A Brief History of Robotics ~ 350 B.

C The brilliant Greek mathematician, Archytas ('ahr 'ky tuhs') 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. ~ 322 B.C. The Greek philosopher Aristotle writes... If every tool, when ordered, or even of its own accord, could do the work that befits it... then there would be no need either of apprentices for the master workers or of slaves for the lords. ...hinting how nice it would be to have a few robots around. ~ 200 B.C. The Greek inventor and physicist Ctesibus ('ti sib ee uhs') of Alexandria designs water clocks that have movable figures on them. Water clocks are a big breakthrough for timepieces. Up until then the Greeks used hour glasses that had to be turned over after all the sand ran through. Ctesibus' invention changed this because it measured time as a result of the force of water falling through it at a constant rate. In general, the Greeks were fascinated with automata of all kinds often using them in theater productions and religious ceremonies. 1495 Leonardo DaVinci designs a mechanical device that looks like an armored knight. The mechanisms inside "Leonardo's robot" are designed to make the knight move as if there was a real person inside. Inventors in medieval times often built machines like "Leonardo's robot" to amuse royalty. 1738 Jacques de Vaucanson begins building automata in Grenoble, France. He builds three in all. His first was the flute player that could play twelve songs. This was closely followed by his second automaton that played a flute and a drum or tambourine, but by far his third was the most famous of them all. The duck was an example of Vaucanson's attempt at what he called "moving anatomy", or modeling human or animal anatomy with mechanics." The duck moved, quacked, flapped it's wings and even ate and digested food. 1770 Swiss clock makers and inventors of the modern wristwatch Pierre Jaquet-Droz and later joined by his son Henri-Louis Jaquet-Droz start making automata for European royalty. They create three dolls, each with a unique function. One can write, another plays music, and the third draws pictures. 1801

Joseph Jacquard builds an automated loom that is controlled with punched cards. Punch cards are later used as an input method for some of the 20th centuries earliest computers. 1822 Charles Babbage demonstrates a prototype of his "Difference Engine" to the Royal Astronomical Society. He continues his work by designing an even more ambitious project "the Analytical Engine" that reportedly was to use punch cards inspired by Joseph Jacquard's invention. During his lifetime he never produces a functional version of either machine. Despite this shortcoming he is often heralded as the "Father of the Computer" and his work lives on as the foundation for the binary numbering system that is the basis of modern computers. 1847 George Boole represents logic in mathematical form with his Boolean Algebra. 1898 Nikola Tesla builds and demonstrates a remote controlled robot boat at Madison Square Garden. 1921 Czech writer Karel Capek introduced the word "Robot" in his play "R.U.R" (Rossuum's Universal Robots). "Robot" in Czech comes from the word "robota", meaning "compulsory labor" 1926 Fritz Lang's movie "Metropolis" is released. "Maria" the female robot in the film is the first robot to be projected on the silver screen. 1936 Alan Turing introduces the concept of a theoretical computer called the Turing Machine. Despite being a fundamental advance in computer logic it also spawns new schools in Mathematics. 1940 Issac Asimov produces a series of short stories about robots starting with "A Strange Playfellow" (later renamed "Robbie") for Super Science Stories magazine. The story is about a robot and its affection for a child that it is bound to protect. Over the next 10 years he produces more stories about robots that are eventually recompiled into the volume "I, Robot" in 1950. Asimov is generally credited with the popularization of the term "Robotics" which was first mentioned in his story "Runaround" in 1942. But probably Issac Asimov's most important contribution to the history of the robot is the creation of his Three Laws of Robotics: 1. A robot may not injure a human being, or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.

2. A robot must obey the orders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law. 3. A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law. Asimov later adds a "zeroth law" to the list: Zeroth law: A robot may not injure humanity, or, through inaction, allow humanity to come to harm. 1946 George Devol patents a playback device for controlling machines. 1950 Alan Turing publishes Computing Machinery and Intelligence in which he proposes a test to determine whether or not a machine has gained the power to think for itself. It becomes known as the "Turing Test". 1951 The Day the Earth Stood Still premieres in theaters. The movie features an alien named Klaatu and his robot Gort. 1956 Alan Newell and Herbert Simon create the Logic Theorist, the first "expert system". It is used to help solve difficult math problems. 1956 Aided by a grant from the Rockefeller Foundation John McCarthy, Marvin Minsky, Nat Rochester and Claude Shannon organize The Dartmouth Summer Research Project on Artificial Intelligence at Dartmouth College. The term "artificial intelligence" is coined as a result of this conference. 1959 John McCarthy and Marvin Minsky start the Artificial Intelligence Laboratory at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). 1961 Heinrich Ernst develops the MH-1, a computer operated mechanical hand at MIT. 1962 The first industrial arm robot - the Unimate - is introduced. It is designed to complete repetitive or dangerous tasks on a General Motors assembly line.

