Pre 1600
Advent of CE – 1300
Arabian, Persian and European scientists develop the fields of mathematics and chemistry while studying Alchemy. The field of medicine takes root as theories of disease are developed. In 1095 the Crusades began and would continue to 1291; ideas and theories (including scientific discoveries and inventions) are exchanged by different groups of people meeting for the first time.
The Renaissance (1300-1600)
Learning flourishes across Europe. Rigorous study based on empirical evidence replaces superstition. Sailing ships explore the worlds’ waters and new continents are discovered and explored. Copernicus publishes his theory that the earth revolves around the sun. Printing, as opposed to hand copying, becomes commonplace allowing the easy transfer of knowledge.
1600 - 1899
The Scientific Revolution (1550-1700)
The microscope is invented and germs are discovered. Telescopes prove the planets orbit the sun. The slide rule is invented. Isaac Newton publishes his Principia, describing gravity, inertia and force.
The Enlightenment (1700-1800)
The steam engine is invented in 1763. Within 50 years it will have revolutionized manufacturing and transportation. Printing flourishes and lending libraries increase access to books to people across a wider social spectrum.
The Industrial Revolution (1800-1900)
Major leaps in technology effected agriculture, manufacturing, transportation and mining. The shift from rural to urban living allowed for the exchange of ideas among different people. The textile, metallurgy and mining industries roared forward, opening avenues for experimentation with engineering and chemistry and creating the need for precise tools. New transportation avenues were needed for all the new goods so railways became commonplace, fueled by steam power.
1960 - 1979
The Modern Era (1900-2000)
The 1960s saw an explosion in popular conceptions of robots, with the Jetsons “Rosie” appearing on lunchboxes and Lost in Space inspiring Robbie toys. The BBC tv series “Dr. Who” creates the sinister and long lasting “Daleks” who repeatedly threaten to take over the world. The 1960s and 70s introduced robots with a full range of human characteristics, from the frightening robots of Westworld to the most popular robots of all time, C3PO and R2D2.
1900 - 1959
The Modern Era (1900-2000)
The 20th century brings unheard of change to the globe. Microchips power the computer revolution which in turn makes the age of robots possible. The future arrives with the hum of gears and the glow of LEDs.
In the 1940s science fiction author Isaac Asimov forever changes the image of robots from soulless or evil beings to characters that can be viewed with compassion and curiosity. From this point on robots are frequent characters in science fiction, becoming more and more sophisticated and human in their depictions.
1990 - 1999
The Modern Era (1900-2000)
The 1990s and early 2000s saw a return to less threatening robots with a yearning to be human, such David in AI and Andrew in Bicentennial Day, much like Pinocchio and Frankenstein.
1980 - 1989
The Modern Era (1900-2000)
By the 1980s everyone knows what a robot is, so the ground is fertile for the initially human-appearing robots of the Terminator films.
2000 - 2009
The Age of Robots
Robots are used to perform surgery, clean homes, assist soldiers and in general labor. They explore Mars and the Egyptian Pyramids. Companies like Honda, Espon, Hitachi, Microsoft, LEGO and Toyota each become involved in robotics. The iRobot Roomba becomes the best-selling consumer robot in history.
BCE
Prehistory
Human beings discover basic tools such as the wheel, levers and wedges. As time passes we settle into cities and build large structures, become more advanced in our tools and engineering.
BCE
Western Civilization is flourishing in Europe and North Africa. Romans wear metal armor, iron smelting is practiced in Africa, theories about Earth’s revolution, size and distance from the moon and sun are formulated.
2007
Developed at Waseda Universit, Twendy-One is a 5’ 245 lb. talking helper robot that can care for the handicapped. It’s strong enough to lift a person out of bed and can also make and deliver breakfast.
2007
TPR-ROBINA, a guide robot manufactured by Toyota begins working as a receptionist at the Toyota Kaikan Exhibition Hall.
2007
Toyota’s i-REAL, a personal mobility robot, is unveiled at the Tokyo Motor Show.
2007
HRP-3 Promet Mk-II demonstrates its ability to walk on slippery surfaces, tighten screws, and operate in environments that are hazardous for humans at Kawada Industries headquarters.
2006
iRobot home robot sales exceed 2 million units.
2006
Matsushita Electric Industrial’s Activelink Co. and Kobe Gakuin University unveil a robotic suit that will help partially paralyzed people regain the use of their limbs.
2006
Stickybot, a robot that is modeled after a gecko and can climb vertically like Spiderman is created by biologist Robert J. Full and engineer Mark Cutkosky.
2006
Lego releases Lego MINDSTORMS NXT to replace the original Robotics Invention System.
