Editing Robot (section)

== History ==
{{Main|History of robots}}
=== Early beginnings ===
Many ancient mythologies, and most modern religions include artificial people, such as the mechanical servants built by the Greek god [[Hephaestus]]<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=h5tKJvApybsC&q=hephaestus+handmaidens&pg=PA114|title=Ancient Greek Ideas on Speech, Language, and Civilization|author=Deborah Levine Gera|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2003|isbn=978-0-19-925616-7|access-date=25 September 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161205062218/https://books.google.com/books?id=h5tKJvApybsC&pg=PA114&lpg=PA114&dq=hephaestus+handmaidens|archive-date=5 December 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> ([[Vulcan (mythology)|Vulcan]] to the Romans), the clay [[golem]]s of Jewish legend and clay giants of Norse legend, and [[Galatea (mythology)|Galatea]], the mythical statue of [[Pygmalion (mythology)|Pygmalion]] that came to life. Since circa 400 BC, myths of [[Crete]] include [[Talos]], a man of bronze who guarded the island from pirates.
[[File:Automatic servant of Philo of Byzantium, Kotsanas Museum of Ancient Greek Archaeology.jpg|left|thumb|A hypothetical reconstuction of [[Philo of Byzantium|Philo's]] automatic robot servant (3rd c. B.C.) in [[Museum of Ancient Greek Technology|Kotsanas Museum of Ancient Greek Technology]], [[Athens]], Greece.]]
In the 4th century BC, the [[Greek mathematics|Greek]] mathematician [[Archytas]] of Tarentum postulated a mechanical steam-operated bird he called "The Pigeon".<ref>''Noct. Att. L.'' 10</ref>  The Greek engineer [[Ctesibius]] (c. 270 BC) "applied a knowledge of pneumatics and hydraulics to produce the first organ and water clocks with moving figures."<ref name="robot-evolution">{{cite book|first=Mark E.|last=Rosheim|date=1994|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IxtL54iiDPUC&pg=2|title=Robot evolution: the development of anthrobotics|publisher=Wiley-IEEE|isbn=0-471-02622-0}}</ref>{{rp|page=2}}<ref>"{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/cbbcnews/hi/find_out/guides/tech/robots/newsid_3914000/3914569.stm|title=Robots then and now|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101220114656/http://news.bbc.co.uk/cbbcnews/hi/find_out/guides/tech/robots/newsid_3914000/3914569.stm|archive-date=2010-12-20|url-status=live|website=BBC|date=22 July 2004 }}</ref> [[Philo of Byzantium]] described a washstand automaton. [[Hero of Alexandria]] {{nowrap|(10–70 AD)}}, a Greek mathematician and inventor, created numerous user-configurable automated devices, and described machines powered by air pressure, steam and water, including a "speaking" automaton.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://mathshistory.st-andrews.ac.uk/Biographies/Heron/ | author=O'Connor, J.J. and E.F. Robertson | title=Heron biography | access-date=26 September 2023 | work=The MacTutor History of Mathematics archive}}</ref>

In ancient China, the 3rd-century text of the ''Lie Zi'' describes an account of humanoid automata, involving a much earlier encounter between Chinese emperor [[King Mu of Zhou]] and a mechanical engineer known as Yan Shi, an 'artificer'.<ref name="needham volume 2 53" /> Yan Shi proudly presented the king with a life-size, human-shaped figure of his mechanical 'handiwork' made of leather, wood, and artificial organs.<ref name="needham volume 2 53">{{cite book|last=Needham|first=Joseph|author-link=Joseph Needham|year=1991|title=Science and Civilisation in China: Volume 2, History of Scientific Thought|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-05800-1}}</ref> There are also accounts of flying automata in the ''Han Fei Zi'' and other texts, which attributes the 5th century BC [[Mohism|Mohist]] philosopher [[Mozi]] and his contemporary [[Lu Ban]] with the invention of artificial wooden birds (''ma yuan'') that could successfully fly.<ref name="needham volume 2 54">Needham, Volume 2, 54.</ref> 

