The Origin, History, and Story of Robotics
By: Plus Robotics
Tags: AI, Automation, Robotics, History, Engineering

From basic automated mechanical systems to smart intelligent robots like this, we have come a long way

The origin of robotics is a rather interesting one. The term and the disciple has a long history starting from the basic mechanical automation systems made back in the Egyptian civilization all the way to the present with extremely advanced and intelligent robots.

Let us start from the very beginning. One of the first instances of a mechanical automation system can be found way back in 3000 B.C when Egyptian water clocks used human figurines to strike the hour bells. Then in 400 B.C., Archytas of Tarentum who invented the pulley and the screw created a wooden pigeon capable of flight. Fast forward to the first century A.D., Petronius Arbiter made a doll that could move like a human being. Much, much later Giovanni Torriani created a wooden robot made to get the Emperor’s daily bread from the store in 1557.

Not the first picture which comes to our head when we think of robots

Robotic inventions peaked during the 1700s with countless ingenious, yet impractical, automata created during this time period. The 19th century was also filled with new robotic creations, such as the talking doll by Edison and a steam-powered robot by the Canadians. These inventions throughout history planted the first seeds of inspiration for the modern robot but true, modern scientific progress was made only in the 20th century.

The above examples and anecdotes don’t really symbolize or mean robotics in the way we see and view it today. In fact, the word robot hadn’t even been coined by then. But it all changed in 1920. No, the word and probably the greatest contribution to the field did not come from engineers, scientists, or even mathematicians. Rather the term and the rules of robotics were founded in a play and a short story respectively. The word robot derives its etymology from the Czech word “Robota” meaning forced labour and was featured in a play in 1920 titled R.U.R. ‘Rossum’s Universal Robots’ by K.C Kapek. Then in 1942, The Three Laws of Robotics, a set of rules devised by the science fiction author Isaac Asimov were featured in his short story “Runaround”. These three laws hold merit and value even today. The three laws are –

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.

The Laws are incorporated into almost all of the positronic robots appearing in his fiction, and cannot be bypassed, is intended as a safety feature. Later on, when the robots in his stories occupied far more important and crucial roles, Asimov introduced the Zeroth Law of Robotics,

0) A robot may not harm humanity, or, by inaction, allow humanity to come to harm.

These laws continue to be relevant in the 21st century and are considered fundamental with regard to the ethics of artificial intelligence.

The earliest robots as we know them were created in the early 1950s by George Devol. He patented a manipulator that could be reprogrammed called “Unimate”. The world’s first working robot was added to the assembly line at the General Motors plant towards the beginning of 1961. It was an automated die-casting mould that dropped red-hot door handles and other such car parts into pools of cooling liquid on an assembly line. Devol’s patent for the first digitally operated programmable robotic arm represented the foundation of the modern robotics industry. In the late 1960s, businessman and engineer Joseph Engleberger acquired Devol’s robot patent and modified it into an industrial robot, and formed a company called Unimation to produce and market the robots. For his efforts and successes, Engleberger is known in the industry as “the Father of Robotics.”

Academia also made much progress in the creation of new robots. In 1958 at the Stanford, scientist Charles Rosen and his research team developed a robot called “Shakey”(He was given his name because of his wobbly and clattering movements). Shakey could move around the room, observe with his television eyes, move across unfamiliar surroundings, and to a certain extent, respond to the environment. In 1969 Mechanical Engineering student Victor Scheinman created the Stanford Arm, which is considered the first electronic computer-controlled robotic arm.

The development of humanoid robots was advanced by Japanese robotics scientists in the 1970s to a large extent. Waseda University initiated the WABOT project in 1967 and completed the WABOT-1 in 1971. This was the world’s first full-scale, intelligent, humanoid robot. It could grip and transport objects with mechanical hands, using tactile sensors. Its vision system allowed it to measure distances and directions to objects using external receptors, artificial eyes, and ears. It also featured a conversation system that allowed it to communicate with a person in Japanese. It is for these reasons that it is popularly considered the world's first android. While this was going on, a German-based company KUKA built the world’s first industrial robot with six electromechanically driven axes, known as FAMULUS.

Next, Takeo Kanade created the first direct-drive arm in 1981. This means the arm’s motors were contained within the robot itself, eliminating any long transmissions — a truly revolutionary step in those days. In 1984 Wabot-2 was revealed which was capable of playing the organ, had 10 fingers and two feet. Cabot-2 was able to read a score of music and accompany a person. In 1986, Honda started its humanoid research and development program to create robots that could successfully with humans.

Robots soon entered medicine and surgery. In 1994 one of the most successful robot-assisted surgery appliances was approved by the FDA. The Cyberknife, invented by John R. Adler was installed at Stanford University in 1991. This radiosurgery system encapsulated image-guided surgery with robotic positioning. Honda’s P2 humanoid robot was first seen in 1996. It stood for “Prototype Model 2” and was an integral part of Honda’s humanoid development project. It was over 6 feet tall making it smaller than its predecessors and appeared to be more human-like in its motions.

Robots were even sent to space; one of the best examples being Sojourner — a tiny rover that travelled all the way to mars. While expected to operate for only seven days, the Sojourner rover finally shut down after 83 days of operation in 1997. This small robot weighed a mere 10.5kg and performed semi-autonomous operations on the surface of Mars as part of the Mars Pathfinder mission. It was equipped with an obstacle avoidance program which allowed the Sojourner to plan and navigate routes to study the surface of the planet.

After the tiny Sojourner, bigger and more powerful robots have gone to Mars

The P3 humanoid robot was revealed by Honda in 1998 as a part of the company’s continuing humanoid project. In 1999, Sony introduced the AIBO, a robotic dog capable of interacting with humans; the first models released in Japan sold out in 20 minutes. Honda revealed the most advanced result of their humanoid project in 2000, named ASIMO. ASIMO can run, walk, communicate with humans, recognize faces, interact, and respond to the environment, speak in voices, and modify its posture. Sony also revealed its Sony Dream Robots, small humanoid robots in development for entertainment. In October 2000, the United Nations estimated that there were 742,500 industrial robots in the world, with more than half of them being used in Japan.

Today robots are almost everywhere, we even have robot vacuum cleaners increasingly popular in common households. Advanced robots and research regarding the same are rising rapidly as interest in the field continues to grow and the possibilities for the same are being unravelled. Despite this vast history of robotics, we have barely begun. The field is expected to grow leaps and bounds in the coming future. Approximately 6% of jobs are going to be taken over by robots in 2021. The sheer fact that robots do not get tired bored and won’t offer any resistance to harsh working environments ensures that they are way too important to be ignored.

Robot vacuum cleaners are very popular today

Gaining the necessary skills and learning them from a young age can truly change the life of the individual. We at Plus Robotics aim to provide classes for students from Grades 6–12. We intend to teach them Python, ROS, Arduino, and more — necessary and useful skills to build interest and hopefully a career in robotics. Being mentored by Prof Anupam Saxena from IIT Kanpur, we believe in teaching robotics while also piquing interest in the field from a young age. If you are either a student from Grade 6–12 or a parent with a child in these classes, do contact us and we can recommend the best way to teach you robotics in a simple yet effective manner.