Timeline of robotics

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This is a timeline of robotics.

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Year Month and date Event type Details
1500 BC "One of the earliest mechanisms for telling time, the Egyptian Water Clock would often use bipedal humanoid figures as the mechanism for automatically striking hour bells. This is the simplest form of hydraulic power (converting the flow of water into energy)."[1]
400 BC "Greek mathematician Archytas of Tarentum builds the first self-propelled flying device known as “The Pigeon” which was powered by steam and capable of short bursts of flight."[1]
320 BC "Greek philosopher Aristotle made this famous quote: “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.”"[2]
300 BC "300 BCE: Famous Greek philosopher Aristotle ruminates on the possibility of achieving total human equality with robots and machines by eliminating the then commonplace practice of slavery."[1]
278 BC–212 BC " Archimedes (287-212BC) did not invent robots, but he did invent many mechanical systems that are used in robotics today, as well as advancing the field of mathematics."[3]
~270 BC "An ancient Greek engineer named Ctesibus made organs and water clocks with movable figures. [2] The concept for his clock was fairly simple; a reservoir with a precise hole in the bottom would take 24 hours to empty its contents. The container was marked into 24 divisions. "[3]
1206 "In 1206 Al-Jazari created the earliest form of programmable humanoid robots which was an automaton. This automaton appeared as four musicians on a boat in a lake and it had a programmable drum machine with pegs that bump into little levers that operated the percussion. Al-Jazari had many other automatons"[4]
1495 "Around 1495 Leonardo da Vinci sketched plans for a humanoid robot."[2] "Leonardo da Vinci designed what may be the first humanoid robot though it cannot be confirmed if the design was actually ever produced. The robot was designed to sit up, wave its arms, and move its head via a flexible neck while opening and closing its jaw"[3][1][4]
1533 "Johannes Müller von Königsberg created an automaton eagle and fly made of iron; both could fly in 1533"[4]
1645 "Blaise Pascal invented a calculating machine to help his father with taxes. The device was called the Pascaline [9] and about 50 Pascalines were built. Only a few can be found in museums such as the one on display in the Des Arts et Metiers Museum in Paris."[3]
1666 "A pocket version of the Pascaline was invented by Samuel Morland [9] which worked “without charging the memory, disturbing the mind, or exposing the operations to any uncertainty” "[3]
1709 "Jacques de Vaucanson’s most famous creation was undoubtedly "The Duck." This mechanical device could flap its wings, eat, and digest grain. Each wing contained over four hundred moving parts and even today it remains something of a mystery. The original Duck has disappeared."[3]
1737 "Jacques De Vaucanson created some of the most famous automatons in 1737. His most famous work was The Digesting Duck which was capable of imitating a real duck by flapping its wings, eat grain, digest it, and defecate and was powered by weights."[4]
1800 "The French inventor Jacques de Vaucanson created three rudimentary robots; two of which could play a variety of musical instruments such as the flute or trumpet, while the third was a duck that could flap its wings, move, and even mimic eating."[1]
1801 "Joseph-Marie Jacquard invented a machine (essentially a loom) that could be programmed to create designs that could be printed onto cloth or tissue."[3]
1842 "The Countess of Lovelace and renowned English mathematician Ada Byron writes the first algorithm for the analytics engine. While the Countess died before it’s completion, it did serve as the first recorded precursor to digital computers."[1]
1865 "John Brainerd created the Steam Man apparently used to pull wheeled carts and more. In 1885, Frank Reade Jr. built the “Electric Man” which is moreor-less an electric version of the Steam Man"[3]
1898 "Nikola Tesla unveils a submersible that can be controlled using radio waves. When asked if it was a remote-controlled torpedo, he replied by saying it was a “mechanical man, which will do the laborious work of the human race.”"[1]
1900 "Lyman Frank Braum introduces one of the first cybernetic humans in the form of the Tin Man from his children’s book The Wonderful Wizard of Oz."[1]
1903 "The first patents were awarded for the construction of a “printed wire” which came into use after World War 2. The concept was to replace radio tube with something less bulky"[3]
1913 "Henry Ford installs the world’s first moving conveyor belt-based assembly line in his car factory. A Model T can be assembled in 93 minutes."[2]
1917 " Remote controlled weapons and vehicles are used for the first time based on the technology developed by Nikola Tesla."[1]