[[File:Bulletin - United States National Museum (1959) (20481431946).jpg|thumb|upright|[[Su Song]]'s astronomical clock tower showing the mechanical figurines which chimed the hours]]

In 1066, the Chinese inventor [[Su Song]] built a [[water clock]] in the form of a tower which featured mechanical figurines which chimed the hours.<ref name=Fowler>{{cite journal|title=The Museum of Music: A History of Mechanical Instruments|first=Charles B.|last=Fowler|journal=Music Educators Journal|volume=54|issue=2|date=October 1967|pages=45–49|doi=10.2307/3391092|jstor=3391092|s2cid=190524140 | issn=0027-4321 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nist.gov/pml/time-and-frequency-division/popular-links/walk-through-time/walk-through-time-early-clocks |title=Early Clocks |work=A Walk Through Time |date=12 August 2009 |access-date=13 October 2022 |publisher=NIST Physics Laboratory}}</ref><ref name=NSAJAutomata>{{cite journal|date=6 July 2007 |title=The programmable robot of ancient Greece |journal=New Scientist|pages=32–35|url=https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg19526111-600-the-programmable-robot-of-ancient-greece/}}</ref> His mechanism had a programmable drum machine with pegs ([[Cam (mechanism)|cam]]s) that bumped into little [[lever]]s that operated percussion instruments. The drummer could be made to play different rhythms and different drum patterns by moving the pegs to different locations.<ref name=NSAJAutomata />

''[[Samarangana Sutradhara]]'', a [[Sanskrit]] treatise by [[Bhoja]] (11th century), includes a chapter about the construction of mechanical contrivances ([[automata]]), including mechanical bees and birds, fountains shaped like humans and animals, and male and female dolls that refilled oil lamps, danced, played instruments, and re-enacted scenes from Hindu mythology.<ref>{{cite book|last=Varadpande|first=Manohar Laxman|year=1987|title=History of Indian Theatre, Volume 1|page=68|publisher=Abhinav Publications |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SyxOHOCVcVkC&pg=PA68|isbn=978-81-7017-221-5}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last= Wujastyk|first=Dominik|year=2003|title=The Roots of Ayurveda: Selections from Sanskrit Medical Writings|page=222|publisher=Penguin |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TaZCwjtmzZYC&q=automata&pg=PA222|isbn=978-0-14-044824-5}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Needham|first=Joseph|year=1965|title=Science and Civilisation in China: Volume 4, Physics and Physical Technology Part 2, Mechanical Engineering|page=164|publisher=Cambridge University Press |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SeGyrCfYs2AC&q=bhoja+automata&pg=PA164|isbn=978-0-521-05803-2}}</ref> The 11th century [[Lokapannatti]] tells of how the Buddha's relics were protected by mechanical robots (bhuta vahana yanta), from the kingdom of Roma visaya (Rome); until they were disarmed by King [[Ashoka]].<ref>{{Cite book |title=Relics of the Buddha|first=J.S. |last=Strong|author-link=John S. Strong |year=2007 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_KLAxmR8PZAC |publisher=[[Princeton University Press]]|isbn=978-0-691-11764-5 |pages=133–134, 143}}</ref>

[[File:Al-Jazari - A Musical Toy.jpg|thumb|Al-Jazari – a musical toy]]