2006
Hiroshi Ishiguro of Osaka University unveils Geminoid, an android which he designed to be a copy of himself. Prof. Ishiguro uses Geminoid as a platform to study robotic telepresence
1200
Arab authors also designed complex mechanical arrangements.
1977
Voyagers 1 and 2 are launched and radio back billions of bytes of computerized data about new discoveries as they explore the outer planets of our solar system.
350
People have always been intrigued by mechanical things that move. The Greek mathemetician, Archytas of Tarentum builds a steam propelled mechanical bird called, "The Pigeon." This helps launch the study of flight.
1119
Magnetic compasses are first used in China.
1603
Karakuri ningyo, mechanical dolls that are considered Japan’s oldest robots, originate during the Edo or Tokugawa period (1603 – 1868).
1900
The entire civilized world is connected by telegraph. In the United States there are more than 1.4 million telephones, 8,000 registered automobiles, and 24 million electric light bulbs.
1961
Heinrich Ernst develops the MH-1, a computer operated mechanical hand at MIT.
1980s
Second-generation robots arrive with the ability to move with five or six degrees of freedom. They are used for industrial welding and spray painting.
1990
Co-founders Colin Angle, Helen Greiner and Rodney Brooks launch ISRobotics, later to become iRobot.
2000
In October 2000, the United Nations estimated that there were 742,500 industrial robots in the world, with more than half of the robots being used in Japan.
322
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.
1180
Windmills are in use as a power source in Europe.
1727
The now famous word "android" is coined by German philosopher and alchemist Albertus Magnus who attempts to create an artificial being.
1921
The word ROBOT is used for the first time in a play called "R.U.R" (Rossum's Universal Robots) by Czech dramatist Karel Capek. These robots are intelligent machines meant to serve their human makers, though the play has a dramatic ending. Karel Capek (Czech) called these powerful beings "robota" meaning forced and slavishly work. He distinguishes the robot from man by the absence of emotion.
1970
Shakey from SRI (Stanford Research Institute) International, Menlo Park USA, can see and avoid obstacles; work began on the robot in 1966. Shakey is introduced as the first mobile robot controlled by artificial intelligence. Equipped with sensing devices driven by a problem-solving program called STRIPS, the robot finds its way around the halls of SRI by applying information about its environment to a route. Shakey uses a TV camera, laser range finder, and bump sensors to collect data, which it then transmits to a DEC PDP-10 and PDP-15. The computer radios back commands to Shakey, which then moves at a speed of 2 meters per hour.
1981
Takeo Kanade builds the direct drive arm. It is the first with motors installed directly into the joints of the arm. This change makes it faster and much more accurate than previous robotic arms.
1992
In an attempt to build a radio controlled vacuum cleaner Marc Thorpe has the idea to start a robot combat event.
2000
The da Vinci Surgical System made by Intuitive Surgical becomes the first robotic surgical system cleared by the FDA for general laparoscopic surgery.
200
In China artisans develop elaborate automata, including an entire mechanical orchestra.
1200
Reproduction Topkapi Museum
1738
Jacques de Vaucanson begins building automata in Grenoble, France. His first is a flute player that could play twelve songs. The second automaton played a flute and a drum or tambourine, but by far his third was the most famous: The duck was an example of Vaucanson's attempt at what he called "moving anatomy." It moved, quacked, flapped its wings and even ate and digested food.
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; she is a beautiful woman but lacks a soul.
1966
MIT computer scientist Joseph Weizenbaum develops ELIZA, a computer that responds to statements with questions. Users assumed understanding and emotional involvement from ELIZA.
1982
"A new life awaits you on the Off-World colonies." Blade Runner is released, directed by Ridley Scott, is released. Based on the Philip K. Dick story "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" it stars Harrison Ford and propels androids with human feelings into the popular mindset.
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.
2000
Honda debuts ASIMO, a new humanoid robot, the next generation of its series of humanoid robots.
200
Ctesibus, Greek inventor and physicist designs water clocks with movable figures. Until this time Greeks used hour glasses with sand.
1200
The most famous amongst them is Al-Jazari. He wrote Automata - which is considered the most important text for the study of the History of Technology. This book is richly illustrated and gives the state of the art of technology in the middle ages and shows how advanced technology in that time was compared with the western countries.(6) Al-Jazari is credited with creating the earliest forms of a programmable humanoid robot in 1206.[11] Al-Jazari's automaton was originally a boat with four automatic musicians that floated on a lake to entertain guests at royal drinking parties. His mechanism had a programmable drum machine with pegs (cams) that bump into little levers that operated the percussion. The drummer could be made to play different rhythms and different drum patterns if the pegs were moved around.[12] According to Charles B. Fowler, the automata were a "robot band" which performed "more than fifty facial and body actions during each musical selection."[13] Al-Jazari also invented a hand washing automaton first employing the flush mechanism now used in modern flush toilets. It features a female automaton standing by a basin filled with water. When the user pulls the lever, the water drains and the female automaton refills the basin.[14] His "peacock fountain" was another more sophisticated hand washing device featuring humanoid automata as servants which offer soap and towels.
