-
In addition to being a painter, writer, philosopher, poet, musician, anatomist, architect, artist, and scientist, Leonardo da Vinci also dabbled in robotics long before his concept was conceived. In 1954, he designed a humanoid automaton capable of moving its arms, neck, jaw, and sitting, all mechanically. -
Invented by Joseph Jacqward, it used a punched card system that allowed even the most inexperienced to create complex designs. -
"We are automatons completely controlled by the forces of the environment, tossed about like corks on the surface of water, but we mistake the result of external impulses for free will," said Nikola Tesla in his book "My Inventions." The inventor of the radio, the fluorescent light bulb, radar, father of commercial electricity, and—incidentally—my favorite scientist, was also a pioneer of robotics. -
This play marks the conception of the word "robot," a term coined from the Czech word "robota," meaning "hard work." Karel's play was about human beings assembled on large assembly lines and then put to the toughest jobs possible. Yes, a description of what today's industrial robots do. -
The New York World's Fair was a kind of CES or IFA of its time. At the 1939 edition, Elektro was introduced, a humanoid-shaped aluminum robot—now with a coined term—capable of walking and talking, at least through a phonograph containing a record with about 700 recorded words. Manufactured by Westinghouse, Elektro stood 2.10 meters tall and weighed 120 kilograms. -
The Soviet Union launches Sputnik, the first satellite in artificial orbit. This marks the beginning of the space race. The Servomechanisms Laboratory at MIT demonstrates one of its first practical applications of computer-aided manufacturing. -
Surveyor 1, part of the Surveyor program, was the first American probe to land on the moon. With this mission, NASA began studying the moon and planning a possible manned lunar landing. In November 1969, Apollo 12 astronauts Charles "Pete" Conrad and Alan Bean landed near the landing site of Surveyor 1's twin probe, Surveyor 3, taking photographs with it, thus demonstrating the possibility of precision lunar landings. -
An artificial intelligence program called ELIZA is created at MIT by Joseph Weizenbaum. ELIZA functions as a "psychological" computer that manipulates its users' statements to form questions.
The Stanford Research Institute creates Shakey, the first mobile robot that can reason about its environment. -
The capabilities of machine vision for automated guided vehicles are demonstrated at the Stanford Research Institute. That same year, the Boston and Stanford arms were developed, the latter equipped with a camera and controlled by a computer. An experiment was conducted on the Stanford arm in which the manipulator stacked blocks according to certain criteria. -
American AI researcher Douglas Lenat launched the EnCYClopedia project to create a common-sense database to help robots understand our world. The first officially recorded use of a medical robot dates back to 1984, when Artrobot, developed in Vancouver by Jeff Ochinleck and Dr. James McWan in collaboration with surgeon Brian Day, was used in orthopedic surgery. -
The robot company, which was acquired by Google in 2013, was founded in 1992 by Marc Raibert, a former MIT professor. From the outset, they focused on creating animal-inspired robots, and are now one of the most innovative companies in robotics.