13th century [[List of Muslim scientists|Muslim scientist]] [[Ismail al-Jazari]] created several automated devices. He built automated moving peacocks driven by hydropower.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/al-Jazari|title=Al-Jazarī {{!}} Arab inventor|website=Encyclopædia Britannica|access-date=15 June 2019}}</ref> He also invented the earliest known automatic gates, which were driven by hydropower,<ref name=Turner>{{cite book|author=Howard R. Turner |date=1997|title=Science in Medieval Islam: An Illustrated Introduction|page=81|publisher=[[University of Texas Press]]|isbn=0-292-78149-0}}</ref> created automatic doors as part of one of his elaborate [[water clock]]s.<ref name=Hill2>{{cite magazine|first=Donald|last=Hill|author-link=Donald Hill|title=Mechanical Engineering in the Medieval Near East|magazine=[[Scientific American]]|date=May 1991|pages=64–69}} ([[cf.]] {{cite web|first=Donald|last=Hill|author-link=Donald Hill|url=http://home.swipnet.se/islam/articles/HistoryofSciences.htm#IX.%20Mechanical%20Engineering|title=History of Sciences in the Islamic World|at=IX. Mechanical Engineering|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071225091836/http://home.swipnet.se/islam/articles/HistoryofSciences.htm#IX.%20Mechanical%20Engineering|archive-date=25 December 2007|url-status=dead}})</ref> One of al-Jazari's [[Humanoid robot|humanoid automata]] was a waitress that could serve water, tea or drinks. The drink was stored in a tank with a reservoir from where the drink drips into a bucket and, after seven minutes, into a cup, after which the waitress appears out of an automatic door serving the drink.<ref>{{cite AV media|title=Ancient Discoveries Islamic Science Part1|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v2HcjanNWFM |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/v2HcjanNWFM| archive-date=2021-12-11 |url-status=live|access-date=15 June 2019}}{{cbignore}}</ref> Al-Jazari invented a hand washing [[automaton]] incorporating a flush mechanism now used in modern [[flush toilet]]s. It features a female [[Humanoid robot|humanoid automaton]] standing by a basin filled with water. When the user pulls the lever, the water drains and the female automaton refills the basin.<ref name="robot-evolution" />

Mark E. Rosheim summarizes the advances in [[robotics]] made by Muslim engineers, especially al-Jazari, as follows:<blockquote>Unlike the Greek designs, these Arab examples reveal an interest, not only in dramatic illusion, but in manipulating the environment for human comfort. Thus, the greatest contribution the Arabs made, besides preserving, disseminating and building on the work of the Greeks, was the concept of practical application. This was the key element that was missing in Greek robotic science.<ref name="robot-evolution" />{{rp|page=9}}</blockquote>
[[File:Leonardo-Robot3.jpg|thumb|upright|Model of [[Leonardo's robot]] with inner workings. Possibly constructed by [[Leonardo da Vinci]] around 1495.<ref name=nih>{{cite journal |title=The da Vinci robot | journal = J. Endourol.| volume = 20| issue = 12| pages = 986–90|quote=... the date of the design and possible construction of this robot was 1495 ... Beginning in the 1950s, investigators at the University of California began to ponder the significance of some of da Vinci's markings on what appeared to be technical drawings ... It is now known that da Vinci's robot would have had the outer appearance of a Germanic knight. | pmid=17206888 | doi=10.1089/end.2006.20.986 | date=December 2006| last1 = Moran| first1 = M. E.}}</ref>]] In the 14th century, the coronation of [[Richard II of England]] featured an automata angel.<ref name="Truitt 2015 p. 136">{{cite book | last=Truitt | first=E.R. | title=Medieval Robots: Mechanism, Magic, Nature, and Art | publisher=University of Pennsylvania Press, Incorporated | series=The Middle Ages Series | year=2015 | isbn=978-0-8122-9140-7 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=scd0CAAAQBAJ&pg=PA136 | access-date=2023-01-21 | page=136}}</ref>

