The very first robot in the world. A Brief History of Robotics

Robotics- an applied science that deals with the development of automated technical systems.

The word "robotics" (in its English version"robotics") was first used in print by Isaac Asimov in the science fiction story "Liar", published in 1941.

Robot (Czech robot, from robota — forced labor or rob — slave) — an automatic device created on the principle of a living organism.

Acting according to a pre-programmed program and receiving information about the outside world from sensors (analogues of the sensory organs of living organisms), the robot independently carries out production and other operations usually performed by humans (or animals). In this case, the robot can both communicate with the operator (receive commands from him) and act autonomously.

“Modern robots, created on the basis of the latest achievements of science and technology, are used in all spheres of human activity. People have received a faithful assistant, capable of not only performing life-threatening work, but also freeing humanity from monotonous routine operations.” I. M. Makarov, Yu. I. Topcheev. “Robotics: History and Prospects”

The appearance and design of modern robots can be very diverse. Currently, various robots are widely used in industrial production, the appearance of which (for technical and economic reasons) is far from “human”.

Story

Information about the first practical use of the prototypes of modern robots — mechanical people with automatic control — belongs to the Hellenistic era.

Then, four gilded female figures were installed on the lighthouse built on the island of Pharos. During the day they glowed in the rays of the sun, and at night they were brightly illuminated, so that they were always clearly visible from afar. These statues, turning at certain intervals, beat off the bottles; at night, they made trumpet sounds, warning sailors about the proximity of the shore.

The prototypes of robots were also mechanical figures created by the Arab scientist and inventor Al-Jazari (1136-1206). So, he created a boat with four mechanical musicians who played tambourines, a harp and a flute.

Drawings by Leonardo da Vinci

Drawing humanoid robot was made by Leonardo da Vinci around 1495. Leonardo's notes, found in the 1950s, contained detailed drawings of a mechanical knight capable of sitting, extending his arms, moving his head and opening his visor. The design was most likely based on anatomical studies recorded in Vitruvian Man. It is unknown whether Leonardo tried to build a robot.

From the beginning of the 18th century, reports began to appear in the press about machines with “signs of intelligence,” but in most cases it turned out that this was a fraud. Living people or trained animals were hidden inside the mechanisms.

French mechanic and inventor Jacques de Vaucanson created the first working humanoid device (android) in 1738 that played the flute. He also made mechanical ducks that were said to be able to peck food and "defecate."

Types of robots

Industrial robots
The advent of numerically controlled machine tools has led to the creation of programmable manipulators for a variety of machine loading and unloading operations.

Appearance in the 70s. microprocessor control systems and the replacement of specialized control devices with programmable controllers made it possible to reduce the cost of robots by three times, making their mass implementation in industry profitable. This was facilitated by the objective prerequisites for the development of industrial production.

Despite their high cost, the number of industrial robots in countries with developed manufacturing is growing rapidly. The main reason for mass robotization is:

“Robots perform complex production operations 24 hours a day. The products produced are of high quality. They... don’t get sick, don’t need a lunch break or rest, don’t go on strike, don’t demand higher wages or pensions. Robots are not affected by ambient temperature or the effects of gases or emissions of aggressive substances that are dangerous to human life.”

Medical robots
IN last years robots are increasingly used in medicine; in particular, various models of surgical robots are being developed.

As early as 1985, the Unimation Puma 200 robot was used to position a surgical needle during computer-controlled brain biopsies.

In 1992, the ProBot robot developed at Imperial College London performed the first prostate surgery, marking the beginning of practical robotic surgery.

Da Vinci robot

Since 2000, Intuitive Surgical has commercially produced the Da Vinci robot, designed for laparoscopic surgeries and installed in several hundred clinics around the world.

Household robots

One of the first examples of successful mass industrial implementation of household robots was the AIBO mechanical dog from Sony Corporation.

iRobot robot vacuum cleaner

In September 2005, the first humanoid robots, Wakamaru, produced by Mitsubishi, went on sale for the first time. The robot, worth $15 thousand, is capable of recognizing faces, understanding certain phrases, giving information, performing some secretarial functions, and monitoring the premises.

Robotic cleaners (in essence, automatic vacuum cleaners) are becoming increasingly popular, capable of cleaning an apartment independently and returning to their place to recharge without human intervention.

Combat robots

A combat robot is an automatic device that replaces a person in combat situations or when working in conditions incompatible with human capabilities, for military purposes: reconnaissance, fighting, mine clearance, etc.

Drone

Combat robots are not only automatic devices with anthropomorphic action that partially or completely replace a person, but also operating in the air and water environment that is not a human habitat (remotely controlled unmanned aircraft, underwater vehicles and surface ships).

Currently, most combat robots are telepresence devices, and only a very few models have the ability to perform some tasks autonomously, without operator intervention.

IN Institute of Technology Georgia, under the leadership of Professor Henrik Christensen, have developed insectomorphic robots resembling ants, capable of inspecting a building for the presence of enemies and booby traps (delivered to the building by a “main robot” - a mobile robot on a caterpillar track).

Flying robots have also become widespread among the troops. At the beginning of 2012, about 10 thousand ground and 5 thousand flying robots were used by the military around the world; 45 countries around the world were developing or purchasing military robots.

Robot scientists

The first robot scientists Adam and Eve were created as part of the Robot Scientist project at Aberystwyth University and in 2009 one of them made the first scientific discovery.

Robot scientists certainly include the robots with which they explored the ventilation shafts of the Great Pyramid of Cheops. With their help, the so-called “Gantenbrink doors”, etc. "Cheops niches". Research continues.

Travel system

To move around open areas, a wheeled or tracked propulsion device is most often used (Warrior and PackBot are examples of such robots).

Walking systems are used less frequently (BigDog and Asimo are examples of such robots).

BigDog robots

For uneven surfaces, hybrid structures are created that combine wheeled or tracked travel with complex kinematics of wheel movement. This design was used in the lunar rover.

Indoors, at industrial facilities, robots move along monorails, along floor tracks, etc. To move along inclined or vertical planes, through pipes, systems similar to “walking” structures, but with vacuum suction cups, are used.