1920 "Karel Capek coins the word ‘robot’ to describe machines that resemble humans in his play called Rossums Universal Robots. The play was about a society that became enslaved by the robots that once served them. This idea is now a common theme in popular culture, ie Frankenstein, Terminator, The Matrix etc."[2]
1921 "Czech writer Karel Čapek introduces the word "robot" in his play R.U.R. (Rossum's Universal Robots). The word "robot" comes from the word "robota" (work)."[5] "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 simple: man creates a robot to replace him and then robot kills man!"[3]
1921 "Czech playwright Karel Capek coins the term “robot” as a way to describe automata in fiction. It comes from the Czech word “roba” which means servant or slave. The word has since evolved to encompass all forms of autonomous machinery."[1]
1927 "he science-fiction film Metropolis is released. It features a robot double of a peasant girl, Maria, which unleashes chaos in Berlin of 2026—it was the first robot depicted on film, inspiring the Art Deco look of C-3PO in Star Wars."[5] "The film Metropolis is released, featuring the robot Maria, who serves as one of the primary antagonists of the story."[1]
1929 "Makoto Nishimura designs Gakutensoku, Japanese for "learning from the laws of nature," the first robot built in Japan. It could change its facial expression and move its head and hands via an air pressure mechanism."[5]
1932 "The first true robot toy was produced in Japan. The ‘Lilliput’ was a wind-up toy which walked. It was made from tinplate and stood just 15cm tall."[2]
1937 "Alan Turing releases his paper “On Computable Numbers” which begins the computer revolution."[2]
1939 "Westinghouse creates ELEKTRO a human-like robot that could walk, talk, and smoke [4]. ELEKTRO was first unveiled at the 1939 world’s fair."[3]
1941 "Science fiction writer Isaac Asimov first used the word "robotics" to describe the technology of robots and predicted the rise of a powerful robot industry."[3]
1942 "Isaac Asimov wrote the "Three Laws of Robotics”. A zeroth law was later added (law zero below). :

A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm. A robot must obey any orders given to it by human beings, except where such orders would conflict with the First Law. A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law."[3][1]

1942 "The first “programmable” mechanism, a paint-sprayer, was designed by Willard Pollard and Harold Roselund for the DeVilbiss Company. (US Patent No. 2,286,571)."[3]
1946 "George Devol patented a general purpose playback device for controlling machines using magnetic recordings."[3]
1946 " The Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer (ENAIC) is invented."[1]
1947 "On November 14, 1947, Walter Brattain had an accident while trying to study how electrons acted on the surface of a semiconductor. This accident brought about the creation of the first transistor."[3]
1948 "W. Grey Walter created his first robots; Elmer and Elsie, also known as the turtle robots. The robots were capable of finding their charging station when their battery power ran low."[3]
1950 "Alan Turing proposes a test to determine if a machine truly has the power to think for itself. To pass the test a machine must be indistinguishable from a human during conversation. It has become known as the ‘Turing Test’."[2]
1950 "George Devol invented the first autonomous industrial robot UNIMATE which was capable of welding die casting onto cars on an assembly line."[1]
1951 "Raymond Goertz designed the first tele-operated articulated arm for the Atomic Energy Commission. This is generally regarded as a major milestone in force feedback (haptic) technology. (US Patent 2679940)"[3]
1954 "George Devol and Joe Engleberger design the first programmable robot ‘arm’. This later became the first industrial robot, completing dangerous and repetitive tasks on an assembly line at General Motors (1962)."[2][4]
1957 "The Soviet Union launches ‘Sputnik’, the first artificial orbiting satellite. This marks the beginning of the space race."[2] "History changed on October 4, 1957, when the Soviet Union successfully launched Sputnik I. The world's first autonomous, artificial satellite was 22.8 inches in diameter and weighed only 183.9 pounds."[3]
1959 "Researchers at MIT introduce computer-assisted manufacturing."[1]
Early 1960s "One of the first operational, industrial robots in North America appeared in the early 1960’s in a candy factory in Kitchener, Ontario."[3]
1961 "The first industrial robot, Unimate, starts working on an assembly line in a General Motors plant in New Jersey."[5]
1961 "George Devol’s invention UNIMATE is sold to General Motors and becomes the first robot in the workforce and serves to this day as the foundation for the modern robotics industry. The 60’s also saw many advancements in the power and functionality of robotic arms in general."[1]
1963 "The computer-controlled Rancho Arm is invented to help disabled patients at the California hospital Ranchos Los Amigos. It is later purchased by Stanford University for use into research on robotics and prosthetics, ushering in a new form of human-centric robots known as “cobots”."[1]