In [[Renaissance]] Italy, [[Leonardo da Vinci]] (1452–1519) sketched plans for a humanoid robot around 1495. Da Vinci's notebooks, rediscovered in the 1950s, contained detailed drawings of a mechanical knight now known as [[Leonardo's robot]], able to sit up, wave its arms and move its head and jaw.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.leonardo3.net/leonardo/books%20I%20robot%20di%20Leonardo%20-%20Taddei%20Mario%20-%20english%20Leonardo%20robots%201.html|title=Leonardo da Vinci's Robots|publisher=Leonardo3.net|access-date=25 September 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080924162924/http://www.leonardo3.net/leonardo/books%20I%20robot%20di%20Leonardo%20-%20Taddei%20Mario%20-%20english%20Leonardo%20robots%201.html|archive-date=24 September 2008|url-status=dead}}</ref> The design was probably based on anatomical research recorded in his ''[[Vitruvian Man]]''. It is not known whether he attempted to build it. According to ''[[Encyclopædia Britannica]]'', [[Leonardo da Vinci]] may have been influenced by the classic automata of al-Jazari.<ref name=":0" />

In Japan, complex animal and human automata were built between the 17th to 19th centuries, with many described in the 18th century ''Karakuri zui'' (''Illustrated Machinery'', 1796). One such automaton was the [[karakuri ningyō]], a mechanized [[puppet]].<ref>{{cite book|first=Jane Marie|last=Law|title=Puppets of Nostalgia – The Life, Death and Rebirth of the Japanese Awaji Ningyo Tradition|date=1997|publisher=[[Princeton University Press]]|isbn=978-0-691-02894-1}}</ref> Different variations of the karakuri existed: the ''Butai karakuri'', which were used in theatre, the ''Zashiki karakuri'', which were small and used in homes, and the ''Dashi karakuri'' which were used in religious festivals, where the puppets were used to perform reenactments of traditional [[mythology|myths]] and [[legend]]s.

In France, between 1738 and 1739, [[Jacques de Vaucanson]] exhibited several life-sized automatons: a flute player, a pipe player and a duck. The mechanical duck could flap its wings, crane its neck, and swallow food from the exhibitor's hand, and it gave the illusion of digesting its food by excreting matter stored in a hidden compartment.<ref>{{cite web|last=Wood|first=Gabby|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2002/feb/16/extract.gabywood|title=Living Dolls: A Magical History Of The Quest For Mechanical Life|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161220154456/https://www.theguardian.com/books/2002/feb/16/extract.gabywood|archive-date=20 December 2016|url-status=live|website=[[The Guardian]]|date=16 February 2002}}</ref> About 30 years later in Switzerland the clockmaker [[Pierre Jaquet-Droz]] made several complex mechanical figures that could write and play music. Several of these devices still exist and work.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.messynessychic.com/2018/02/21/the-boy-robot-of-1774/?__s=zht5pogfqikwkrfgcene|title=The Boy Robot of 1774|date=21 February 2018}}</ref>

=== Remote-controlled systems ===
[[File:Brennan torpedo launching.jpg|thumb|left|The [[Brennan torpedo]], one of the earliest 'guided missiles']]
Remotely operated vehicles were demonstrated in the late 19th century in the form of several types of remotely controlled [[torpedo]]es. The early 1870s saw remotely controlled [[torpedo]]es by [[John Ericsson]] ([[Pneumatics|pneumatic]]), [[John Louis Lay]] (electric wire guided), and [[Victor von Scheliha]] (electric wire guided).<ref name="EdwynGray">Edwyn Gray, Nineteenth-century torpedoes and their inventors, page 18</ref>