Robots are also known that use the principles of movement of living organisms - snakes, worms, fish, birds, insects and other types of robots of bionic origin.

Robot Tuna

Pattern recognition system

Recognition systems are already capable of identifying simple three-dimensional objects, their orientation and composition in space, and can also complete missing parts using information from their database (for example, assembling a Lego constructor).

Engines

Currently, DC motors, stepper motors and servos are commonly used as drives.

There are developments of engines that do not use motors in their design: for example, the technology of reducing material under the influence of electric current (or field), which makes it possible to achieve a more accurate correspondence of the robot’s movement to natural ones smooth movements Living creatures.

Mathematical basis

Aibo robot

In addition to the already widely used neural network technologies, there are self-learning algorithms for the interaction of the robot with surrounding objects in real life. three-dimensional world: the robot dog Aibo, controlled by such algorithms, went through the same stages of learning as a newborn baby, independently learning to coordinate the movements of its limbs and interact with surrounding objects (rattles in a playpen). This provides another example of a mathematical understanding of the algorithms of the work of higher nervous activity in humans.

Navigation

Systems for constructing a model of the surrounding space using ultrasound or scanning with a laser beam are widely used in racing robotic cars (which already successfully and independently pass real city routes and roads on rough terrain, taking into account unexpected obstacles).

Appearance

In Japan, the development of robots that have an appearance that at first glance is indistinguishable from a human does not stop. The technique of simulating emotions and facial expressions of robots is being developed.

In June 2009, scientists at the University of Tokyo introduced the humanoid robot “KOBIAN”, capable of expressing its emotions — happiness, fear, surprise, sadness, anger, disgust — through gestures and facial expressions.

Robot KOBIAN

The robot is able to open and close its eyes, move its lips and eyebrows, and use its arms and legs.

Robot manufacturers

There are companies specializing in the production of robots (among the largest are iRobot Corporation). Robots are also produced by some companies working in the field of high technology: ABB, Honda, Mitsubishi, Sony, World Demanded Electronic, Gostai, KUKA.

Robot exhibitions are held, e.g. the world's largest International robot exhibition (iRex) (held in early November every two years in Tokyo, Japan).

Robot(Czech robot, from robota - forced labor, rob - slave), a machine with anthropomorphic (human-like) behavior that partially or completely performs the functions of a person (sometimes an animal) when interacting with the outside world. The first mentions of humanoid machines are found in ancient Greek myths. Term "robot" was first introduced by K. Capek in the play "R. U. R." (1920), where mechanical people were called Robots. Currently, robotics has become a developed area of ​​industry: thousands of industrial robots work at various enterprises around the world, underwater manipulators have become an indispensable part of underwater research and rescue vehicles, space exploration relies on the widespread use of robots with different levels of intelligence.

With the development of robotics, 3 types of Robots have emerged:

Most modern Robots (of all three varieties) - Robotic manipulators, although there are other types of Robots (for example, informational, walking, etc.). It is possible to combine Robots of the first and second varieties in one machine with a division of their functioning time. It is also permissible for a person to work together with Robots of the third type (in the so-called supervisory mode).

First Robots ( "androids", imitating movements and appearance people) were used primarily for entertainment purposes. Since the 30s. in connection with production automation Robots - automata began to be used in industry along with traditional means of automation of technological processes, in particular in small-scale production and especially in workshops with hazardous working conditions.

Robotization- displacing people from the productive process, replacing them with automated and robotic machines and production lines, which frees up resources for the development of the service sector.

Industrial Robot manipulator has a “mechanical arm” (one or more) and a remote control panel or a built-in program control device, less often a computer. He can, for example, move parts weighing up to several tens of kg within the range of his “mechanical arms” (up to 2 m), performing from 200 to 1000 movements per hour. Industrial Robots - automata have an advantage over humans in the speed and accuracy of performing manual, monotonous operations. Most common Robotsmanipulators with remote control and a “mechanical arm” mounted on a movable or fixed base. The operator controls the movement of the manipulator, while simultaneously observing it directly or on a television screen; in the latter case. The robots are equipped with a “television eye” - a transmitting television camera. The robot is often equipped with a learning automatic control system. If such a Robot is “showed” a sequence of operations, then the control system records everything in the form of a control program and then accurately reproduces it during operation. Robotic manipulators used to work in conditions of relative inaccessibility or in hazardous conditions harmful to humans, for example in the nuclear industry, where they have been used since the 50s. In the 60s underwater appeared Robotic manipulators of various designs and purposes: from deep-sea guided vehicles with “mechanical arms” (in particular, for capturing rock samples from the bottom of the sea, etc.) and platforms crawling along the seabed with research equipment to underwater bulldozers and drilling rigs. Similar manipulators are also used in astronautics, on the American Shuttles.

At the end of the 60s. In robotics, a new scientific direction has emerged related to the creation of intelligent Robots. Such Robots have sensors (sensory system) that perceive information about the environment, a device for processing the received information (artificial intelligence) - a specialized computer with a set of programs - and actuators (motor system). The actions of an intelligent Robot have some signs of human behavior: sensors collect information about objects in the surrounding world, their properties and interactions; Based on this data, artificial intelligence forms a model of the external environment and makes a decision on the sequence of actions of the Robot, which are implemented by actuators. By 1975, intelligent robots were in the stage of scientific development and attempts to use them in industry. Work on artificial intelligence was also carried out at the Research Institute of the Military-Industrial Complex.

Robot is a universal machine that allows you to perform mechanical actions. Its fundamental feature is the rapid operational change from one ongoing operation to another. There are several types of robots and each of them has its own definition. Most often they talk about three generations robots: industrial robots or manipulators, adaptive robots and robots with artificial intelligence, or as they used to say - integral robots.

The first steps of robotics

The end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries is characterized by outstanding discoveries in the field of science and technology. Various electrical devices, current generators, electric motors, batteries appeared and began to be widely used; the telegraph and telephone were invented. Electrical energy began to be used more and more widely. At the beginning of the 20th century, new sciences began to develop intensively - radio engineering, electronics. New scientific discoveries and inventions have allowed the problem of creating robots to be transferred to a new, more advanced foundation. There are real opportunities to equip a robot with vision - photocells, hearing - microphones, speech - loudspeakers.