1964 "The IBM 360 becomes the first computer to be mass-produced."[2]
1964 "Artificial intelligence research laboratories are opened at M.I.T., Stanford Research Institute (SRI), Stanford University, and the University of Edinburgh."[3]
1965 "Carnegie Mellon establishes the Robotics Institute."[3]
1966 "Shakey the robot is the first general-purpose mobile robot to be able to reason about its own actions. In a Life magazine 1970 article about this “first electronic person,” Marvin Minsky is quoted saying with “certitude”: “In from three to eight years we will have a machine with the general intelligence of an average human being.”"[5]
1968 "Stanley Kubrick makes Arthur C. Clark's, 2001: A Space Odyssey into a movie. It features HAL, an onboard computer that develops a mind of its own."[2]
1968 "The first computer controlled walking machine was created by Mcgee and Frank at the University of South Carolina."[3]
1968 "The first manually controlled walking truck was made by R. Mosher. It could walk up to four miles an hour"[3]
1968 "SRI built “Shakey”; a mobile robot equipped with a vision system and controlled by a computer the size of a room."[3]
1968 "The Tentacle Arm is created by Marvin Minsky. It had 12 joints which can operate independently and were powered by hydraulics."[1]
1969 "The U.S. successfully use the latest in computing, robotic and space technology to land Neil Armstrong on the moon."[2]
1969 "Victor Scheinman created the Stanford Arm, which was the first successful electrically-powered, computer-controlled robot arm. "[3]
1969 "WAP-1 became the first biped robot and was designed by Ichiro Kato. Air bags connected to the frame were used to stimulate artificial muscles [4] WAP-3 was designed later and could walk on flat surfaces as well as climb up and down stairs or slopes. It could also turn while walking."[3]
1970 "The first anthropomorphic robot, the WABOT-1, is built at Waseda University in Japan. It consisted of a limb-control system, a vision system and a conversation system."[5]
1970 " Weapons meets robotics once again with the development of terminal guidance, a radar based robotics system that helps direct missiles and explosives in-flight before they detonate, drastically increasing their destructive potential."[1]
1971 " The Soviet Union lands the first robotic exploration craft on Mars. It touched down on the surface and transmitted for about 17 seconds before malfunctioning."[1]
1972 "Operation Linebacker proves the efficacy of laser-guided bombs in the closing years of the Vietnam War."[1]
1972 "The first intelligent humanoid robot was built in Japan which was named as WABOT-1."[6]
1972 "The Japanese WABOT project is completed with the deployment of WABOT-1, the world’s first life-size intelligent human robot. It could walk unaided as well as grasp and transport objects with tactile sensors in its hands. It could also communicate in Japenese using a sophisticated cranial sensory array that included ears, eyes, and a mouth."[1]
1973 "V.S. Gurfinkel, A. Shneider, E.V. Gurfinkel and colleagues at the department of motion control at the Russian Academy of Science create the first six-legged walking vehicle"[3]
1973 "Ichiro Kato created WABOT I which was the first full-scale anthropomorphic robot in the world. It had a system for controlling limbs, vision, and conversation! It was estimated that it had the mental ability of a 18 month old child"[3]
1973 "Cincinnati Milacron released the T3, the first commercially available minicomputer-controlled industrial robot (designed by Richard Hohn)."[3]
1974 "Intel (Integrated Electronics) produced the first batch of second-generation 8080 general purpose chips. "[3]
1974 "The robotic teacher Leachim has been invented with the ability to synthesize human speech. It is programmed with a course curriculum and tested on a class of 4th graders in the Bronx, New York."[1]
1975 "Victor Schenman developed the Programmable Universal Manipulation Arm (Puma). It was widely used in industrial operations."[3]
1975 "The MITS ALTAIR was the first 8080 chip based kit computer and is arguably the start of the personal computer. "[3]
1977 "The first Star Wars movie is released. George Lucas‘s movie inspires a new generation of researchers through his image of a human future shared with robots such as the now famous R2-D2 and C-3PO."[2][1]
1977 "The Variante Masha, a six-legged walking machine, was created at the Russian academy of Science by Dr. Devjanin, Dr. Grufinkelt, Dr. Lensky, Dr. Schneider, and colleagues."[3]
1978 "Shigeo Hirose created ACMVI (Oblix) robot. It had snake-like abilities. The Oblix eventually became the MOGURA robot arm used in industry."[3]
1979 "The Stanford Cart crossed a chair-filled room without human assistance. The cart had a TV camera mounted on a rail which took pictures from multiple angles and relayed them to a computer. The computer analyzed the distance between the cart and the obstacles."[3]
