History of Robots – Joseph Letzelter

Czech writer Karel ?apek introduced the word “Robot” in his play “R.U.R” (Rossum’s Universal Robots) in 1921. “Robot” in Czech comes from the word “robota”, meaning “labor”. The earliest ideas that could be related to the robotics of today was in 350 B.C. by the Greek mathematician Archytas of Tarentum. He created a mechanical bird he called ?The Pigeon.? The bird was propelled by steam.The idea of artificial people dates at least as far back as the ancient legend of Cadmus, who sowed dragon teeth that turned into soldiers; and the myth of Pygmalion, whose statue of Galatea came to life. In classical mythology, the malformed god of metalwork (Vulcan or Hephaestus) created mechanical servants, ranging from intelligent, golden handmaidens to more utilitarian three-legged tables that could move about under their own power. Jewish legend tells of the Golem, an clay statue animated by Kabbalistic magic.

The first recorded design of a humanoid robot was made by Leonardo da Vinci around the 1495. Da Vinci’s notebooks, rediscovered in the 1950s, contained detailed drawings for a mechanical knight that was apparently able to sit up, wave its arms, and move its head and jaw. The design was likely based on his anatomical research recorded in the Vitruvian Man. It is not known whether or not he attempted to build the robot .

The first known working robot was created in the 1738 by Jacques de Vaucanson, who made an android that played the flute, as well as a mechanical duck that reportedly ate and defecated. E.T.A. Hoffmann’s 1817 short story “The Sandman” features a doll-like mechanical woman, and Edward S. Ellis’ 1865 “Steam Man of the Prairies” expresses the American attraction with industrialization. A wave of stories about humanoid automatons culminated with the “Electric Man” by Luis Senarens in 1885.

Once technology advanced to the point where people foresaw mechanical creatures as more than toys, literary responses to the concept of robots reflected fears that humans would be replaced by their own creations. Frankenstein (1818), sometimes called the first science fiction novel, has become synonymous with this theme. When Capek’s play RUR introduced the concept of an assembly line run by robots who try to build still more robots, the theme took on economic and philosophical overtones, further disseminated by the classic movie Metropolis (1927), and the popular Blade Runner (1982) and The Terminator (1984). With robots a actuality and intelligent robots a likely prospect, a better understanding of connections between robots and human is embodied in such modern films as Spielberg’s A.I. (movie) (2001) and Proyas’ I, Robot (2004).

Many consider the first robot in the modern sense to be a teleoperated boat, similar to a modern ROV, devised by Nikola Tesla and demonstrated at an 1898 exhibition in Madison Square Garden. Based on his patent 613,809 for “teleautomation”, Tesla hoped to develop the “wireless torpedo” into an automated weapon system for the US Navy. The first electronic autonomous robots were created by Grey Walter at Bristol University, England in 1948.

Contemporary uses of robots

Robots are being used today to do the tasks that are either too dirty, hazardous, hard, cyclic or tedious for humans. This usually takes the form of industrial robots used in industrialized lines. Other applications include toxic waste cleanup, space exploration, mining, search and rescue, and mine finding. Manufacturing remains the primary market where robots are utilized. In particular, articulated robots, similar in motion capability to the human arm, are the most widely used. Applications include welding, painting and machine loading. The automotive industry has taken full advantage of this new technology where robots have been programmed to replace human labor in many simple repetitive tasks. The wide acceptance of such technologies, however, was delayed by the availability of cheap labour and high capital necessities of robotics.