The [[Brennan torpedo]], invented by [[Louis Brennan]] in 1877, was powered by two contra-rotating propellers that were spun by rapidly pulling out wires from drums wound inside the [[torpedo]]. Differential speed on the wires connected to the shore station allowed the torpedo to be guided to its target, making it "the world's first ''practical'' [[guided missile]]".<ref name=gray>{{cite book | last = Gray | first = Edwyn | title = Nineteenth-Century Torpedoes and Their Inventors | publisher = Naval Institute Press | year = 2004 | isbn = 978-1-59114-341-3}}</ref> In 1897 the British inventor Ernest Wilson was granted a patent for a torpedo remotely controlled by "Hertzian" (radio) waves<ref>{{cite book |first=Marc |last=Seifer |title=Life and Times of Nikola Tesla |date=24 October 2011 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DzMR8x_rbPgC&q=torpedo |page=1893 |publisher=Citadel |isbn=978-0-8065-3556-2 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161205023226/https://books.google.com/books?id=DzMR8x_rbPgC&printsec=frontcover&dq=tesla+torpedo+controlled+wireless+conduction&hl=en&sa=X&ei=-669Uv3NO46-sQSysYGgDQ&ved=0CEIQ6AEwAjgK#v=onepage&q=torpedo&f=false |archive-date=5 December 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author-link=Benjamin Miessner|first=Benjamin Franklin|last=Miessner|title=Radiodynamics: The Wireless Control of Torpedoes and Other Mechanisms|publisher=D. Van Nostrand Company|date=1916|page=83}}</ref> and in 1898 [[Nikola Tesla]] publicly demonstrated a wireless-controlled [[torpedo]] that he hoped to sell to the [[US Navy]].<ref>{{cite patent|country=US|number=613809|pubdate=1898-11-08|title=Method of and apparatus for controlling mechanism of moving vessels or vehicles|inventor1-last=Tesla|inventor1-first=Nikola}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |publisher=PBS |url=https://www.pbs.org/tesla |title=Tesla – Master of Lightning |access-date=24 September 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080928061709/http://www.pbs.org/tesla |archive-date=28 September 2008 |url-status=live }}</ref>

In 1903, the Spanish engineer [[Leonardo Torres Quevedo]] demonstrated a radio control system called ''[[Leonardo Torres Quevedo#Radio control: the Telekino|Telekino]]'' at the [[French Academy of Sciences|Paris Academy of Sciences]],<ref>Sarkar 2006, page 97</ref> which he wanted to use to control an [[Astra-Torres airship|airship]] of his own design. He obtained several patents for the system in other countries.<ref>Torres, Leonardo, "[https://worldwide.espacenet.com/patent/search/family/001377220/publication/FR327218A?q=pn%3DFR327218A FR327218A Système dit telekine pour commander à distance un mouvement mécanique.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230822182546/https://worldwide.espacenet.com/patent/search/family/001377220/publication/FR327218A?q=pn%3DFR327218A |date=22 August 2023 }}", ''Espacenet'', 10 December 1902.</ref><ref>Torres, Leonardo, "[https://worldwide.espacenet.com//publicationDetails/originalDocument?CC=GB&NR=190327073a&FT=D GB190327073 (A) ― Means or Method for Directing Mechanical Movements at or from a Distance.]{{Dead link|date=December 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}", ''Espacenet'', 10 December 1903.</ref> Unlike previous 'on/off' techniques, Torres established a method for controlling any mechanical or electrical device with different states of operation.<ref name="Yuste2008">{{cite journal |author=A. P. Yuste |title=Early Developments of Wireless Remote Control: The Telekino of Torres-Quevedo |volume=96 |issue=1 |date=January 2008 |journal=[[Proceedings of the IEEE]]|pages=186–190 |doi=10.1109/JPROC.2007.909931 |s2cid=111010868 |url=http://oa.upm.es/1968/ }}</ref> The ''Telekino'' remotely controlled a [[tricycle]] in 1904, considered the first case of an [[unmanned ground vehicle]], and an electric [[boat]] with a crew in 1906, which was controlled at a distance over 2&nbsp;km.<ref>{{cite book |author=H. R. Everett |title=Unmanned Systems of World Wars I and II |publisher=[[MIT Press]] |date=2015 |pages=91–95 |isbn=978-0-262-02922-3}}</ref>

[[Archibald Low]], known as the "father of radio guidance systems" for his pioneering work on guided rockets and planes during the [[First World War]]. In 1917, he demonstrated a remote controlled aircraft to the [[Royal Flying Corps]] and in the same year built the first wire-guided rocket.