1979 "Hiroshi Makino of Yamanashi University designed the Selective Compliant Articulated Robot Arm (SCARA) for assembly jobs in factories. "[3]
1980 "Quasi-dynamic walking was first realized by WL-9DR. It used a microcomputer as the controller. It could take one step every 10 seconds. It was developed by Ichiro Kato at the Department of Mechanical Engineering School of Science and Engineering, Waseda University, Tokyo."[3]
1981 "Shigeo Hirose developed Titan II. It is a quadruped which could climb stairs. Picture is of Titan III, which is a successor to Titan II."[3]
1981 "Takeo Kanade invents the first “direct drive arm”, an industrial robotic arm that combined the robotic “brain” with the mechanical manipulators in one machine."[1]
1984 "WABOT-2 is completed. It has motor and sensory control fine enough to allow it to read and play the organ, to the point it could even accompany a human musician."[1]
1985 "Created by the General Robotics Corp. the RB5X was a programmable robot equipped with infrared sensors, remote audio/video transmission, bump sensors, and a voice synthesizer. It had software that could enable it to learn about its environment."[3]
1985 "Waseda Hitachi Leg-11 (WHL-11) was a biped robot developed by Hitachi Ltd. It was capable of static walking on a flat surface. It was able to turn and could take a step every 13 seconds."[3]
1985 "A four legged walking machine, Collie1, was developed by H. Miura at the University of Tokyo. The machine had 3 degrees of freedom per leg."[3]
1985 "The Melwalk3 was developed at Namiki Tsukuba Science City and was a sixlegged walking machine. "[3]
1986 "The first LEGO based educational products are put on the market and Honda launches a project to build a walking humanoid robot."[2]
1988 "The first HelpMate service robot went to work at Danbury Hospital in Connecticut. "[3]
1989 "Aquarobot, a walking robot for undersea use, was created at the Robotics Laboratory at the Ministry of Transport in Japan."[3]
1989 "Developed by Kato Corporation, the WL12RIII was the first biped walking robot which was able to walk on a terrain stabilized by trunk motion. It could walk up and down stairs and could take a single step every 0.64 seconds. "[3]
1989 " Rodney Brooks creates Ghengis, a hexapedal robot meant to traverse difficult terrain. Ghengis was modeled after organic insects, who have very limited intelligence but possess relatively incredible physical aptitude. It was notable for its cheap construction and development time, which has given rise to a trend of incremental development in robotics."[1]
1990 "Rodney Brooks publishes “Elephants Don’t Play Chess,” proposing a new approach to AI—building intelligent systems, specifically robots, from the ground up and on the basis of ongoing physical interaction with the environment: “The world is its own best model… The trick is to sense it appropriately and often enough.”"[5] "iRobot Corporation was founded by Rodney Brooks, Colin Angle and Helen Greiner and produced domestic and military robots."[3]
1993 "Dante explored Mt. Erebrus in Antarctica. The 8-legged walking robot was developed at Carnegie-Mellon University. However, the mission failed when its tether broke. [4]Dante II subsequently explored Mt. Spurr in Alaska in 2004. This was a more robust version of Dante I. "[3]
1994 "Carnegie Universities eight-legged walking robot, Dante ll, successfully descends into Mt Spur to collect volcanic gas samples."[2]
1994 " John Adler invents the Cyberknife, a robotic surgery system that is subsequently cleared by the USA’s FDA. First used at Stanford university, this robot made use of robotic positioning and radio imagery to help foster ultra-fine precision in delicate medical procedures and was used for brain and spine surgeries."[1]
1996 "RoboTuna was created by David Barrett at MIT. The robot was used to study how fish swim."[3]
1996 "Honda created the P2, which was the first major step in creating their ASIMO. The P2 was the first self-regulating, bipedal humanoid robot. "[3]
1997 "On May 11, a computer built by IBM known as Deep Blue beat world chess champion Garry Kasparov. The first Robocup tournament is held in Japan. The goal of Robocup is to have a fully automated team of robots beat the worlds best soccer team by the year 2050."[2] "IBM's deep blue supercomputer beat the champion Gary Kasparov at a chess match. This represented the first time a machine beat a grand champion chess player. "[3]
1997 " The robot rover Sojourner is launched to Mars. It was only expected to operate for a week but managed to explore the planet for over three months before losing contact with Earth. It was able to gather environmental data and conduct several scientific experiments, the results of which were transmitted back to NASA. The onboard computer allowed it to react to unplanned events and obstacles, even with minimal data."[1]
1997 "NASA's PathFinder landed on Mars. The wheeled robotic rover sent images and data about Mars back to Earth."[3]