At the same time, the first fruits of science began to appear, which later became known as cybernetics. Scientists and engineers began to develop devices that, although modestly called cybernetic toys, were not created for entertainment. They served as an example of the practical implementation of automatic control ideas and simulated the behavior of living organisms in the simplest situations. Among these cybernetic toys, devices resembling turtles, beetles, squirrels, dogs, etc. became very famous. The first simple schemes of such devices capable of moving in the direction of light were developed by the founder of cybernetics N. Wiener.

The three most famous "turtles", created by the English biophysicist and neurophysiologist G. Walter in 1950 - 1951. These devices are self-propelled electromechanical toys capable of crawling towards or away from light, avoiding obstacles, entering a “feeding trough” to recharge dead batteries, and the like. “ Turtles” are driven by two electric motors powered by batteries. The first engine ensures the forward movement of the device, the second, located on the steering column, changes the direction of movement. Sensitive elements of the first two “ turtles” G. Walter are a photocell located on the steering column and a mechanical contact that closes when hitting an obstacle. Behavior control is carried out using a simple electronic circuit with feedback. Despite the very simple device, “ turtles” exhibit funny properties. In the dark or in dim light they crawl around randomly, as if they are looking for something. When they encounter an obstacle, they swerve and try to get around it. If there is a sufficiently strong light source, they soon “notice” it and decisively move towards it (positive tropism). However, when they come too close to the light, they turn away from it (negative tropism). Now they move around the light source, finding optimal conditions for themselves and continuously maintaining them (homeostasis). Between two light sources “ turtles” travel from one to another, like Buridan’s donkey, which, as you know, died of hunger, being between two identical haystacks, not being able to choose which one was tastier. Two turtles “see” and “recognize” each other by the lit light bulb and crawl towards each other.

The most modern robots

Shanghai pharmacies are open robot pharmacists.
You just need to click on the touch screen with a description of the symptoms, and the robot will make a diagnosis and give the necessary recommendations. Then all you have to do is offer the machine a bill, and you can take the medicine.

Robot nurses.
They work in some British hospitals. The robots perform dry and wet cleaning, throw out garbage themselves, refill with cleaning products and recharge. Unlike living cleaners, they never mutter under their breath and are distinguished by their friendly attitude towards others. When they meet someone on their way, they apologize and report on what they are doing now.

IN South Korea designed a sentry robopsa for the protection of private estates. The dog weighs 40 kg, has a camera built into its nose, and has a cell phone in its body that immediately sends a signal to its owner if danger is detected. In critical cases, the robot is able to call the police itself.

Robot photographer.
It's called a "freeze frame" and is used to photograph people at parties and other events. The robot itself chooses the optimal angle and points the lens at the faces. Typically, 90 percent of the pictures taken by the robot are successful.

Japanese family robot.
It remembers up to 7 family members and recognizes them by their faces or voices. Vocabulary – 65 thousand phrases and 1000 individual words. He keeps in mind the habits of each family member and tries to find an approach to everyone. He blushes at the joke and turns pale in confusion.

And another Japanese invention - Robodancer.
The robot dancer is capable of alternately performing disco, punk, funk, rock, hip-hop, break, etc. The battery charge lasts for 45 minutes. During this time, the robot offers all kinds of movements for the people dancing around. He has stereo microphones in his ears that pick up the slightest sounds. At the beginning of next year, it is planned to supply such robots to the world's leading discos.

Mechanical sea anemone.
Why this is needed is unclear, but the robot accurately imitates the behavior of a sea anemone. It has a flexible silicone body, and five tentacles are sensitive to light and movements inside and outside the glass of the aquarium. The frightened sea anemone robot crawls into a corner.

Miss courtesy.
This is a robot - personal assistant, which you can take with you to symposiums and conferences. Robot Grace independently found her way to the meeting room, without knocking anyone on her way, and greeted everyone in the hall with a smile and a wave of her hand. The robot is constantly improving and expanding its vocabulary. Grace can already ride an escalator, understands simple phrases and tries to communicate.

Cyborg rats:
American scientists implanted a microchip in the brains of rats. Rats can now be controlled at a distance of 500 meters. It is assumed that cyborgs will be indispensable in searching for people trapped under rubble.

Scientists at the American Carnegie University have designed old man robot. This is a very entertaining and cute android with the features of the old wretch from Russian folk tales. A simple intelligence system allows the robot to communicate reasonably well with others. At the same time, he mumbles like an old man, mutters something under his breath, sneezes and hiccups. When questioned, he replies that he comes from a shepherd’s family, and his main invention is a chocolate bar. The robot evokes the greatest delight from the public when it asks to be forgiven for its senile insanity.

“A robot is a machine. There is no doubt about this, although, probably, some people will perceive them as pets, because such is human nature. Only the standardization of cheap, general-purpose robots will help us understand even more deeply the endless variety of types of human appearance and behavior. Let's hope this will help us be more tolerant of each other." J. Young.

Three laws of robotics for robots

First Law:
Robot cannot cause harm to a person or, through inaction, allow harm to be caused to a person.

Second Law:
Robot must obey a person's commands unless those commands conflict with the First Law.

Third Law:
Robot must take care of his own safety, since this does not contradict the First and Second Laws.

The laws for robots were formulated by Isaac Asimov in his work " Three Laws of Robotics (Isaac Asimov)".

The process of the emergence and formation of social thought, the creation and improvement of robots - universal automatic devices endowed with certain abilities, as well as the development of robotics covers a long historical period from ancient times to modern times and can be divided into 4 stages.

First stage. Deep antiquity. One of early mentions about an artificial man - a bronze giant named Taloe, built by Hephaestus to protect the island of Crete from enemy invasion - dates back to the 3rd century. BC e. There are many legends about the clay colossus Golem, who had monstrous physical strength and was an ancient prototype of a robot. According to Callistratus (III century BC) and Pausanius (II century BC), the mechanic and sculptor Daedalus created several mechanical statues, among them the statue of Aphrodite, which could reproduce various types of movements; argue that they were all quite complex mechanisms.