1963 John McCarthy leaves MIT to start the Artificial Intelligence Laboratory at Stanford University. 1966 The Stanford Research Institute (later to be known as SRI Technology) creates Shakey the first mobile robot to know and react to its own actions. Amongst other achievements SRI was also the research institute that helped bring us modern day laundry detergent in the development of Tide. 1966 An artificial intelligence program named ELIZA is created at MIT by Joseph Weizenbaum. ELIZA functions as a computer psychologist that manipulates its users statements to form questions. Weizenbaum is disturbed at how quickly people put faith in his little program. 1967 Richard Greenblatt writes, MacHack, a program that plays chess, in response to a recent article written by Hurbert Dreyfus where he suggests, as a critique to efforts in artificial intelligence, that a computer program could never beat him in a game of chess. When the program is finished and Dreyfus is invited to play the computer he leads for most of the game but ultimately loses in the end in a close match. Greenblatt's program would be the foundation for many future chess programs, ultimately culminating in Big Blue the chess program that beats chess Grand Master Gary Kasparov. 1968 Stanley Kubrick makes Arthur C. Clark's, 2001: A Space Odyssey into a movie. It features HAL, an onboard computer that decides it doesn't need its human counterparts any longer. Hear HAL by clicking here. -KAWASAKI started production in japan 1969 Victor Scheinman, a Mechanical Engineering student working in the Stanford Artificial Intelligence Lab (SAIL) creates the Stanford Arm. The arm's design becomes a standard and is still influencing the design of robot arms today. 1970 Stanford University produces the Stanford Cart. It is designed to be a line follower but can also be controlled from a computer via radio link. 1971 The film Silent Running is released starring Bruce Dern. Bruce's co-stars are three robot drones Huey, Dewey and Louie. 1974

Victor Scheinman forms his own company and starts marketing the Silver Arm. It is capable of assembling small parts together using touch sensors. 1976 Shigeo Hirose designs the Soft Gripper at the Tokyo Institute of Technology. It is designed to wrap around an object in snake like fashion. 1977 Star Wars is released. George Lucas' movie about a universe governed by the force introduces watchers to R2-D2 and C-3PO. The movie creates the strongest image of a human future with robots since the 1960's and inspires a generation of researchers. 1977 Deep space explorers Voyagers 1 and 2 launch from the Kennedy Space Flight Center. 1979 The Robotics Institute at Carnegie Mellon University is established. 1979 The Stanford Cart is rebuilt by Hans Moravec. He adds a more robust vision system allowing greater autonomy. These are some of the first experiments with 3D environment mapping. 1980 Seymour Papert publishes Mindstorms: Children, Computers, and Powerful Ideas where he advocates constructionism, or learning through doing. 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 it faster and much more accurate than previous robotic arms. 1982 "A new life awaits you on the Off-World colonies." Blade Runner is released. This Ridley Scott film is based on the Philip K. Dick story "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" and starred Harrison Ford as Rick Deckard a retired Blade Runner that hunted Replicants (or illegal mutinous androids). 1986 LEGO and the MIT Media Lab colaborate to bring the first LEGO based educational products to market. LEGO tc Logo is used by in the classrooms of thousands of elementary school teachers. 1986

Honda begins a robot research program thats starts with the premise that the robot "should coexist and cooperate with human beings, by doing what a person cannot do and by cultivating a new dimension in mobility to ultimately benefit society." 1989 A walking robot named Genghis is unveiled by the Mobile Robots Group at MIT. It becomes known for the way it walks, popularly referred to as the "Genghis gait". 1989 At MIT Rodney Brooks and A. M. Flynn publish the paper "Fast, Cheap and Out of Control: A Robot Invasion of the Solar System" in the Journal of the British Interplanetary Society. The paper changes rover research from building the one, big, expensive robot to building lots of little cheap ones. The paper also makes the idea of building a robot somewhat more accessible to the average person. 1989 Dr. Seymour Papert becomes the LEGO Professor of Learning Research. 1992 In an attempt to build a radio controlled vaccuum cleaner Marc Thorpe has the idea to start a robot combat event. 1992 Dr. John Adler came up with the concept of the CyberKnife a robot that images the patient with x-rays to look for a tumor and delivering a pre-planned dose of radiationto the tumor when found. 1993 Dante an 8-legged walking robot developed at Carnegie Mellon University descends into Mt. Erebrus, Antarctica. Its mission is to collect data from a harsh environment similar to what we might find on another planet. The mission fails when, after a short 20 foot decent, Dante's tether snaps dropping it into the crater. 1994 Dante II, a more robust version of its predicessor, descends into the crater of Alaskan volcano Mt. Spurr. The mission is considered a success. 1994 Marc Thorpe starts Robot Wars at Fort Mason center in San Francsico, CA. 1995 The second annual Robot Wars event is held at Fort Mason Center, San Francisco, CA. 1996