1773
Pierre and Henry Louis Jaquet-Droz (Swiss) invents the first automaton that writes. Soon afterwards they build another automaton that draws a portrait of King Louis XV.
1936
Alan Turin, the father of modern computer science, develops the Turing Machine which can model the logic of any computer algorithm, essentially investigating whether or not something can be computed. The Turing Award would later honor individuals for technical contributions to computing.
1967
Mac Hack, Richard Greenblatt’s computer chess program, beats AI critic Hubert Dreyfus in a close game.
1982
Defense robots play a vital role in the Israeli destruction of 29 Russian SAM (surface-to-air missile) sites in a single hour during the invasion of Lebanon.
1993
Seiko Epson develops a micro robot called Monsieur, the world's smallest robot as certified by the Guinness Book of World Records.
2000
iRobot releases My Real Baby in partnership with Hasbro. My Real Baby is a robotic baby doll that responds in emotionally appropriate ways to her user. She can detect a wide array of interaction, including tickles, burps, hugs and more.
1495
In approximately 1495, before he began work on the Last Supper, Leonardo daVinci designed and possibly the first humanoid robot in Western civilization. This armored robot knight was designed to sit up, wave its arms, and move its head via a flexible neck while opening and closing its anatomically correct jaw. It may have made sounds to the accompaniment of automated drums.
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.
1940
Isaac Asimov writes 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.
1968
Arthur C. Clark’s 2001: A Space Odyssey is made into a film, featuring HAL 9000.
1984
Waseda University in Tokyo completes Wabot-2, a 200 pound robot that reads sheet music through its camera eye and plays the organ with its ten fingers and two feet.
1994
Marc Thorpe starts Robot Wars at Fort Mason center in San Francsico, CA.
2001
In April 2001, the Canadarm2 was launched into orbit and attached to the International Space Station. The Canadarm2 is a larger, more capable version of the arm used by the Space Shuttle and is hailed as being “smarter.”
1525
The first real android in human form is built by Hans Bullmann in Nuernberg Germany. He is said to have created quite a few androids some of which can even play musical instruments to the delight of paying customers.
1810
The Mechanical Trumpeter is constructed by Friedrich Kaufmann in 1810.
1940s
The German military uses unmanned tracked mine sweepers called Goliaths. Remotely controlled by soldiers, these wired mine detectors were easily thwarted by resistance fighters who had only to cut the wires.
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.
1986
LEGO and the MIT Media Lab collaborate to bring the first LEGO based educational products to market. Lego Logo was a version of the Logo computer programming language which could manipulate robotic Lego bricks attached to a computer. It was implemented on the Apple II computing platform and was used in American grade schools in the late 1980s and early 1990s
1994
General Atomics Aeronautical Systems awarded contract to develop Predator drone. By 2001 at least 60 drones were in service over Afghanistan.
2001
The Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Global Hawk made the first autonomous non-stop flight over the Pacific Ocean from Edwards Air Force Base in California to RAAF Base Edinburgh in Southern Australia. The flight was made in 22 hours.
1560
A wooden monk automata built in approximately 1560 that, with modern tooling, would take a few months to get develop. During the Dark Ages it would have taken much longer to build. Its purpose is unknown.
1818
Mary Shelley publishes Frankenstein featuring a creature made from corpses, reanimated by electricity.
1942
Isaac Asimov writes a story about robots, Runaround, which contains the "Three Laws of Robotics." He later added a “Zeroth Law.” These laws have influenced robot development in both fiction and reality since.
Law Zero: A robot may not injure humanity, or, through inaction, allow humanity to come to harm.
Law One: A robot may not injure a human being, or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm, unless this would violate a higher order law.
Law Two: A robot must obey orders given it by human beings, except where such orders would conflict with a higher order law.
Law Three: A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with a higher order law.
1969
Hiroshi Fujimoto introduces Doraemon, a manga about a robotic cat who helps a young boy. Doraemon becomes extremely popular in Japan. The manga spans 45 volumes and runs until 1996.
1986
Honda begins a robot research program that 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."
1994
John Adler, Stanford University, invents he CyberKnife is a frameless robotic radio surgery system. Using a robotic arm, the CyberKnife can deliver highly targeted radiotherapy which helps keep surrounding tissue healthy.
2001
Sony releases the second generation of its Aibo robot dog.
