By
Chun-Lung Lim
Jay Hatcher
Clay Harris
Definition of a Robot
• Definition of a Robot According to The Robot
Institute of America (1979) :
"A reprogrammable, multifunctional manipulator
designed to move materials, parts, tools, or
specialized devices through various programmed
motions for the performance of a variety of tasks."
• According to the Webster dictionary:
"An automatic device that performs functions
normally ascribed to humans or a machine in the
form of a human (Webster, 1993)."
A Brief History of Robotics
• Robotics' history is tied
to so many other
technological advances
that today seem so
trivial, we don't even
think of them as robots.
• How did a remotecontrolled boat lead to
autonomous metal
puppies?
Nikola Tesla
• Croatian-American
scientist Nikola Tesla.
• Invented many things,
including the alternating
current system.
• Remote-controlled,
submersible boat was
acting on radio signals.
Slaves of steel
• The first person to use the
word robot was a
playwright,
Czechoslovakian writer
Karel Capek first used the
word robot in his satirical
play, R.U.R. (Rossum's
Universal Robots).
Cover page of the first edition
Wartime inventions
• World War II was a big
catalyst in the development
of two important robot
components: artificial sensing
and autonomous control.
• The U.S. military created
auto-control systems for mine
detectors that would sit in
front of a tank as it crossed
enemy lines
• The Germans developed
guided robotic bombs that
were capable of correcting
their trajectory.
German robot bomb found in France
Calculators and computers
ENIAC computer
• John Atanassoff built the
world's first digital computer.
• In 1946 the University of
Pennsylvania completed the
ENIAC (Electronic
Numerical Integrator And
Calculator), a massive
machine made up of
thousands of vacuum tubes.
But these devices could only
handle numbers.
• The UNIVAC I (Universal
Automatic Computer) would
be the first device to deal
with letters.
A robot in every pot
• The invention of the
transistor in 1948 increased
the rate of electronic growth
and the possibilities seemed
endless.
• The creation of silicon
microchips reinforced that
growth.
• The seven-foot robot could
smoke and play the piano.
Elecktro the smoking robot
Industrial-strength arms
PUMA industrial robot
• 1961 General Motors
installed the applied
telecherics system on their
assembly line. The onearmed robot unloaded die
casts, cooled components
and delivered them to a trim
press.
• In 1978 the PUMA
(Programmable Universal
Machine for Assembly) was
introduced and quickly
became the standard for
commercial telecherics.
Early personal robots
Hero 1
RB5X
Arms in space
From breadboard to on-board: small
components were assembled and tested
innumerable times before the final
product was mated to the shuttle in 1981
(NASA)
The Canadarm -- Canada's Hand in the
Sky (NASA)
Surgical tools
• In 1985 Dr. Yik San Kwoh
invented the robot-software
interface used in the first
robot-aided surgery, a stereo
tactic procedure.
• The surgery involves a
small probe that travels into
the skull.
• A CT scanner is used to give
a 3D picture of the brain, so
that the robot can plot the
best path to the tumor.
Dr. Yik San Kwoh with surgical robot
The Honda Humanoid
Hazardous duties
• Dante II aids in the
dangerous recovery of
volcanic gases and
samples.
• These robotic arms with
wheels saved countless
lives defusing bombs
and investigating
nuclear accident sites.
Telecheric robot inspects
suspicious package
Solar-powered insects
• Mark Tilden's BEAM robots
look and act like big bugs.
• Tilden builds simple robots
out of discrete components
and shies away from the
integrated circuits most
other robots use for
intelligence.
• Started in the early 1990s,
the idea was to create
inexpensive, solar-powered
robots ideal for dangerous
missions such as landmine
detection.
A range of rovers
Mars rover
• Sojourner, semi-autonomous
robot platforms to be
launched into Mars in 1996.
• The problem was, it could
only travel short distances.
• In 2004, twin robot rovers
caught the public's
imagination again, sending
back amazing images in
journeys of kilometers, not
meters.
Entertaining pets
• In the late '90s there was a
return to consumer-oriented
robots.
• One of the real robotic
wonders of the late '90s was
AIBO the robotic dog, made
by Sony Corp.
• By using sensor array, AIBO
can autonomously navigate
a room and play ball.
AIBO takes a spill
Siggraph 2005 – Los Angeles
• Quasi can make responses
based on guest input and can
recognize speech patterns,
track faces, detect
proximity, dispense candy
and even perform a karaoke
duet.