A RoboTuna is designed and built by David Barrett for his doctoral thesis at MIT. It is used to study the way fish swim. 1996 Chris Campbell and Stuart Wilkinson turn a brewing accident into inspiration at the University of South Florida. The result is the Gastrobot, a robot that digests organic mass to produce carbon dioxide that is then used for power. They call their creation the "flatulence engine." 1996 Honda debuts the P3, the fruit of its decade long effort to build a humanoid robot. 1996 The third annual Robot Wars event is held at Fort Mason Center, San Francisco, CA. 1997 The first node of the International Space Station is placed in orbit. Over the next several years more components will join it, including a robotic arm designed by Canadian company MD Robotics. 1997 The Pathfinder Mission lands on Mars. Its robotic rover Sojourner, rolls down a ramp and onto Martian soil in early July. It continues to broadcast data from the Martian surface until September. 1998 Tiger Electronics introduces the Furby into the Christmas toy market. It quickly becomes "the toy" to get for the season. Using a variety of sensors this "animatronic pet" can react to its environment and communicate using over 800 phrases in English and their own language "Furbish". 1998 LEGO releases their first Robotics Invention SystemTM 1.0. LEGO names the product line MINDSTORMS after Seymour Papert's seminal work of 1980. 1999 LEGO releases The Robotics Discovery Set, Droid Developer Kit and the Robotics Invention System 1.5. 1999 SONY releases the AIBO robotic pet. 2000 Honda debuts new humanoid robot ASIMO. 2000 The Battlebots event is held in Las Vegas, Nevada.

2000 LEGO releases the MINDSTORMS Robotics Invention SystemTM 2.0 2001 LEGO releases the MINDSTORMS Ultimate Builder's Set 2001 In August, the FDA clears the CyberKnife to treat tumors anywhere in the body. 2002 Honda's ASIMO robot rings the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange. 2003 June 10th - NASA launches the MER-A "Spirit" rover destined for Mars. July 7th - NASA launches the MER-B "Opportunity". 2003 SONY releases the AIBO ERS-7 it's 3rd generation robotic pet. 2004 Jan. 4th - After six minutes of holding our breath (during EDL) as it burned and bounced its way to the red planet the robot rover Spirit lands on Mars. Jan. 23rd - The second Mars Exploration Rover - "Opportunity" safely lands on the Meridium Planum.

History of Robotics
The fun and intresting sides, a little history, some intresting uses, impacts of robots and some future ideas.
By Mike Williams 11/08/02 For Fun and Enjoyment And a Class Assignment Ball State University ITDPT 303 Manufacturing Systems

Image From http://www.robotfactory.com

Image From http://www.panasonicrobots.com

INTRODUCTION HISTORY HOW ROBOTS WORK USES FOR ROBOTS IMPACT OF ROBOTS FUTURE OF TECHNOLOGIES INTRODUCTION
Robotics, computer-controlled machine that is programmed to move, manipulate objects, and accomplish work while interacting with its environment. Robots are able to perform repetitive

tasks more quickly, cheaply, and accurately than humans. The term robot originates from the Czech word robota, meaning compulsory labor. It was first used in the 1921 play R.U.R. (Rossum's Universal Robots) by the Czech novelist and playwright Karel Capek. The word robot has been used since to refer to a machine that performs work to assist people or work that humans find difficult or undesirable. (MSN Learning & Research. 2002) American Heritage Dictionary: robot (rbt,-bt) n. 1. A mechanical device that sometimes resembles a human being and is capable of performing a variety of often complex human tasks on command or by being programmed in advance. 2. A machine or device that operates automatically or by remote control. 3. A person who works mechanically without original thought, especially one who responds automatically to the commands of others. Webster: 1. a : a machine that looks like a human being and performs various complex acts ( as walking or talking) of a human being; a similar but fictional machine whose lack of capacity for human emotions is often emphasized b : an efficient insensitive person who functions automatically. 2. a device that automatically performs complicated often repetitive tasks. 3. a mechanism guided by automatic controls. (Robotics Introduction. 2002) The robots in the movies are portrayed as fantastic, intelligent, and sometime dangerous artificial life. But robots are really working for people and performing tasked for them and tasks that may be dangerous. And in the future robots will show up in schools, homes and even in parts of the body. As technology advances we are finding more ways to use robots and greater ways to use them. (The Tech. 2001)

