and Technology

Jan 11, 1200

Arab authors also designed complex mechanical arrangements in books they wrote that gives state of the art technology in the Middle Ages and where it wil be going in the future. Link: http://www.thocp.net/reference/robotics/robotics.html

Leonardo's Knight

Jan 1, 1495

Leonardo di Vinci created a mechanical device that looked like an armored knight. It was designed to look like a real man was inside the armor. It amused royalty. Link: http://robotics.megagiant.com/history.html

Second Timespan

Period: Jan 11, 1700 to Jan 11, 1900

Andriod

Jan 11, 1727

The word "android" is entered into society. Albert Magnus writes a German dictionary of technolgy and this word is included into it to describe robotics and artifiacl intelligence. Link: http://robotics.ece.auckland.ac.nz/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=31

The Writer

Jan 1, 1772

Pierre and Henri Jacquet Droz build a robotic child called L'Ecrivain (The Writer). It could write messages with up to 40 characters. L'Ecrivain's brain was a mechanical computer. Link:http://www.used-robots.com/robot-education.php?page=robot+timeline

Jacquard's Loom

Jan 1, 1801

Joseph Jacquard built an automated loom that is controlled with punched cards to sew materials togther and make paper documents. These cards roll through a reader to produce the end result. Link: http://robotics.megagiant.com/history.html

Frankenstein

Jan 9, 1818

Mary Shelley writes a book about a robot that is created by an evil doctor named Dr. Frankenstein that takes over the local town and puts fear in the eyes of the citygoers. Link: http://www.used-robots.com/robot-education.php?page=robot+timeline

Tesla Vehicle

Mar 11, 1899

Nikolai Tesla introduces the first remote-controlled vehicle. The remote-control boat could be commanded to go, stop, turn left and right, turn its lights on and off, and even submerge. The public was not impressed. Link: http://robotics.ece.auckland.ac.nz/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=31

Third Timespan

Period: Jan 11, 1915 to Jan 11, 1990

"Robot" First Introduced

Jan 9, 1921

The term "robot" was first used in a play called "R.U.R." or "Rossum's Universal Robots" by the Czech writer Karel Capek. The plot was about a man making robot then robot kills the amn who made him. Link:http://inventors.about.com/od/roboticsrobots/a/RoboTimeline.htm

Metropolis

Mar 13, 1927

Metropolis was released by Fritz Lang. "Maria" was shown on screen and she was the first robot to be shown on screen. This movie was released in German, and was many people's first exposure to a "robot". Link: http://robotics.megagiant.com/history.html

The Logic Theorist

Jun 9, 1955

Alan Newell and Herbert Simon create the Logic Theorist, the first "expert system". The expert system computer program was used to help solve difficult math problems that otherwise couldnt be solved with what they had. Link: http://robotics.megagiant.com/history.html

First Industrial Robot

Jan 9, 1961

The first industrial robot was online in a General Motors automobile factory in New Jersey. It was called UNIMATE. Some of the uses including welding things, assembling, and packaging items. Link:http://inventors.about.com/od/roboticsrobots/a/RoboTimeline.htm

Motored Robot Arm

Jan 9, 1981

Takeo Kanade builds the direct drive arm. It is the first to have motors installed directly into the joints of the arm. This change makes robot arms faster and much more accurate than previous ones. Link: http://robotics.megagiant.com/history.html

Fourth Timespan

Period: Jan 11, 2000 to Jan 11, 2050

Robot Vacuum

Jul 14, 2002

Roomba robot vacuum cleaner is introduced. It is able to navigate on house floors to clean them up with out the human labor of a normal vacuum. They are producted by iRobot. Link: http://www.sciencekids.co.nz/sciencefacts/technology/historyofrobotics.html

Cornell's Robot

May 11, 2005

Researchers at Cornell University build the first self-replicating robot. Each ‘robot’ is made up of a small tower of computerized cubes which link together through the use of magnets. Link: http://www.sciencekids.co.nz/sciencefacts/technology/historyofrobotics.html

Space Robots to Fix Satelittes

Jun 11, 2009

There will be robots in space that can automatically fix satellites that need work on them instead of risking humans to do it or limiting work needing to be done. Link: http://news.discovery.com/space/robot-satellite-repair-nasa.html

Household Robots

Jan 13, 2022

We predict that around the year 2022, we will have fully functional robots to do common household chores to do things humans may not need to do anymore. Link: http://teams.kipr.org/awards/05-0002/present.htm

Robot Soldiers

Jan 11, 2035

The United States Department of Defense predicts that by the year 2035, the United State military will have its first completely automated robot soldier to fight in warzones replacing live people. Link: http://science.howstuffworks.com/robot-armies.htm