Reliable information about mechanical people created in the image and likeness of humans dates back to the 1st century. and are associated with the name of the ancient Greek mechanic Heron of Alexandria, who left several works on mechanics, in particular, the famous “Treatise on Pneumatics”, in which he described many automata in the form of moving figures and singing birds. In his work on automata, he wrote that the ancients possessed the art of constructing them, while Heron used the word “automaton” to designate cult and theatrical devices, in which moving figures of people played a central role. For example, he created a device with the help of which the statues installed in the temple of Dionysius “came to life”: as soon as the sacrificial fire blazed, the figures of the god Dionysius and his wife Ariadne began to move. It must be said that the drives of Heron’s machines were often very complex mechanisms using hydraulic and pneumatic devices.

So the first one historical stage The movement of mankind along the path of creating robots is characterized by an abundance of myths and legends about mechanical creatures, as well as the creation of the first quite advanced humanoid automata for their time - androids, intended mainly for religious and entertainment purposes.

Second phase. Middle Ages. In various regions of the world, the process of development and creation of various automatic devices and humanoid mechanisms - androids - continues to develop, individual samples of which have reached a high degree of perfection, served as a standard of the highest skill, a product of the most advanced technologies and scientific and technical achievements of their time.

In the 13th century Western European masters designed automatic devices: R. Bacon - model " talking head", A. Magnus - " iron man". French artisans showed high technical skill when, around 1500, they created for Louis XII a mechanical lion, which, when called, approached the king, stopped and respectfully rose on its hind legs.

Among the most famous creators of mechanical figures of the Middle Ages was the French mechanic Jacques de Vaucanson (1709-1782). His “Fluttering Duck,” which gained the greatest fame and has survived to this day, stretched its neck to take grain from its hand, swallowed and digested it, drank, floundered in the water, quacked, its movements exactly imitating the movements of a living duck. Vaucanson was especially proud of the fact that the duck’s wings were so accurately reproduced that no anatomist could find fault with their design. Among other Vaucanson models, the “Pianist”, who, while playing the piano, raised his head and imitated breathing, and the “Flute Player,” who also sang, accompanying himself and beating time with his foot, became famous. Vaucanson dreamed of building a model of a person with a heart, arteries and veins, but death prevented the achievement of this goal.

Vaucanson's contemporaries, Swiss watchmakers Pierre Jaquet-Droze (1721-1790) and his son Henri Jaquet-Droze (1752-1791), achieved high perfection in the creation of automatic machines - androids, some of which have survived to this day. By the way, the phrase “android” came from the name Henri Droz. An example of the highest technical skill can be the android “Scribe” (1.1), created by Droz the Father, sitting at a table and writing out letters and words in neat handwriting, smoothly shaking his head and lowering his eyelids in time with the movement of his hand. The "scribe" could be programmed to write any text consisting of no more than 40 letters, but preference was most often given famous saying Rene Descartes: “Cogito, ergo sum”, which means “I think, therefore I exist.” Pierre Jaquet-Droz achieved such perfection in creating automata that he was once captured by the Inquisition in Spain on charges of witchcraft. “The Girl Playing the Harpsichord,” created by Pierre and Henri Droz, according to enthusiastic descriptions of contemporaries, plays, moves her lips, her chest rises and falls when “breathing,” she looks at the keys, at the notes, and sometimes glances at the audience, after finishing game stands up and bows to the audience.

Russian craftsmen also made their contribution to the creation of such mechanisms. Thus, the famous self-taught mechanic I.P. Over the course of 3 years, Kulibin (1735-1818) built the “Egg Figure” - a universal clock that gave a theatrical performance with musical accompaniment. The clock mechanism served not only for its intended purpose, but also to automatically activate other mechanisms, with the help of which the clock struck, the movement of figures and the performance of musical melodies.

Along with the direct full-scale creation of various automatic devices that reproduced the functions of living beings, in the Middle Ages the foundations were laid quite intensively and the corresponding scientific directions were developed. Attempts to establish a correspondence between “mechanisms and individual human organs can be found in the notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519). And the famous French mathematician and philosopher René Descartes (1596-165C) claimed that animal bodies are nothing more than complex machines; it was unsafe to say the same about a person at that time.

In the XVI - XVII centuries. At the intersection of physiology and mechanics, a new scientific direction emerges, called iatromechanics (from the gr. t r t o e _ doctor). Its outstanding representative was G. A. Borelli (1608-1679), a doctor and mechanic, professor at the University of Messina, whose work “On the Movement of Animals” was published in Rome in 1680-1681. posthumously. In it, on the basis of mechanical analogies, the work of the muscles of the heart, blood circulation and other organs of animals and humans is examined, and a doctrine is built about the laws of their movement and functioning, based on the principles of mechanics. Borelli's teaching also developed in the 18th century, in particular, Leonhard Euler (1707-1783) and Daniel Bernoulli (1700-1782) in their first works performed within the walls St. Petersburg Academy sciences, considered a number of issues of blood flow in the body and muscle movement, resorting to mechanical analogies. Essentially, iatromechanics laid the foundations of modern scientific directions - biomechanics and bionics, which play an important role in the development of robotics.

At the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries. in the works of L. Carnot, G. Monge, X. Lanza and A. Betancourt, O. Bornyi, J. Hachette, J. Christian, the science of machines arises. In 1841, R. Willis defined the concept of a mechanism, and from that time on, the machine began to be approached as an object requiring scientific research.

The beginning of a new stage in the study of machines and mechanisms was laid by the Russian mathematician, academician of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences P.L. Chebyshev (1821-1894), linking the issues of structure and synthesis of mechanisms into a single doctrine of the construction of mechanisms based on mathematical methods. In his work, “The Theory of Mechanisms Known as Parallelograms,” published in 1853, the problems of the theory of mechanisms were first described in the language of mathematics.

The English mathematician and logician George Boole (1815-1864) developed the foundations of mathematical logic and created the so-called Boolean algebra, which later formed the basis for the implementation of all computational and logical operations performed by modern computers. D. Boole's main work, “A Study of the Laws of Thought,” was published in 1854.