1564
In Dix livres de chirurgie (Paris 1564) Pare Ambroise publishes a design of a mechanical hand. This level of mechanics opens enormous possibilities.
1832
Charles Babbage develops the principle of the Analytical Engine, which is the world's first computer and can be programmed to solve a wide variety of logical and computational problems.
1946
John P. Eckert and John W. Mauchley develop ENIAC, the world's first fully electronic, general-purpose, programmable, digital computer. It is used for calculating ballistic-firing tables for the U.S. Army.
1986
Dallas Police use a robot to break into an apartment. The fugitive runs out in fright and surrenders.
1996
A RoboTuna (fish) is designed and built by David Barrett for his doctoral thesis at MIT. It is used to study the way fish swim.
2001
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) clears the CyberKnife to treat tumors anywhere in the body.
1847
George Boole develops Boolean logic, a set of truths used in algebra computer science.
1948
W. Grey Walter invents Turtle robots, small, low-to-the-ground robots designed for navigation and sensor testing. They could find their way back to a charging station when their current was low.
1971
The film Silent Running is released starring Bruce Dern. Bruce's co-stars are three robot drones Huey, Dewey and Louie.
1986
Russell Anderson's doctoral work at the University of Pennsylvania is a robotic ping-pong player that wins against human beings.
1996
At the University of South Florida, Chris Campbell and Stuart Wilkinson develop the Gastrobot, robots that power themselves by digesting food.
2001
On September 11, 2001 iRobot provides iRobot PackBot robots to assist with search-and-rescue efforts following the attacks in New York City. The robots are able to help search-and-rescue personnel remain at a safe distance while the robots inspect dangerous buildings and other areas.
1883
Pinocchio, a puppet made from jointed wood, becomes animated and yearns to be human.
1951
The Day the Earth Stood Still premieres in theaters. The movie features an alien named Klaatu and his robot Gort.
1971
The first microprocessor is introduced in the U.S.
Mid 1980s
Third-generation robots arrive with limited intelligence and some vision and tactile sensing.
1996
Honda displays its P2 humanoid robot; it amazes the robot industry with its natural walking ability.
2001
Fujutsu develops a mini humanoid robot, HOAP-1 (Humanoid for Open Architecture Platform), for research and development in robotic technologies.
1898
Nikola Tesla builds and demonstrates a remote controlled robot boat at Madison Square Garden.
1951
In France, Raymond Goertz designs the first tele-operated articulated arm for the Atomic Energy Commission. The design is based entirely on mechanical coupling between the master and slave arms, a design still in use.
1973
The Wabit-1 is built at Waseda University in Japan. This is the first full-scale anthropomorphic robot built in the world. It is able to communicate and to measure distances and directions to objects using external receptors, artificial ears and eyes. The Wabot-1 walks with its lower limbs and is able to grip and transport objects with hands that used tactile sensors.
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".
1997
The Mars Pathfinder Sojourner Rover, a lightweight robot on wheels, accomplishes a revolutionary feat on the surface of Mars. For the first time, a thinking robot equipped with sophisticated laser eyes and automated programming reacts to unplanned events on the surface of another planet. Sojourner's ability to navigate with little data about its environment and nearby surroundings allows the robot to react to unplanned events and objects.
2001
PaPeRo, a robot with facial and speech recognition and the ability to dance and play games is introduced by NEC Corporation.
1951
The first Astro Boy manga (comic) is released in Japan, created by Osamu Tezuka. Astro Boy is a boy-shaped robot who helps people and fights evil.
1974
Victor Scheinman forms his own company and starts marketing the Silver Arm. It is capable of assembling small parts together using feedback from touch and pressure sensors.
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. Academics start to concentrate on small, smart useful robots rather than simulated people.
1997
The first RoboCup soccer tournament is held in Nagoya, Japan.
2001
Banryu (meaning “guard-dragon”) can provide home security and detect a “burnt scent” which is something that happens before a fire.
1954
George Devol and Joe Engleberger design the first programmable robot arm and use the term Universal Automation for the first time, thus planting the seed for the name of their future company - Unimation.
1976
The Soft Gripper is developed at the Tokyo Institute of Technology by Shigeo Hirose. It’s able to grasp different shaped objects with ease.
1997
iRobot begins work on the project that will lead to iRobot Roomba vacuum cleaning robot
2001
Yasukawa Electric Corporation’s SmartPal V is introduced at the International Robot Exhibition. It can pick items off the floor, place them on a shelf and vacuum the carpet.
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. McCarthy later went on to start the Artificial Intelligence Laboratory at Stanford University (1963); he received the Turing Award for his contributions to the AI field in 1971
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.
1997
Deep Blue, IBM’s chess-playing computer, wins a six-game match against Grandmaster Garry Kasparov.
