History of robotics timeline Pt.2

1927- Metropolis (Fritz Lang).
This influential science-fiction film presents a highly stylized futuristic city where a beautiful and cultured utopia exists above a bleak underworld populated by mistreated workers. When the privileged youth Freder discovers this, he befriends the teacher Maria, and tries to help the workers. Click for more


1929- Gakutensoku - Japan’s first robot.
Gakutensoku (which comes from the Japanese for “learning from the laws of nature”) was the first robot to be built in Japan in 1928, and was designed and manufactured by biologist and botanist Makoto Nishimura. It could change its facial expression (using springs and gears in its head), puff its cheeks (to imitate breathing) and move its head, hands and body. Click for more


1932- Lilliput, created in Japan, was the first robot toy to be produced for mass consumption.

1937- Elektro robot built by the Westinghouse Electric Corporation, Ohio
ELEKTRO was a 7ft high robot made from aluminium over a steel frame weighing 260 lb. It was built for New York’s World’s Fair in 1939 by J M Barrnett of Westinghouse. Its ‘brain’ includes an electric eye, 48 relays and signal lights. Walking was achieved using rollers under each foot driven by chains connected to motors in its torso. It also had 9 motors to operate its fingers, arms, head and the mouth – for simple speech.

Elektro the Moto-Man and his Little Dog Sparko

1939- Isaac Asimov writes his robot stories.
Isaac Asimov (1920-1992) was a chemist and prolific author famous for his Foundation Universe as well as his books on robots with ‘positronic’ brains. His first robot story was written in 1939, and I, Robot, published in 1950 was his first collection of robot stories, which influenced the 2004 Will Smith film of the same name. He also wrote a series of books featuring his detective Elijah Baley and his robot partner R Daneel Olivaw. Key to these stories were his three laws of robotics, which relate to how robots interact with one another and with humans: - A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm. - A robot must obey the orders given 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 Laws. To which were added in a later novel, the zeroth law - A robot may not harm humanity, or, by inaction, allow humanity to come to harm.


1940- Mechanically coupled ’master-slave’ manipulators created by German engineer Goertz.
In 1949, Ray Goertz started developing master-slave manipulators which led to various devices, such as electronically remote manipulators for the nuclear industry and teleoperator configurations for the Lunar space program.

1949- Grey Walter's robots (Elmer and Elsie).
In the late 1940s, Grey Walter built his first two turtle robots called Elmer and Elsie. He wanted to prove that complex behaviour could be achieved by suitable connection between brain cells. His work inspired later generations, including Rodney Brooks. We’ll have a closer look at Grey Walter’s Machina Speculatrix in week four.


1952- Astro boy.
Between 1952 and 1968, Osamu Tezuka from Japan wrote a series of adventures for a robot named Astro Boy. Astro Boy (or the Mighty Atom) lives in a futuristic world where Robots and humans coexist. He has seven powers which he uses to fight crime, evil and injustice. Click for more


1954- First patent for the first industrial robot.
George C Devol Jr, applied for patent on the first industrial robot, Unimation.


1960- General Electric Handyman/Hardyman.
Ralph S Mosher created a cybernetic anthropomorphous machine. The movement of a human operator’s arms is detected using a mechanical system, which is connected to the actual robot, whose arms move just like the human’s arms. Click for more


1961- MH-1.
The MH-1 was a computer operated mechanical hand, developed by Heinrich Ernst, as part of his work at Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

1966- Shakey - the first mobile robot which could reason its actions.
Shakey (so called because of its jerky actions) was created in 1966 by the Stanford Research Institute. It was the first mobile robot which could reason its actions, because it had a bump detector, TV Camera and Range Finder. It could take general instructions and work out how to achieve them, rather than being given explicit commands. For example, if commanded to ‘move blocks around a room’ it would work out how it would need to move in order to achieve this.


1969- General Electric Walking Truck.
Designed by Ralph Mosher to help soldiers carry equipment over difficult terrain. The walking truck used feedback to give the operator a better idea of what was happening.

1969- Unimation Inc. introduce first industrial robot.
In 1959, George Devol and Joseph Engelberger formed their company, Unimation, which produced the first industrial robot. It used hydraulic actuators and was controlled by a program on a magnetic drum, which specified the angles of each joint, accurate to 1/10,000 of an inch.


1969- Stanford Arm - Stanford Artificial Intelligence Laboratory.
In 1969, Victor Scheinman invented the Stanford arm. This was a pioneering robot, which made precise movements under a computer’s control, which was a significant development for future robot applications such as; assembly in the manufacturing industry. The design was sold to Unimation in 1977. Click for more

1977- First Star Wars Movie
Star Wars (later retitled Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope) was released. The film featured robots R2-D2 and C-3PO.