The Industrial Revolution, associated with the transition from manual production to machine production and which began in the second half of the 18th century, activates inventors and redirects their creative efforts to create new machines and devices and improve industrial technologies. It was during this period that the foundations of industrial automation began to be laid, especially in the textile industry. J. Vaucanson built not only android machines, but also automatic looms. Back in the 20s. XVIII century Bouchon and Falcon of Lyon designed looms for the production of patterned silk fabric, which were controlled in part, in modern parlance, by punched cards or punched tapes. These machines were subsequently improved by Vaucanson and the French inventor Jozvf Marie Jacquard (1752-1834), and in 1805 Jacquard created an automatic machine on which, using punched cards, fabrics with a pre-programmed pattern could be produced. In France alone, 10 thousand such machines were put into operation within 7 years.

The creation of programmable Jacquard weaving machines was one of the most important events that determined the further technical progress of industry and served as an impetus for the development of robotics. Not to others. a less important event was the creation of the first computer in the almost modern sense of the word. Based on the programming method used by Jacquard, the idea of ​​a computer was expressed and then developed by the outstanding English mathematician, economist and mechanic Charles Babbage (1792-1871). For over 37 years he worked to realize his idea. In 1823, he built a differentiating machine and began work on a more complex one. The analytical engine developed as a result has its own structural features was already a computer in the modern sense, had almost all the same functional blocks that modern computers are made of, and data entry was carried out using punched cards. Despite the fact that this machine was not built due to the limited capabilities of the technology of that time, its structural features predetermined the direction of development of computer technology for a whole generation, and its creator

C. Babbage went down in history computer technology as "the father of the computing machine."

So, the second historical stage in the development of robotics is characterized, on the one hand, by the flourishing of the highest technical art of craftsmen in the creation of complex automatic devices that reproduce the functions of animals and humans; on the other hand, the beginning of the development and implementation of very effective technological devices and automatic machines in developing industrial production. At the same time, during this period, corresponding scientific directions begin to form, and computer technology makes itself known.

Third stage. The end of the 19th - the first half of the 20th a On the basis of the increased scientific and technical capabilities of our time, the realization of the needs of society and production in various automatic devices is growing. At the same time, more clear progress is being made in bringing them closer to that kind, which is typical for modern robotic devices.

Literature and art take on the role of a kind of catalyst for the process, greatly increasing public interest in the problem of robotics. It was during this period that many highly artistic science fiction works of literature appeared, many comics, cartoons and full-length films were produced in which androids, robots, phantoms and other creations of the human imagination play leading roles.

The very concept of “robot” comes from fiction. He first used it as a derivative of the Czech word “robota” - corvee, forced labor, in his play “R.U.R.” (Rossem's Universal Robots - "Rossum's Universal Robots") famous Czech writer K. Capek (1890-1938). In the play staged on January 21, 1921 in Prague national theater, tells the story of a certain Rossum, the founder of a factory in which robots with extremely high performance were biologically grown.

And although these creatures today would be called "androids" rather than "robots" (which are now generally assumed to be mechanical), the use of the word "robot" has become ubiquitous. “Robots are people... they are mechanically more perfect than us, they have incredibly strong intelligence, but they have no soul,” is how one of the characters in the play defines the concept of “robot.”

Robots do not feel pain; they do not experience human feelings and experiences. They were created by people only to perform hard and dangerous work and in this sense are superior to people in dexterity and physical strength. In society they are assigned the role of laborers and soldiers. Enterprising businessmen, in pursuit of profit, set up mass production of robots, but people themselves stop working, and, as one of the characters in the play puts it, “a complete crazy orgy” ensues. In the end, the robots, from “horror and suffering, gain souls,” see the light and rebel. "The power of man has fallen. Having captured the plant, we became the rulers of everything... It came new era! Robot power!” This is the outcome of the play.

Thus, K. Capek not only created a literary work, but staged and examined it in artistic form a number of fundamental issues of robotics - methods of creating robots, their main characteristics, production sizes and areas of use, socio-psychological aspects of the relationship between robots and people, self-reproduction of robots.

Perhaps the theme of robotics occupies the most significant place in the works of another remarkable science fiction writer, American scientist and popularizer of science Isaac Asimov. In one of his stories, united by the general cycle “I am a robot,” A. Azimov in 1942 tried for the first time to formulate the basic principles of the behavior of robots and their interaction with humans, based on the categories of goodness and humanity. These principles, called three laws of robotics, read:

1. A robot cannot cause harm to a person or, through inaction, contribute to causing harm to him.

2. He must carry out the orders of a person, except those that contradict the first law.

3. A robot must ensure its own safety, except in cases where this conflicts with the first and second laws.

One of the pioneers of industrial robotics, founder and president of the robotics company Unimation, recognized as the “father of modern industrial robotics,” Joseph F. Engelberger believes that A. Asimov’s three laws of robotics are the standards that specialists must follow when creating modern robots . The fantastic ideas and images of writers largely anticipated trends scientific and technological progress, and the new concept of “robot” subsequently began to play an important role not only in literature and art, but also in science, technology, and production.

Thanks to the general interest in robots, inventors and talented craftsmen are able to find sources of funding, develop and create original designs of androids. So, 7 years after the premiere of "R.U.R." American engineer J. Wensley designed a voice-controlled robot, “Mr. Televox,” which had an external resemblance to a person, was capable of performing basic movements on command given by voice, and became an exhibit at the World’s Fair in New York. The British Association of Simulation Engineers exhibition in 1928 was “opened” by a robot named “Eric”, who addressed the audience with a short speech. In the same year, under the leadership of Dr. Nishimura

Makota creates the first Japanese robot, called the “Naturalist,” capable of manipulating its arms and head using an electric drive. Subsequently, this android began to be considered the founder of robotics in Japan.

The first domestic android robot B2M was created in 1936 by a gifted Moscow schoolboy Vadim Matskevich and in 1937 was awarded a diploma from the World Exhibition in Paris. Now V.V. Matskevich is a candidate of technical sciences, the author of many published works, in particular, the fascinating popular science book “Entertaining Anatomy of Robots”, published in the second edition by the publishing house “Radio and Communications” (1988).