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HISTORY
In the early 1800s mechanical puppets were first built in Europe, just for entertainment value. And these were called robots since there parts were driven by linkage and cams and controlled by rotating drum selectors. In 1801 Joseph Maria Jacquard made the next great change and invented the automatic draw loom. The draw loom would punch cards and was used to control the lifting of thread in fabric factories. This was the first to be able to store a program and control a machine. After that there were many small changes in robotics but we were slowly moving forward. (UK Robot. 2001)

The first industrial robots were Unimates developed by George Devol and Joe Engelberger in the late 50s and early 60s. The first patents we by Devol but Engelberger formed Unimation which was the first market robots. So Engelberger has been called the father of robotics. For a while the economic viability of these robots proved disastrous and thing slowed down for robotics. But the industry recovered and by the mid-80s robotics was back on track. (Dowling, Kevin. 1996 ) George Devol Jr, in 1954 developed the multijointed artificial arm which lead to the modern robots. But mechanical engineer Victor Scheinman, developed the truly flexible arm know as the Programmable Universal Manipulation Arm (PUMA). (MSN Leaning & Research. 2002 ) In 1950 Isaac Asimov came up with laws for robots and these were: 1. A robot may not injure a human being, or through inaction allow a human being to come to harm. 2. A robot must obey the orders given it by human beings, except where such orders would conflict with the first law. 3. A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the first or second law. (Robotics Introduction. 2001.) Mobile Robotics moved into its own in 1983 when Odetics introduced this six-legged vehicle which was capable of climbing over objects. This robot could lift over 5.6 times its own weight parked and 2.3 times it weight moving. (UK Robotics 2001)

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Image from http://robotics.jpl.nasa.gov/groups/rv/homepage.html

HOW ROBOTS WORK

The inspiration for the design of a robot manipulator is the human arm, but with some differences. For example, a robot arm can extend by telescopingthat is, by sliding cylindrical sections one over another to lengthen the arm. Robot arms also can be constructed so that they bend like an elephant trunk. Grippers, or end effectors, are designed to mimic the function and structure of the human hand. Many robots are equipped with special purpose grippers to grasp particular devices such as a rack of test tubes or an arc-welder. The joints of a robotic arm are usually driven by electric motors. In most robots, the gripper is moved from one position to another, changing its orientation. A computer calculates the joint angles needed to move the gripper to the desired position in a process known as inverse kinematics. Some multi-jointed arms are equipped with servo, or feedback, controllers that receive input from a computer. Each joint in the arm has a device to measure its angle and send that value to the controller. If the actual angle of the arm does not equal the computed angle for the desired position, the servo controller moves the joint until the arm's angle matches the computed angle. Controllers and associated computers also must process sensor information collected from cameras that locate objects to be grasped, or they must touch sensors on grippers that regulate the grasping force. Any robot designed to move in an unstructured or unknown environment will require multiple sensors and controls, such as ultrasonic or infrared sensors, to avoid obstacles. Robots, such as the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) planetary rovers, require a multitude of sensors and powerful onboard computers to process the complex information that allows them mobility. This is particularly true for robots designed to work in close proximity with human beings, such as robots that assist persons with disabilities and robots that deliver meals in a hospital. Safety must be integral to the design of human service robots. (MSN Learning & Research. 2000.)

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USES FOR ROBOTS

700,000 robots were in the industrial world in 1995 and over 500,000 we used in Japan. About 120,000 in Western Europe and 60,000 in the United States and many were doing tasks to dangerous or unpleasant for humans. Some of the hazardous jobs are handling material such a blood or urine samples, searching building for fugitives and deep water search. And even some jobs that are repetitive and these can be run 24hrs a day without getting tired. General Motors Corporation uses these robots for spot welding, painting, machine loading, parts transfer, and assembly. Assembly lines are the fastest growing because of higher precision and lower cost for labor. (MSN Learning & Research. 2000.)

Image from http://www.kipr.org/robots/tm.html

Tin Man I
The Tin Man was built by KISS Institute; it is a robot wheelchair which can automate some of the navigation and steering for someone with extreme disabilities. It can find its way through doorways, follow hallways and do limited reckoning navigation. (Kiss Institute. 2002.)

