HISTORY O

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ROBOTICS

B R I EF T

I ME L I N

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UNIMATE1954

Industrial robotics pioneer George Devol creates Unimate, the world’s first programmable robot. In 1961 it is put to work on a General Motors automotive assembly line.

SHAKEY THE ROBOT1966

Stanford Research Center develops Shakey, the first mobile robot. It could see and model it’s environment. It was controlled by a computer that filled an entire room.

1979A four-wheeled rover that had a TV camera to see. It was the first robot to film it’s surroundings and analyze a safe path. Then it programmed it’s own course.

THE STANFORD CART

DANTE I1993

Eight-legged robot named Dante was used to explore the inside of an Antarctic volcano.

PATHFINDER1997

Mars exploration began with the Pathfinder. It moved very slow and took many pictures as it moved through the surface of Mars.

STANLEY2005

Stanley is a car developed by a team at Stanford University. It was able to drive 175 miles in less than 10 hours through a course in the desert without a driver. It was started by it’s team and made it through the course completely on it’s own.

ROBONAUT2011

A humanoid robot designed to go into space and assist astronauts in tasks more specific than the previous robot arms that were used for larger items. The Robonaut could press keys and use small tools. It went to the ISS in 2011 and has been there since.

2012Boston Dynamics began development of this robot in 2009. In 2012, it was tested in the field and a contract was initiated to bring the AlphaDog to the military. It can run at speeds of up to 7 mph and can carry 1000 lbs of gear for a nine-man squad.

LEGGED SQUAD SUPPORT SYSTEM (LS3)