{ "cells": [ { "cell_type": "markdown", "id": "a7945161-0d90-42bb-8f84-a326b15565ce", "metadata": {}, "source": [ "# 3 History and Evolution of Robot-II\n", "October 11, 2024\n", "\n", "The previous article \"History and Evolution of Robot-I\" focused on the ancient legends and the medieval automata and if you have not read it you can visit the article here. This topic discusses the history of modern robotics and evolution of robotics to merge into industries.\n", "\n", " \n", "\n", "## 3.1 Modern Robotics Part-1\n", "In L. Frank Baum's classic tale, “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz” (1900), we meet the cyborg character called “Tin Woodman”, a human woodcutter where his entire body, including limbs and head, was replaced with metal parts crafted by a tinsmith. In the subsequent book, “Ozma of Oz” (1907), Baum introduces a copper clockwork man “Tik-Tok”, which relies on a winding mechanism to function, and sometimes shut down at the most inconvenient time.\n", "\n", " \n", "\n", "In 1903, Spanish engineer Leonardo Torres Quevedo unveiled the \"Telekino,\" a pioneering radio-based control system, at the Paris Academy of Science, which was capable of executing 19 distinct commands. In 1906, Torres showcased his invention by controlling a boat in the Port of Bilbao, managing to steer it from the shore over a distance of 2 km with people onboard. In 1912, he also created “El Ajedrecista” (The Chessplayer), recognized as the first fully autonomous machine." ] }, { "cell_type": "markdown", "id": "e2125621-8825-4c68-8ea1-5f32761ca247", "metadata": {}, "source": [ "" ] }, { "cell_type": "markdown", "id": "de415cf6-ad92-4aac-93c7-be5f5a51a390", "metadata": {}, "source": [ "
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El Telekino-The first Remote control (Source: Torres Quevedo Museum)

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El Ajedrecista -The Chess Player (Source: Torres Quevedo Museum)

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" ] }, { "cell_type": "markdown", "id": "466155e3-5619-4289-b376-ee16acdfcef9", "metadata": {}, "source": [ "In 1920, the word “Robot” was first coined by Czech writer Karel Capek in his play “Rossum’s Universal Robots”. In 1926, Westinghouse Electric Corporation developed Televox, a device that used a cardboard cutout to control various appliances manually. The following year, Fritz Lang released Metropolis, which featured the Maschinenmensch, a gynoid humanoid that became the first robot depicted in film. Additionally, in 1927, the Gakutensoku, a renowned Japanese robotic automaton, was introduced to the public; it was capable of writing smoothly and raising its eyelids. In 1928, W. H. Richards presented Eric, one of the earliest humanoid robots, at the annual exhibition of the Model Engineers Society in London. This robot could move its hands and head using either remote or voice control.\n", "\n", " \n", "\n", "In 1938, Willard V. Pollard submitted the first patent application for an industrial robotic manipulator, called the \"Position Controlling Apparatus.\" The following year, the humanoid robot Elektro was showcased at the World's Fair. " ] }, { "cell_type": "markdown", "id": "6b607d4b-8bda-4842-9b7e-916fdcfb6d43", "metadata": {}, "source": [ "```{figure} _static/Electro_and_Sparko.png\n", ":alt: Robota1.7 robot design\n", ":width: 300px\n", "\n", "Elektro and Sparko (Source: Senetor John Heinz History Centre, Photograph by Daderot)" ] }, { "cell_type": "markdown", "id": "018f7af0-dee7-437e-b513-b1448205dac8", "metadata": {}, "source": [ "Additionally, in 1939, Konrad Zuse developed the first programmable electromechanical computer, paving the way for the creation of humanoid machines that we now recognize as robots.\n", "\n", "Issac Asimov, in 1941-1942, postulated the famous “Three Laws of Robotics” and also termed the word “Robotics” for the first time. In 1945, Vannevar Bush released the essay “As We May Think,” exploring the possibilities of electronic data processing. Earlier, in 1943, Arturo Rosenblueth, Norbert Wiener, and Julian Bigelow laid the groundwork for cybernetics, focusing on modeling data processing systems. The first electronic autonomous robots, named Elmer and Elsie, were developed by William Grey Walter at the Burden Neurological Institute in Bristol, England, in 1948 and 1949. These robots, often referred to as \"tortoises\" due to their shape and slow movement. Today, modern versions of Walter's \"turtles\" can be seen in BEAM robotics.\n", "\n", " \n", "\n", "In 1951, Walter introduced the concept of \"A Machine that Learns,\" describing mechanical robots as \"intelligent agents\" that depend on conditioned reflex learning. In 1954, George Devol developed Unimate, the first digitally operated and programmable robot. " ] }, { "cell_type": "markdown", "id": "b4a12968-5f04-4935-84bc-ba129500dd77", "metadata": {}, "source": [ "```{figure} _static/Unimate_by_Devol.jpg\n", ":alt: Robota1.8 robot design\n", ":width: 300px\n", "\n", "Unimate by Devol (Source: Digital Collections)" ] }, { "cell_type": "markdown", "id": "4c4d72af-a80a-4c1d-909a-4afb92e5faaf", "metadata": {}, "source": [ "By 1959, researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) showcased advancements in computer-assisted manufacturing.\n", "\n", "The Unimate robot was installed at General Motors in 1961, marking a significant milestone in industrial automation. In 1962, Devol and Joseph Engelberger established Unimation Inc. to focus on robotic technology. The Rancho Arm, developed at Stanford University in 1963, contributed to advancements in robotic design. In 1969, Victor Scheinman, a mechanical engineering student, created the Stanford Arm, which became known as the first robotic arm controlled by an electronic computer. In 1970, the Stanford Research Institute introduced Shakey, the first mobile robot capable of reasoning about its environment.\n", "\n", " \n", "In the next article \"History and Evolution of Robots-III\" the emergence of consumer robotics solutions and their evolution were discussed. " ] } ], "metadata": { "kernelspec": { "display_name": "Python 3 (ipykernel)", "language": "python", "name": "python3" }, "language_info": { "codemirror_mode": { "name": "ipython", "version": 3 }, "file_extension": ".py", "mimetype": "text/x-python", "name": "python", "nbconvert_exporter": "python", "pygments_lexer": "ipython3", "version": "3.11.9" } }, "nbformat": 4, "nbformat_minor": 5 }