• Softwares includes Alias
Maya, BAT and so on.
Quasi - Carnegie Mellon
University
Android
My beloved….
Repliee Q2
Hawk Digital System
Robot Project: Prototype Robot
Exhibition 2005
Network robotics, RT middleware
(9 projects)
• Robot with advanced auditory capabilities for human
interaction
• Companion robot that follows individuals by multimodal
interaction
• Multitask robot system that utilizes intelligent information
infrastructure
• Hyperrobot that serves people by integrating single-task
domestic robots
• Errand robot
• Seven-degree-of-freedom double-arm unit and double-arm
mobile robot
• Superdistribution and combination robot system utilizing
wireless links
• Content-oriented robot that uses robot content
• Environmental robot
Experiential robots (7 projects)
• Robot that decorates ceramic tableware and
drinkware
• Portrait-drawing robot
• Partner robot with artificial tongue
• Future science encyclopedia and multifingered haptic
interface robot
• Mutual telexistence robot that utilizes retroreflective
projection
• Robot for encountering the microscopic world
• Cyberassist meister robot
Outdoor skilled-work robots
(7 projects)
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Boarding robot for roaming natural landscapes
Ubiquitous robot
Caddy robot
Search and contaminant recovery robot for
response to nuclear, biological, and chemical
terrorism
• Manually controlled heavy-duty robot to assist
rescue operations
• Robot that searches through rubble
Special-environment robots
(9 projects)
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Robot that evaluates duct interiors by impact-elastic waves
Pacemaker robot for marathons
Golden Shachihoko robot
Autonomous snow-plowing robot to support life in snowy
regions
Super-high-speed batting robot that can hit fastballs of up to
160 kph
Amphibious snake-type robot
Acrobatic airship robot
Data gathering double-kite-type robot, humanoid robot for a
comfortable lifestyle
High-performance flying robot
Medical and welfare robots
(10 projects)
• Emergency rescue robot
• Superdetail human body robot for medical skills training
• Three-dimensional visual perception and display apparatus for
office, home, and medical robots, and microhand for medical
and surgical use
• Remote microsurgery robot
• Six-degrees-of-freedom robot for rehabilitation of upper limbs
including wrists
• Handicap-assistive barrier-free robot interface system with
high learning ability
• Semiautonomous robot system for self-care by disabled people
• Wearable robot for musclular support: Muscle suit for upper
limbs
• Power augmentation robot
• Robot suit to assist human movement
Partner robots (8 projects)
• Canine robot as a mobile platform that exhibits high
physical capabilities outdoors in urgent situations
• Android that interacts with people and nature
• Cooperative framework for heterogeneous robots
• Physical communication robot to cheer up children
• Robot for scenario research that is capable of
authoring
• Next-generation communication robot
• Communicating heterogeneous robots
• Dance partner robot
Performance robots (6 projects)
• Six-legged walking robot that uses
reinforcement learning (autonomous
development of motion control)
• Self-configurable modular robot
• Artistic robot
• Limb mechanism robot
• Three-leg wheeled type robot
• Crawling and jumping soft robot
Humanoid robots (7 projects)
• Humanoid probe robot
• Interaction middleware for humanoid robots
• Software that generates impact motions for the HRP2 robot
• Animatronic humanoid robot
• Musculoskeletal humanoid robot with a large-degreeof-freedom flexible spine
• Humanoid robot for research on dynamic motion
• Bipedal humanoid robot as a simulator of human
motion
References:
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http://www.robotics.utexas.edu/rrg/learn_more/history/
http://www.msnbc.com/modules/robot_history/
http://www.thelightningguy.com/tesla.htm
http://capek.misto.cz/obrazky/divadlo/theater.html
http://www.mlc-engineering.com/rb5x01.htm
http://www.honda.co.jp/robot/movie/
http://www.cooltoolawards.com/hardware/Humanoid.htm
http://www.tomshardware.com/site/videos/index.html
http://www.ed.ams.eng.osakau.ac.jp/development/Humanoid/ReplieeQ2/ReplieeQ2_eng.htm
• http://www.motionanalysis.com/applications/movement/sports/hawks
ystem.html
• http://www.expo2005.or.jp/en/robot/robot_project_02.html
• Paper : Generating Natural Motion in an Android by Mapping Human
Motion