However, all these original devices, being a breakthrough in the field of new technology, a vivid demonstration creative possibilities humans, had extremely limited practical use. Solving technical problems associated with the use of robots in production processes and scientific research, was essentially untouched. Moreover, it remained completely unclear what tasks robotic devices could solve in industry. _

If we turn to robots as software-controlled multi-purpose manipulation-type machines intended for use in industry or scientific research, then one of the very first industrial manipulators was a rotary mechanism with a gripping device for removing workpieces from the furnace, developed in the USA by Babbitt in 1892. Further improvement of this device leads to the appearance of the predecessors of modern robots. They turned out to be intensively developed in the 1940-1950s, especially in the USA, France and Germany, replicating remote manipulators for working with dangerous radioactive materials. One of the first copying manipulators of this type for servicing nuclear reactors, developed in the USA under the leadership of R. Hertz, thanks to force sensing, made it possible to use both visual and force information as feedback, which significantly improved the control process and expanded the functionality of the device.

The emergence of such manipulators played an important role in the subsequent development of manipulation systems, transmission mechanisms, sensing systems and robotics hardware. Among the manipulators created at that time, the copying manipulators developed by the State Scientific- research institute Oregon State (USA); The designs and control principles he proposed are still used in many robot models. And yet, programmable paint spraying machines developed in the 1930-1940s can be considered more direct predecessors of modern robots. in the USA, for example, Pollard and Roselund machines, which were programmed by recording a signal from a lever mechanism moving along a given path.

Increased economic potential and needs for modern types weapons of leading industrial countries in the first half of the 20th century. give a powerful impetus to the development of science and scientific and technical areas, without which the emergence and progress modern robotics would become impossible. We are talking primarily about computer technology and cybernetics.

In 1936-1937 English mathematician Alan Motison Turing (1912-1954) introduces the concept of an “abstract computing machine,” now called a Turing machine, capable of performing calculations of arbitrary complexity using simple read and shift operations and which became the prototype of those that appeared in the late 1940s. universal computers. Through the efforts of a number of talented scientists (J. von Neumann, G. Walter, W.R. Ashby, K. Shannon, etc.) based on the study of analogies between nervous system humans, computers and automatic control systems, the theory of algorithms is being developed, which has become one of the theoretical sources of computational mathematics, and then cybernetics and robotics.

Based on the synthesis of the theory of information processes, computer technology and the functional-computational approach, cybernetics is created, defined as the science of managing complex dynamic systems (Academician A.I. Berg). Its “fathers” are called outstanding American scientists - mathematician Norbert Wiener (1894-1964) and neurophysiologist Warren McCulloch (1898-1969), and the date of official birth is considered to be 1948, when N. Wiener’s book “Cybernetics, or control and communication in animal and machine."

Logical conclusion During the period of the formation of the theoretical foundations of computer technology, the works of the outstanding American mathematician, one of the founders of cybernetics, John von Neumann (1903-1957), began; it was he who came up with the idea of ​​​​recording a program for solving a problem into the computer memory. Thanks to the principle of storing programs, computers become universal. The first computers in which the Neumann principle was implemented were Howard Aiken's electromechanical sequential calculator on electromagnetic relay circuits (1944) created in the USA and the first truly electronic computer "ENIAC" (1947), developed under a contract with the Pentagon at the University of Pennsylvania under the leadership of J. Prosper Eckert and J. Morley, who later founded the famous company IBM.

No less important for the development of computer technology, cybernetics and robotics was another work by J. von Neumann - “The General and Logical Theory of Cybernetic Automata,” published in 1951 and devoted to the principles of constructing control and computing automatic devices. In his works and lectures he gave general scheme self-replicating automaton - “a machine workshop which, given sufficient raw materials and time, will make copies of any machine.” The image of Neumann's phantom robot appears more than once on the pages of specialized literature on robotics.

Already from the first works of J. von Neumann, the theory and practice of electronic computers began to develop at an amazing pace, and the invention of the transistor in the laboratories of the Bell Telephone company by John Bardeen, Walter Britten and William Shockley gave new impetus to this dynamic process, which later made it possible to create compact and reliable computer robot control systems.

So, the third stage of the development of robotics is marked by the emergence and general recognition of the term “robot”, the development and use for human needs of the direct predecessors of modern robots - remote copying manipulators and programmable automatic devices of the manipulation type, as well as the rapid development of the scientific and applied foundations of computer technology and cybernetics. This powerful scientific and technical foundation, following the interests and needs of social development, launched modern robotics.

Fourth stage. Second half of the 20th century The emergence of modern robots should be dated back to 1959, when the first industrial manipulators with program control were created in the United States, which received the generally accepted name of industrial robots (IR) and marked the beginning of commercial production. In the 1950s a group of American engineers began working on the problem of applying control theory to solve common tasks optimal movement of equipment, tools and materials in the production process, established that the control of loading and unloading and transport mechanisms and processes can be entrusted to a computer. The relative simplicity of programming the control computer becomes the basis for creating flexible equipment suitable for efficient operation in changing production conditions. This approach led to the creation of the first mechanical manipulators with program control, i.e. industrial robots.

The pioneers here were two talented American engineers - George C. Devol and Joseph F. Engelberger. In 1954, Devol patented in the United States a method for moving objects between various production areas based on a control program on punched cards, similar to those once proposed by Babbage. The invention was intended to solve, first of all, the problem of flexibility, i.e. creating a universal transport device that can be easily reconfigured to perform other operations. In 1956, Devol, together with Engelberger, who was then working at an aerospace company, organized the world's first robotics company, Unimation, which means "universal automation" - short for "Universal Automation". In the laboratory of this company, the world's first industrial robot was created under Devol's patent, which bore the modest name “programmable device for transferring objects” and became the prototype for subsequent developments. Unimation occupied a leading position in the global robotics industry until the early 1980s, when the positions of a number of other companies that developed more dynamically strengthened.