=== Early robots ===
[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 102-13018, Maschinenmensch "Robot".jpg|thumb|upright|W. H. Richards with "George", 1932]]

In 1928, one of the first humanoid robots, [[Eric (robot)|Eric]], was exhibited at the annual exhibition of the Model Engineers Society in London, where it delivered a speech. Invented by W. H. Richards, the robot's frame consisted of an aluminium [[body armour|body of armour]] with eleven [[electromagnet]]s and one motor powered by a twelve-volt power source. The robot could move its hands and head and could be controlled through remote control or voice control.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.reffell.org.uk/the-reffell-family-history-website/people/ah-reffell-eric-robot-1928-the-uks-first-robot/|title=AH Reffell & Eric the Robot (1928) - the UK's Firs Robot|access-date=26 September 2023}}</ref> Both Eric and his "brother" George toured the world.<ref>{{cite news|title=1932 - George Robot - Capt. W.H. Richards (British)|website=cyberneticzoo.com|url=https://cyberneticzoo.com/robots/1932-–-george-robot-–-capt-w-h-richards-british/|access-date=26 September 2023}}</ref>

[[Westinghouse Electric Corporation]] built Televox in 1926; it was a cardboard cutout connected to various devices which users could turn on and off. In 1939, the humanoid robot known as [[Elektro]] was debuted at the [[1939 New York World's Fair]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.freetimes.com/stories/13/35/robot-dreams-the-strange-tale-of-a-mans-quest-to-rebuild-his-mechanical-childhood-friend |work=The Cleveland Free Times |title=Robot Dreams: The Strange Tale Of A Man's Quest To Rebuild His Mechanical Childhood Friend |access-date=25 September 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100115065601/http://www.freetimes.com/stories/13/35/robot-dreams-the-strange-tale-of-a-mans-quest-to-rebuild-his-mechanical-childhood-friend|archive-date=15 January 2010|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Robots of Westinghouse: 1924-Today |first=Scott |last=Schaut |publisher=Mansfield Memorial Museum |year=2006 |isbn=978-0-9785844-1-2}}</ref> Seven feet tall (2.1 m) and weighing 265 pounds (120.2&nbsp;kg), it could walk by voice command, speak about 700 words (using a 78-rpm [[record player]]), smoke cigarettes, blow up balloons, and move its head and arms. The body consisted of a steel gear, cam and motor skeleton covered by an aluminum skin. In 1928, Japan's first robot, [[Gakutensoku]], was designed and constructed by biologist Makoto Nishimura.

The German [[V-1 flying bomb]] was equipped with systems for automatic guidance and range control, flying on a predetermined course (which could include a 90-degree turn) and entering a terminal dive after a predetermined distance. It was reported as being a 'robot' in contemporary descriptions.<ref>{{cite book|title=Secrets of the Flying Bomb Revealed: Special Sectional Drawing and How the Robot's Flight and Dive are Controlled Automatically|publisher=Illustrated London News|year=1944|url=https://www.germanpostalhistory.com/php/viewitem.php?itemid=51776}}</ref>

=== Modern autonomous robots ===
The first electronic autonomous robots with complex behaviour were created by [[William Grey Walter]] of the [[Burden Neurological Institute]] at [[Bristol]], England in 1948 and 1949. He wanted to prove that rich connections between a small number of [[neurons|brain cells]] could give rise to very complex [[behavior]]s – essentially that the secret of how the brain worked lay in how it was wired up. His first robots, named ''Elmer'' and ''Elsie'', were constructed between 1948 and 1949 and were often described as ''tortoises'' due to their shape and slow rate of movement. The three-wheeled tortoise robots were capable of [[phototaxis]], by which they could find their way to a recharging station when they ran low on battery power.

