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The history of robot begins from 1921, when the first
reference to the word robot appears in a play opening in
London. The play, written by Czechoslovakian Karel Capek,
introduces the word robot from the Czech robota, which means
tedious labor.
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1938
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The first programmable paint-spraying mechanism is designed
by Willard Pollard and Haroid Roselund for the DeVilbiss
Company.
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1951
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The first teleoperated articulated arm was designed by
Raymond Goertz for the Atomic Energy Commission. The design
is based entirely on mechanical coupling between the master
and slave arms (using steel cables and pulleys).
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1954
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The first programmable robot named Universal Automation,
is designed by George Devol. He later shortens the name
to Unimation, which then becomes the name of the first robot
company.
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1962
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General Motors purchases the first industrial robot from
Unimation and installs it on a production line.
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1968
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Stanford Research Institute (SRI) builds Shakey, a mobile
robot with vision capability, controlled by a computer the
size of a room.
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1970
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At Standford University a electrically powered robot
arm is developed which later its kinematic configuration
becomes a standard for research projects. The arm is known
as the Stanford Arm.
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1973
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The first commercially available minicomputer controlled
industrial robot is developed by Richard Hohn for Cincinnati
Milacron.
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1976
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Robots are used on Viking 1 and Viking 2 space probes.
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1977
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ASEA, a European robot company, offers two sizes of electric
powered industrial robots. Both robots use a microcomputer
controller.
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1978
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The Puma (Programmable Universal Machine for Assembly)
robot is developed by Unimation.
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1979
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Hiroshi Makino of Yamanashi University designs the Selective
Compliant Articulated Robot Arm (SCARA) for assembly jobs
in factories. They are very common in pick-and-place, assembly,
and packaging aplications.
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