In the early 1960s. the first American industrial robots with the trademarks "Unimate" (1.2) and "Versatran" (1.3), created respectively by the companies "Unimation", "American Machine and Faundry" (AMF) and intended to service technological processes - injection molding, forging, machining, spot welding, coating - entered the industrial market. They were already quite advanced systems with feedback and a controlled trajectory of movement, they had numerical program control and memory, like a computer. Already in the first robots "Unimate" and "Versatran" the principle of programming by learning was implemented. The human operator, using a coordinate pen, specified a sequence of points through which the “hand” had to pass in one work cycle, and the robot “remembered” their coordinates, after which it could automatically, with great accuracy, move from one point to another in a given sequence.

The use of robots in the automotive and metallurgical industries turned out to be economically profitable: the cost of purchasing "Unimate" or "Versatran" robots (25-35 thousand dollars per product) was recouped in 1.5 - 2.5 years. As was said in one of According to a contemporaneous article in Machinery Magazine, a new type of manufacturing worker has emerged in the American metal industry who is not a member of a union, does not drink coffee on his lunch break, works 24 hours a day, and has no interest in benefits or a pension. He's mastering new job in a few minutes and always does it well, never complains about heat, dust or smells and does not get injured. This is an industrial robot.

The first commercial successes in the use of industrial robots provided a powerful impetus for their further improvement. In the early 1970s. robots controlled by computers appear. The first mini-computer that controlled a robot was released in 1974 by Cincinnati Milacron, one of the leading robot manufacturers in the United States. At the end of 1971, the American company "INTEL" created the first microprocessor, and a few years later microprocessor-controlled robots appeared, which led to a significant increase in their quality while simultaneously reducing cost. The fact is that microprocessors and microcomputers based on them. extremely cheap, small in size and weight, and can be programmed relatively easily to perform a wide variety of functions. It is microprocessors, these “miracle crystals of the 20th century.” made it possible to build control microcomputers, the cost of which is tens and hundreds of times lower than the cost of traditional mainframe computers. For example, if you compare microcomputers with the first electronic computer "ENIAC", you can see that their reliability is approximately 1000 times higher, the amount of energy consumed is a million times less, their performance is more than 20 times higher, and the physical dimensions of memory blocks are approximately 1/30000 share of the block sizes of the "ENIAC" machine. But perhaps the most surprising thing is that the computer is 10,000 times cheaper. Already in the mid-1980s. in capitalist countries approximately 34 million microprocessors were used, including in the USA - 23, Japan - 9, countries Western Europe- 2 million. By this time, the cost of a typical microprocessor in the West has decreased by more than 1000 times, and power and speed have increased by 70 and 400 times, respectively.

In the subsequent years after the creation and entry of the first robots into the industrial market, the rapid development of Robotics began all over the world. Competition and the struggle for sales markets have determined a sharp increase in the production of industrial robots in leading countries, accompanied by the vigorous introduction of robotics in various industries. In a number of capitalist countries, associations or societies are organized that oversee research and development in the field of creation and use of industrial robots, in particular, the Japan Industrial Robotics Association (JIRA) was formed in 1972, the US Robotics Institute (RIA) and the UK Robotics Association were formed in 1974 (BRA), in 1975 - Italian Society of Robotics (SIRI), in 1978 - French (AFRI), in 1980 - Swedish (SWIRA), in 1981 - Australian (ARA), in 1982 - Danish (DRA) and Singapore (SRA) robot associations.

The very principle of using industrial robots is changing - from single to complex. In the leading robotic countries (Japan, USA, Germany, USSR, etc.) in the late 1960s - early 1970s. Flexible production systems (GPS), so-called “unmanned” production, which represent the production of the future, are being developed and created. Scientific and technical achievements of robotics made it possible in the 1960-1980s. create a number of complex scientific and special robotic complexes for research outer space(stations of the "Luna" type, Lunokhod vehicles - USSR; stations of the "Mariner", "Servoyer", "Viking" type - USA, etc.), as well as the exploration of underwater depths (devices "TV", "Mosquito", " Dolphin" - Japan; devices "KURV", "RCV" - USA; "Manta", "OSA" - USSR; "ROV", "RM" - France; "ARCS" - Canada, etc.).

Robotics as a scientific discipline is being formed by the joint efforts of scientists and technology developers into an integral scientific and technical direction, enriched by vast experience in the development and operation of a wide variety of robots, robotic devices and systems.

So, the fourth historical stage considered can be generally called the stage of modern robotics. It is characterized by the development and creation of already quite advanced robots, controlled in the most advanced form by a computer and having applied purposes both in industrial production and in scientific research; dynamic development and widespread use of industrial robots in production processes; the final formation of robotics into a single scientific and technical direction.

As long as humanity can remember, there has been a desire in people to shift hard work onto someone else... of course, there have always been forced people - those are slaves - but slaves, unfortunately, are also people: they get tired, get sick, and finally - they sometimes have a tendency to rebel.. ... Now, if you could create a mechanism that could do everything that people do - and at the same time would not have the shortcomings of a living being...

Certainly. The gods were the first in this matter: the ancient Greek god-blacksmith Hephaestus made workers for himself... but myths are myths - and which of the people accomplished something similar in reality?

This was done in the 12th century by the Arab scientist Al-Jazeera. He created an ensemble of four mechanical musicians(unfortunately, the invention has not survived to this day, and there was no sound recording then - so it’s difficult to say how highly artistic the execution was).

There is a drawing of a mechanical man in the works of Leonardo da Vinci. Whether Leonardo implemented this idea in practice is unknown, but if he did, it would have been just an interesting experiment that would not have much practical significance: a mechanical man could only sit, spread his arms and raise the visor of a knight’s helmet - no other functions were expected .

But the famous German philosopher Albert the Great made a very useful “iron servant” who could even answer questions! But he didn’t have time to use it for long: Albert’s student Thomas (the future “angelic doctor” Thomas Aquinas) mistook the mechanical man for the devil and broke him.

Particular interest in this topic arose in the 17th century, even “machine minds” appeared... however, each such case turned out to be, if not fraud, then a clever trick in which people were hiding in machines - just remember the mechanical Turk playing chess, designed by the Austrian inventor B .Kempelen... but we must pay tribute: the inventor managed to keep the audience under his spell for a very long time, and an incident contributed to the exposure: during one of the performances, shouts were heard in the hall: “Fire!” True, the alarm turned out to be false - but the panic was real, and blows were heard inside the machine gun...