1983- NASA Canadarm
A robotic arm was needed for Space Shuttle missions to allow payloads to be deployed, manoeuvred and captured in space. The Shuttle Remote Manipulator system was designed by Canadians for the purpose – hence the term Canadarm. The original arm was capable of moving objects weighting 332.5 kg in space, later versions could cope with items weighing 3293kg in space (on Earth the arm cannot lift itself!). Click for more

1994- Dante ll
Carnegie Universities eight-legged walking robot, Dante ll, successfully descends into Mt Spurr to collect volcanic gas samples.


1997- Mars Pathfinder
This comprised a lander, named the Carl Sagan Memorial Station, and the associated rover called Sojourner. Between landing on July 4th 1997 and its final transmission on Sept 27, 1997, 550 images from the rover were sent back to Earth, together with data from chemical analysis of rocks and soils and information on Mars’ weather. Click for more


1999- AIBOSony releases the first version of AIBO, a robotic dog with the ability to learn, entertain and communicate with its owner.

2000-ASIMO
Honda debuts ASIMO, the next generation in its series of humanoid robots. Click for more


2002- First cyborg?
There is ongoing research into cyborgs. Professor Kevin Warwick, now Visiting Professor of Cybernetics at the University of Reading, claims to be the first cyborg because he has implanted a microchip into his nervous system as part of ‘Project Cyborg’.


2004- Second Mars rover
After leaving in July 2003 NASA’s, twin robot geologists (the Mars Exploration Rovers), finally landed on Mars in January 2004. This was part of a long term robotic exploration of the red planet, to search for and characterize rocks. The rovers also took panoramic images which provide scientists with the information they need for further research.

2005- DARPA Grand Challenge 

2005- Self-replicating robot
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. Click for more


2008- MOD Grand Challenge
The Ministry of Defence (MoD) Grand Challenge is a competition designed to find solutions to a comprehensive range of military threats in an urban environment. Two teams from the University of Reading reached the final of the competition, where each team was given an hour to search 150m2 of Copehill in order to identify different types of threat. These could include improvised explosive devices, snipers, military vehicles and armoured soldiers, with the number of correct identifications being used to rank the teams. The entrants’ vehicles needed to move autonomously from a forward operating base and communicate the identity and position of threats back to base. Click for more

2012- DARPA robotics challenge/ Curiosity lands on Mars
DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) Grand Challenge is a competition for American autonomous vehicles and to facilitate robotic development. The first challenge was held in a desert in California in 2004, however there was no winner as none of the robots finished the route. 2012 was also the year that the Curiosity Rover landed on Mars.

History of robotics timeline Pt.1

The concept of creating life, or at least a mechanical machine that can replicate the actions of humans and animals, (as well doing the housework) has been a popular concept in science, literature, and the arts. Have a look at the timeline below for important events:

Unknown date- Talos mythical golden robot built by Hephaistos was fabled to roam the island of Crete.


350 B.C. — NaN- The Pigeon.
The Greek mathematician, Archytas of Tarentum builds a mechanical bird dubbed "the Pigeon". The device was a bird-shaped model, propelled by steam. Click for more


222 B.C. - Ktesibios/Tesibius. Water clocks and regulators.
Water clocks and regulators Whilst at first sight, water clocks don’t sound robotic, they are relevant to robotics for two reasons. Firstly, they are examples of feedback systems, and secondly some early intricate robotic devices acted as water clocks. It is worth pointing out that a bucket full of water with a hole in it is a feedback system. The flow of water that comes out through the hole is determined by the pressure exerted by the water, which is the water weight divided by the area of the hole. So, as water comes out, the weight of water and hence the pressure is reduced so the water comes out less quickly. This is relevant to perhaps the first man-made feedback system: the water clock of Ktesibios in around 250 BC. The aim was to have a measure of the time since the sun rose and this was achieved by having a bucket which was emptied initially and into which water flowed at a constant rate – the height of water in the bucket indicating the time. The difficulty was to ensure the water flowed in at a constant rate, for which a second bucket was provided, with a hole in the bottom. But as noted above, the flow from such a bucket varies with the amount of water in it. The solution: to keep the top bucket full. Then, assuming atmospheric pressure variations were small enough, a constant flow of water left this bucket. So as to ensure the second bucket was always full, a float valve was used: if the water level dropped the float dropped thereby opening a valve to let water into the vessel. Water flowed until the bucket was full again.