Walter stressed the importance of using purely [[wiktionary:analogue|analogue]] electronics to [[simulate]] brain processes at a time when his contemporaries such as [[Alan Turing]] and [[John von Neumann]] were all turning towards a view of mental processes in terms of [[digital data|digital]] [[computation]]. His work inspired subsequent generations of robotics researchers such as [[Rodney Brooks]], [[Hans Moravec]] and [[Mark Tilden]]. Modern incarnations of Walter's ''turtles'' may be found in the form of [[BEAM robotics]].<ref name="gwonline">{{cite web|url=http://www.ias.uwe.ac.uk/Robots/gwonline/gwonline.html |title=The Grey Walter Online Archive |access-date=25 September 2008 |first=Owen |last=Holland |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081009055230/http://www.ias.uwe.ac.uk/Robots/gwonline/gwonline.html |archive-date=9 October 2008 }}</ref>

The first digitally operated and programmable robot was invented by [[George Devol]] in 1954 and was ultimately called the [[Unimate]]. This ultimately laid the foundations of the modern robotics industry.<ref>{{cite journal|access-date=25 September 2008|last=Waurzyniak|first=Patrick|title=Masters of Manufacturing: Joseph F. Engelberger|journal=Society of Manufacturing Engineers|volume=137|issue=1|date=July 2006|url=http://www.sme.org/cgi-bin/find-articles.pl?&ME06ART39&ME&20060709|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111109053615/http://www.sme.org/cgi-bin/find-articles.pl?&ME06ART39&ME&20060709|archive-date=9 November 2011}}</ref> Devol sold the first Unimate to [[General Motors]] in 1960, and it was installed in 1961 in a plant in [[Trenton, New Jersey]] to lift hot pieces of metal from a [[die casting]] machine and stack them.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.robothalloffame.org/inductees/03inductees/unimate.html|title=Robot Hall of Fame – Unimate|publisher=Carnegie Mellon University|access-date=26 September 2023}}</ref>

The first [[Palletizer|palletizing robot]] was introduced in 1963 by the Fuji Yusoki Kogyo Company.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.fujiyusoki.com/English/rekishi.htm|title=Company History|publisher=Fuji Yusoki Kogyo Co.|access-date=12 September 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130204034959/http://www.fujiyusoki.com/English/rekishi.htm|archive-date=4 February 2013}}</ref> In 1973, a robot with six electromechanically driven axes was patented<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.kuka-robotics.com/germany/en/company/group/milestones/1973.htm |title=KUKA Industrial Robot FAMULUS |access-date=10 January 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130610012645/http://www.kuka-robotics.com/germany/en/company/group/milestones/1973.htm |archive-date=10 June 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ifr.org/uploads/media/History_of_Industrial_Robots_online_brochure_by_IFR_2012.pdf |title=History of Industrial Robots |access-date=27 October 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121224213437/http://www.ifr.org/uploads/media/History_of_Industrial_Robots_online_brochure_by_IFR_2012.pdf |archive-date=24 December 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=History of Industrial Robots|url=https://www.robots.com/education/industrial-history|website=robots.com|access-date=24 August 2015|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150708105337/https://www.robots.com/education/industrial-history|archive-date=8 July 2015}}</ref> by [[KUKA]] robotics in Germany, and the [[Programmable Universal Machine for Assembly|programmable universal manipulation arm]] was invented by [[Victor Scheinman]] in 1976, and the design was sold to [[Unimation]].

Commercial and industrial robots are now in widespread use performing jobs more cheaply or with greater accuracy and reliability than humans. They are also employed for jobs which are too dirty, dangerous or dull to be suitable for humans. Robots are widely used in manufacturing, assembly and packing, transport, earth and space exploration, surgery, weaponry, laboratory research, and mass production of consumer and industrial goods.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.emrotechnologies.com/ |title=About us |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140109062457/http://emrotechnologies.com/ |archive-date=9 January 2014 |url-status=usurped}}</ref>
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