EDUCATION

Image From http://www.robotfactory.com The Howard County Sheriff's department of Kokomo, Indiana, purchased a new Buddy Car in June 1999. Sheriff Jerry Marr said he knew it was going to attract a lot of attention, but when

he took it to their county fair he said the results were unbelievable! They promote a seat belt safety program at the fair and of course his robot deputy had his seat belt on! Sheriff Marr purchased his robot with three different interchangeable characters. He is using Hairy for the younger children, Edgar Eagle for the older children and he saves the deputy for events like the county fair. They also have the car custom painted and detailed to match the real Indiana Sheriff cars. Howard County found an unusual benefit with the robot apart from public education: A 5-year-old girl who had been domestically abused did not want to talk with adults but she talked to the robot. (Robot Factory. 2000.)

ENTERTAINMENT

Image From http://www.robotfactory.com/edu.htm Since buying an animated Hairy with piano way back in 1993 we have played every gig imaginable. Hotel functions, corporate events, shopping malls, many parties and many fundraisers. Not only did the units pay for themselves within 18 months, but we had to buy another piano unit a few years ago due to the high demand for Hairy's performance. So thanks, The Robot Factory. You changed our lives. Keep doing it! Alan at Animates in Scotland. (Robot Factory. 2000.)

ADVERTISING

Image From http://www.robotfactory.com/edu.htm The Zamboni robot has added excitement & helped developed fan loyalty from the ice and concourse. It has also been very effective in our off site educational and promotional activities. Our robot has proved to be a great investment. (Robot Factory. 2000.)

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IMPACT OF ROBOTS
Robotics produces higher quality and lower cost to the manufacturing industry. But this can cause loss to the unskilled jobs but create new jobs for skilled people in software and sensor development. These machines will have to be maintained and people will have to be trained on there repair. So you could loss unskilled jobs and maybe train these same people in skilled and the overall loss may not be that bad. (MSN Learning & Research. 2002.) Robotics on the production line takes away many job that were done by humans And this is less cost to the company but lost jobs for paid labor workers. (Doyle, Joshua. 2000.)

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FUTURE OF TECHNOLOGIES
Perhaps the most dramatic changes in future robots will arise from their increasing ability to reason. The field of artificial intelligence is moving rapidly from university laboratories to practical application in industry, and machines are being developed that can perform cognitive tasks, such as strategic planning and learning from experience. Increasingly, diagnosis of failures in aircraft or satellites, the management of a battlefield, or the control of a large factory will be performed by intelligent computers. (MSN Learning & Research. 2002.)

SchoolNet Robotics-Future Project

Rhino Robot which would be a robot you controlled over the internet and learn about tele-operation. Mobile robots which would run around outside the class room but be controlled by the students in the class. Hydroponics Garden which would be a living, growing garden controlled by robotics. Scanning the Skies which you could set times and locations for pictures from these robots, sent to you over the computer.

All these and more information can be found at SchoolNet Robotics 2001.

Technology of the Future: Teleportation

We've all seen on "Star Trek" how the dudes are beamed to and from the Enterprise. Now scientists have figured out how to do it in the lab. Sort of. What they've "teleported" is a photon, or particle of light. If I understand it correctly, the photon wasn't exactly teleported. You won't be able to teleport to Hawaii or out of math class anytime soon (give it a thousand years). But the technique could be used in encryption, moving nano-scale objects, and especially quantum computing. Email is fast, but consider being able to teleport information to the opposite end of the globe instantly. It could happen. For more information, read about IBM's research. (TechTv. 2001.)

Technology of the Future: Nanotechnology

Nanotechnology is the business of studying, manipulating, and piecing together very small things. How small? The standard measurement of nanotechnology -- one million nanometers -could fit on the head of a pin. We're talking about molecules, DNA, atoms. What good is it? Doctors could send tiny probes into your body to diagnose and perhaps repair problems. Satellites and spy-probes could be the size of a thumbnail. Unbelievably efficient solar panels could be produced using DNA molecules, potentially assisting us with an energy crisis that in all likelihood will only get worse going forward. How serious is it? Last year President Clinton endorsed $495 million in funding to the National Nanotechnology Initiative. You can learn all about nanotechnology, and about what the federally funded scientists plan to do with all that money. On a recent show, Brian Hubert from MIT visited us. He's a nanotechnologist, and he has a great article about nanotechnology. (TechTv. 2002.)

Technology of the Future: Data Storage

Scientists have been working on using holographs as data storage media for forty years. Holographic memory has the potential to store trillions of bytes of data on a piece of crystalline material the size of a compact disc. Because the basis of holographic storage is light, data can be retrieved far faster than will ever be possible with magnetic storage (microseconds as opposed to

milliseconds for magnetic storage). How does it work in detail? Refer to this excellent article in Scientific American. (TechTv. 2002)