But the French inventor J. Voknason created a real robot in 1738. He was humanoid (nowadays such devices are called androds). It is difficult to say whether J. Vaucanson thought about the work of his predecessor Al-Jazari (1136-1206), but this android was also a musician - he played the flute... really, it is not clear why the inventors of the past so wanted to replace musicians with androids? Are my “brothers in the craft” really characterized by a particularly quarrelsome character? And why is this idea not in demand among science fiction writers? And what kind of dramatic novel could be written (or a film made) about the adventures of a robot musician, in which the public sees only a funny “mechanical toy” - and does not want to see creative individuality...

But let's get back to our robots! Of course, neither Al-Jazari, nor Albert the Great, nor J. Vaucanson called their inventions that way... this word is of Czech origin, and it was first used in 1920 by the Czech writer Karel Capek in the play “R.U.R”, which tells about a factory where they produce “artificial people”... K. Capek at first wanted to call “artificial people” with another word - “laboratory”, but considered it too pedantic and turned to his brother for advice, and J. Capek came up with the word “robot”, formed from the Czech “robota” - which means “corvee”, “forced labor”), possibly “rob” (slave).

K. Capek's play is quite pessimistic: robots rebel and destroy humanity... But, apparently, such gloomy forecasts of the writer did not frighten the American engineer D. Wexley: in 1927, at the World's Fair in New York, he presented the first humanoid robot capable of performing simple tasks movements at the command of a person.

But why, in fact, should a robot be humanoid? After all, if it performs one specific function - why does it need two arms, two legs, and indeed - in some cases it is much more convenient to move on wheels or tracks... and when the desire for “anthropomorphism” was overcome, the robots from “ mechanical toys"turned into something useful: in the 50s. XX century Mechanical manipulators for working with radioactive materials appeared (they repeat the movements of the hands of a person located at a safe distance) in the 60s. – a remote-controlled cart with a manipulator, a microphone and a camera – for examining radioactive contamination zones...

And finally, in 1962, the first industrial robots were created in the USA. They were called Unimate and Versatran. There was nothing anthropomorphic about them anymore - except for a manipulator that vaguely resembled a human hand. These robots coped with their duties perfectly (and some of them still do it).

Since then, robots have been confidently “conquering” production, and more recently, other areas of activity: robot scouts, robot waiters, robot cleaners appeared... In 2009, a robot policeman was first introduced (so far only in exercises), equipped with a VSK-94 rifle, a Yarygin pistol and a launcher for hand grenades (however, the matter never went beyond the exercises)... in a word, it is difficult to name a field of activity where robots would not be “noted.” In some places, they even replace pets - for example, many Japanese are so attached to robotic puppies that they associate low birth rates with this phenomenon... in addition, the Japanese are also going to simulate birth rates using robotics: not so long ago, a robot baby Yotara was created, on which young spouses can acquire parenting skills, and most importantly, comprehend the joys of motherhood and fatherhood...

Were science fiction writers right when they spoke about the danger of robots for humans?

To a certain extent, yes: since Japanese worker Kenzi Urada died at the hands of a robot in 1981, the number of victims of robots has been increasing every year... but it is far from matching the number of people dying under the wheels of cars - and to refuse this For some reason, no one is going away from vehicles. Today no one seriously discusses the rebellion of robots. Much more serious is the danger that S. Lem warns about in “The Diaries of John the Quiet”: robots have completely replaced people in production, as a result, enterprises have mountains of goods that cannot be sold, and people all over the planet are dying en masse from hunger: human labor has become unnecessary, no one has a job - therefore, no money...

However, this is still a long way off... And the further, the more science fiction writers develop another topic: if a robot really becomes like a person, if it acquires intelligence and emotions, how will our relationship with such a robot develop? And more and more works are appearing in which robots evoke much more sympathy than people - just remember the films “Artificial Intelligence”, “I, Robot” or the storyline of replicators from the planet Asuras in the TV series “Stargate: Atlantis” (in the latter case, people in general they look like some kind of fascist-like monsters) ...

Will we end up leaving not only labor operations, but also moral principles to robots?

Robots are a miracle modern science, an idea that captivates and makes humanity tremble. Only in the genre of science fiction do we know robots with different external shells and with a diverse set of functions and tasks that they perform. From the imaginary concept of an android to the modern implementation of self-functioning machines, we have always strived to improve technology in this area. The question arises: where did the first robot appear? How did this idea come about, and what gave birth to this industry of innovation and imagination?

Let's take a look at the definition of the word robot.

A robot is a device that is capable of independently performing a certain set of tasks. Surprisingly, the first robot appeared before the understanding of electricity. It was officially created around 400-350 BC. The inventor was the Greek mathematician Archytas. He created a figure of a wooden dove that moved in the air with the help of steam. It was also the first time to study how birds are able to fly.
Father of Mechanical Engineering.

Considered the father of mechanical engineering, Archytas was also a philosopher, mathematician, statesman, strategist and even commander. Overall, he was a jack of all trades. Although this was illegal, his authority allowed him to be elected commander for 7 consecutive years. This was also due to the fact that in his career, he had never lost a battle.

He was a great mathematician.

One of his achievements was the solution of geometric problems about doubling the cube posed by Hippocrates and Chios. Archytas also made great contributions to music theory. Thanks to his knowledge of mathematics, he identified intervals with harmonic semitones, as well as the famous chromatic and diatonic semitones.
He inspired many people.

His mathematical works influenced Plato, Euclid and many others. Evidence that Plato revered Archytas is a quote from his work “The Republic”: “How does a people get such a good ruler as Archytas, instead of such bad ruler like Dionysus II? He later died in a shipwreck.
We are indebted to Archytas.

His contributions to mathematics and science in general inspire people to this day. If it were not for that little invention of the flying pigeon, perhaps we would not have such unimaginable plans for our future, and all these electrical and scientific miracles. Starting from robots that compete in