10- Hero of Alexandria. Self opening temple doors, theatrical robots.
Hero of Alexandria was a Greek Mathematician and Engineer who devised ‘automata’ and theatrical robots. ‘Automata’ can be used to describe devices which use mechanics or pneumatics, for example, the automatic opening and closing temple door. He also constructed a three-wheeled cart powered by a falling weight which pulled string wrapped around the cart’s axle. The strings were wrapped in different directions which then determined the way the cart (robot) moved. This string-based control is equivalent to a modern day programming language. Click for more


1200- Al-Jazarī. Elephant water clock.
al-Jazarī was a scholar, inventor, mechanical engineer, craftsman, artist and mathematician who lived during the Islamic Golden Age. He made an Elephant Water Clock for the King of Diyarbakr in present-day Turkey in about 1200 CE, i.e. over 800 years ago! It’s not only a clock that tells the time but also a pioneering robotic machine. Click for more

The elephant clock from Al-Jazari's manuscript.

1495- Leonardo da Vinci sketched plans for a humanoid robot.


1515- Leonardo da Vinci’s Lion (Codex Atlanticus).
Leonardo Da Vinci’s mechanical lion was presented as the star gift in a pageant in honour of François, the new king of France in 1515. Da Vinci also designed a mechanical knight, able to bend its legs, move its arms and hands, turn its head and open its mouth. It could also ‘talk’ by using an internal automatic drum roll and is often claimed to be the first ‘programmable’ computer. Click for more


1739- Vaucanson’s Duck.
Jacques de Vaucanson (1709 - 1782) was a French engineer credited with creating fine automata that some regard as the world’s first robots. His defecating duck ‘ate’ food out of the exhibitor’s hand, swallowed it, digested it, and excreted it, all before an audience. He is also credited with creating the first completely automated loom.

Vaucanson duck automaton

1770- Jaquet-Droz ’scribe’. Clockwork automata: writing, drawing and playing music.
The most complex of three automata by Pierre Jaquet-Droz, Henri-Louis Jaquet-Droz and Jean-Frédéric Leschot. It is able to write up to 40 letters of text which is coded on a wheel. The actual writing is done by a goose feather which the scribe dips in ink. Click for more


1770- The Turk.
Wolfgang von Kempelen constructed The Turk, supposedly an automaton which could play chess. The Turk played several games during demonstrations across Europe and often won! In fact there was space under for a man to recline inside the machine to make it work - Certainly a good example of telemanipulation.

An engraving of the Turk from Karl Gottlieb von Windisch's 1784 book Inanimate Reason

1817- Frankenstein published. 
Frankenstein (or The Modern Prometheus), written by Mary Shelley and published in 1818, is often considered the first true science fiction story. It tells the tale of scientist Victor Frankenstein who is horrified when he creates life in the form a grotesque creature. The story has been adapted into many films (the first in 1910) and TV shows.


1864- US patent with the word "Android" issued.
This was patented in reference to miniature human-like toy automatons.


1898- Remote controlled robot boat.
Nikola Tesla builds and demonstrates a remote-controlled robot boat at Madison Square Garden. Click for more

1913- First conveyer belt assembly line.
Henry T Ford installs the first conveyor belt based assembly line, allowing Model T Fords to be assembled in 93 minutes

Ford Assembly line

1920- Rossum’s Universal Robots published which introduced the word ‘robot’ to the English Language.Rossum’s Universal Robots (RUR) is a science fiction play by Karel Čapek. The play is about a young idealist Helena Glory, who goes to the remote island where Rossum’s Universal Robots are made, aiming to liberate the robots, which are ‘stripped down’ versions of humanity designed as inexpensive workers. The play introduced the word robot to the English Language. Robot comes from robota meaning ‘drudgery’ and robotnik meaning peasant or serf.

Information extracted from Future Learn Robotic course

Simple Machines: Levers

First Class Levers
First class levers have the fulcrum placed between the load and the effort, as in the seesaw, crowbar, etc. If the two arms of the levers are of equal length, as with the balance scale, the effort must be equal to the load. If the effort arm is longer than the load arm, as in the crowbar, the effort travels farther than the load and is less than the load.  

 

Second Class Levers

Second class levers have the load between the effort and the fulcrum. The effort always travels a greater distance and is less than the load. Second class levers always multiply the input force, however they do not change its direction. They always have the output force between the fulcrum and the input force ensures that it has mechanical advantage. Wheelbarrows, staplers, pliers, nail clippers are all good examples of second class levers.

 

Third Class Levers

Third class levers have the effort placed between the load and the fulcrum. The effort always travels a shorter distance and must be greater than the load. An example of third class lever is the human forearm; the fulcrum is the elbow, the effort is applied by the biceps muscle, and the load is in the hand. Other examples of third class levers would include a baseball bat, a hammer driving in a nail to a piece of wood, tweezers, etc.