1997 "IBM’s Deep Blue computer defeated chess champion Garry Kasparov, heralding a landmark achievement in robotic AI’s ability to plan and react."[1]
1997 "Honda created the P3, the second major step in creating their ASIMO. The P3

was Honda’s first completely autonomous humanoid robot."[3]

1998 "LEGO launches its first Robotics Inventions System."[2]
1998 "Dr. Cynthia created Kismet, a robotic creature that interacted emotionally with people."[2]
1998 "LEGO released their MINDSTORMS robotic development product line, which is a system for inventing robots using a modular design and LEGO plastic bricks."[3]
1998 "Campbell Aird was fitted with the first bionic arm called the Edinburg Modular Arm System (EMAS). "[3]
1999 "Sony releases the first version of AIBO, a robotic dog with the ability to learn, entertain and communicate with its owner. More advanced versions have followed."[2] "Sony released the first Aibo robotic dog. "[3][1]
1999 "Mitsubishi created a robot fish. The intention was to create a robotic version of an extinct species of fish."[3]
1999 "Personal Robots released the Cye robot. It performed a variety of household chores, such as delivering mail, carrying dishes, and vacuuming. It was created by Probotics Inc."[3]
2000 "MIT’s Cynthia Breazeal develops Kismet, a robot that could recognize and simulate emotions."[7]
2000 "Honda's ASIMO robot, an artificially intelligent humanoid robot, is able to walk as fast as a human, delivering trays to customers in a restaurant setting."[7] "Honda debuts ASIMO, the next generation in its series of humanoid robots."[2]
2000 "Sony unveiled the Sony Dream Robots (SDR) at Robodex. SDR was able to recognize 10 different faces, expresses emotion through speech and body language, and can walk on flat as well as irregular surfaces. Image of QRIO"[3]
2001 "iRobot Packbots searched through the rubble of the world Trade Center. Subsequent versions of the Packbot robots are used in Afghanistan and Iraq."[3]
2001 "MD Robotics of Canada built the Space Station Remote Manipulator System (SSRMS). It was successfully launched and worked to assemble the International Space Station."[3]
2001 "Great leaps are made in aerospace robotics: Canadarm 2 is launched and attached to the International Space Station. Heralded as the first “smart” part of the station, it plays a key role in the maintenance of the station. Furthermore, the first autonomous flying robot, known as the Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Global Hawk, makes a 22 hour non-stop flight from California across the Pacific Ocean and the Eurasian supercontinent to land in Edinburgh, Scotland."[1]
2002 "Honda created the Advanced Step in Innovative Mobility (ASIMO). It is intended to be a personal assistant. It recognizes its owner's face, voice, and name. Can read email and is capable of streaming video from its camera to a PC"[3]
2002 "iRobot released the first generation of Roomba robotic vacuum cleaners. "[3]
2003 "As part of their mission to explore Mars, NASA launched twin robotic rovers on June 10 and July 7, 2003 called Spirit and Sojourner"[3]
2003 "RobotShop Distribution Inc. was founded to provide today’s society with domestic and professional robot technology that can help increase the pleasure, knowledge liberty and security of individuals."[3]
2004 "Epsom release the smallest known robot, standing 7cm high and weighing just 10 grams. The robot helicopter is intended to be used as a ‘flying camera’ during natural disasters."[2]
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."[2]
2005 "The Korean Institute of Science and Technology (KIST), created HUBO, and claims it is the smartest mobile robot in the world. This robot is linked to a computer via a high-speed wireless connection; the computer does all of the thinking for the robot."[3]
2005 "Cornell University created self-replicating robots. "[3]
2005 " Self-driving cars become more and more possible, though they are not yet safe for road testing."[1]
2008 "After being first introduced in 2002, the popular Roomba robotic vacuum cleaner has sold over 2.5 million units, proving that there is a strong demand for this type of domestic robotic technology."[2]
2011 "Robonaut-2 is launched to the International Space Station and becomes the first humanoid robot in space. It currently serves as a training tool for roboticists in space, though is currently being upgraded to help astronauts complete dangerous, out of station spacewalks."[1]
2017 "The robot Sophia is granted Suadi Arabian citizenship. It becomes the first robot to be recognized with a gender identity and nationality. This raises several ethical problems, such as whether or not the deliberate shut-down of Sophia would be considered murder."[1]
2019 "Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania create millions of nanobots over the span of a few weeks using technology from semiconductors. They are small enough to be injected into the human body and controlled remotely."[1]

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