While robotic machinery has achieved a certain amount of maturity, the social impact of these robots is largely unknown. The field of social robots is now promising and investigates the relationship between robots and humans. A ludobot is an instance of a social robot dedicated to entertainment and companionship. In early 2000s domestic robots have entered the mainstream culture, with the success of Sony’s Aibo and several manufacturers releasing robotic vacuum cleaners. Japanese corporations are infamous for their successes in developing humanoid robots and their plans to use the technology not only in their manufacturing plants, but also in Japanese homes. There is much hope in Japan, that home care for an aging (and long-lived) population can be better achieved through robotics. Robots have also been explored as a form of High-tech Art. Recent military conflicts have seen extensive use of robots in ground and air-based investigation, bomb-disposal, and most recently, remote controlled combat by human operators. The US military recently made to order an updated and revised former bomb-disposal robot as a combat robot, having it armed with a machine gun, but it is also capable of holding an RPG or rocket launcher. Unmanned Combat Air Vehicles have also been extensively used in recent American wars, with them being used to survey insurgents and even target them with smart bombs.<br><br>

Artificial Intelligence and Robotics

To be able to create a synthetic being that could do the mundane chores of our every day lives, has been a goal for us humans for not just the last 20 years, or the last century, but as far back as the ancient Greeks. In 350 BC, the Greek mathematician Archytas built a steam powered mechanical pigeon, that could fly. In 1495, Leonardo Devinci designed what looked like a mechanical Knight. In 1801, Joseph Jacquard built an automated loom, that was controlled by punch cards. The punch cards being likened to a modern day computer program, that told the loom how to work. These are but a few examples of robotics and automata of old. To find more, a simple web search with “history of robots” will bring up a plethora of information for the budding technologist.

When a person is first presented with the term artificial intelligence, they, as long as they have at least a minimal idea of the meaning, immediately conjure up the view of subservient humanoid robots, doing our household chores, policing our streets, or taking on our enemies in a combat zone. These, although being worked on, are quite some way from being a reality. Although, there are robot vacuum cleaners, and automated (robotic) missiles and vehicles to name but a few, but none of any consequence in human form.

There are many hurdles to be crossed before humanoid robots will become common place, not least of all, the mostly negative psychological effect realised by many who our uncomfortable with a visually realistic humanoid automaton.

Walking on two legs, which us humans take for granted, had the problem of balance to solve, and has only recently been mastered, as represented by mechanoids such as sony’s Asimo. And running, although done fairly well by Asimo, still needs a good amount of work before being able take on a human athlete on a running track.

Emulating the human senses has provided computer scientists and engineers with many an obstacle. Mastering sound, vision, touch and taste have been met with varying degrees of success. Sound and visual recognition has come along in leaps and bounds in recent years, and has given us fully automated weaponry that is able to track a target, and hit it with pin point accuracy. Voice recognition has given us voice activated devices such as those used in security systems, and the ability to dictate to a computer and have the computer generate the text from a person’s verbalisation. Special sensors can be used to test (taste,touch) surfaces, chemicals, gasses etc. and analyse them.

The ability to reason with an automated device or robot, is one area that is a long way from being a reality, but an area that has had, and will have many devotees. There are two main branches of research when dealing with artificial intelligence and robotics, the first being the creation of a truly thinking and reasoning artificial life form much like the robots and computers found in fiction, such as Robby from the film The Forbidden Planet, or Data from Star Trek The Next Generation, or the boy from the film Artificial Intelligence. These, for now, are somewhat whimsical, but should never be given up on, and with future advances in technology will at some point become a reality. The other branch is the more realistic approach to making use of the byproducts of the artificial intelligence research, that can be put to use in our day to day lives. This side has brought us the computer and the parts that make up a computer (e.g. integrated circuitry – chips). Automated weaponry and security systems. Automated vehicles and craft, such as spy planes, and trains. Communication systems, such a mobile/cell phones and satellites. In fact, just about every electronic device that is made contains some sort of automation, including cars, vacuum cleaners, gym equipment, buildings, street lighting… to name but a few.

All in all, we would not have the gadget filled electronics eutopia as we do now, if it was not for the people such as Charles Babbage, Alan Turing, and Steve Wozniak, to name but a miniscule number,  who pursued their dreams and as a result positively contributed to the world’s knowledge of artificial intelligence, robotics and computing.