History of the development of robotics in the modern world. History of robotics

Humanity has always tried as much as possible to make everyday life and work easier. And in the course of this evolution, a class of machines - robots - emerged, and with it a whole direction - robotics. One of the countries in which this discipline is most actively developed is Japan. The developers plan to use robots not only, but also in everyday life. Scientists hope that in the coming decades they will become as commonplace as the use of smartphones.

However, where did the timid steps in the history of robotics begin?

I-III centuries AD

This is where the story of robots begins. The first statues of gods with moving limbs and heads in Ancient Egypt, Babylon, China. Automatic ball created by Archimedes, with the reflection of celestial bodies. Automatic systems of Heron of Alexandria for the sale of holy water.

Middle Ages

The most popular then were automatic watch movements and human figures that moved.

In 1495 - Leonardo da Vinci's project - a mechanical man.

In the mid-1700s, watchmakers Pierre-Jacquet Droz and his son Henri-Louis Droz developed automatic systems. The word “android” comes from the name of the latter.

By 1805, mechanisms emerged that gave rise to the creation of automatic machines.

The play Rossumovi univerzální roboti (“Rossum’s Universal Robots”) by the Czech author Karl Capek was released, which gave the world the word “robots” - creatures that are mechanically and intellectually more perfect than humans.

The topic of robotics was revealed most widely and significantly in literature in the cycle of stories “I, Robot”. Now, it seems, even a person far from this field knows about the three laws of robotics.

1928 - “Mr. Televox” (author - engineer J. Wensley, USA) - a humanoid robot that performs movements on command. Another robot is “Natural Scientist” (Dr. Nishimura Makota) - an android that marked the beginning of the Japanese history of robotics. Was able to move his limbs and head:

Technical progress in robotics has moved towards improved control systems. A developed sensor system is typical for such robotic systems: Unimate, Hitachi, Westinghouse.

The period from 1970 to 2000 is characterized by active growth and development of the industry: the use of new controllers, the development of programming languages, the launch of the first robots into space and the emergence of machines that create robots.

The two thousand years were marked.

Since antiquity, people began to think about creating mechanical people capable of performing hard and routine work. In myths there are references to the creation by Hephaestus of mechanical slaves who do work for humans. But various mechanisms were also created out of scientific interest. For example, the mechanical pigeon of the Greek mathematician Archytas from Tarentum, built by him around 400 AD, is known. Possibly propelled by steam, the pigeon was capable of flight.

And some robots were created more for entertainment or for the purpose of making commercial profit, and many of them were fakes, such as the famous Turk chess machine.

The first drawing of a humanoid robot was made by Leonardo da Vinci around 1495. His notes were only found in the 1950s and contained detailed drawings of a knight capable of moving his arms and head.

Although, it is not known whether this robot was built. There is also an opinion that NASA specialists used Leonardo’s findings to create a manipulator in preparation for expeditions to the Moon.

The first functioning humanoid robot was created by French inventor Jacques de Vaucanson in 1737. The android was a life-size human capable of playing the flute. Flutist Vaucanson had 12 works in his repertoire!

But the most famous invention of Jacques de Vaucanson is the digestive ducks, created by him in 1739. These robots consisted of about 400 parts, and were able to flap their wings and drink water. The ducks also pecked the grains and defecated a second later. But, in fact, the duck did not digest the food: the grains eaten were placed in a special container, and the “output product” was stored in another.

By the end of the 19th century, an engineer from Russia, Chebyshev Pafnutiy, came up with a mechanism - a stop walker, which had high maneuverability. Of course, this invention was not of great benefit to humanity, but the idea itself gave a certain impetus to the development of robotics technologies.

In 1885, Frank Reade's Electric Man was first tested. The car had a fairly powerful spotlight, and opponents were treated to electric discharges that the Man shot directly from his eyes. Apparently, the power source was located in a van covered with a mesh. Nothing is known about the Electric Man's abilities or his speed.

By the way, the word robot did not yet exist. It appeared only in 1920, thanks to Karel Capek and his brother Josef.

In 1893, Professor Archie Campion presented a prototype of the Boilerplate robot at the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition.
The Boilerplate was conceived as a means of bloodlessly resolving conflicts - in other words, it was a prototype of the mechanical soldier. The robot existed in a single copy, but it had the opportunity to carry out the proposed function - Boilerplate repeatedly participated in hostilities. Although the stories about Boilerplate are interesting, their truth is suspicious, just like the stories about Steem Man and Electric Man.

Seven years later, Louis Philip Perew created Automatic Man in America. “This giant of wood, rubber and metals, who walks, runs, jumps, talks and rolls his eyes - imitates a person in almost everything exactly.” Automatic Man was 7 feet 5 inches (2.25 meters) tall, dressed in a white suit, and wore giant shoes and a matching hat.

The first programmable mechanisms with manipulators appeared in the 1930s in the USA. The impetus for their creation was the work of Henry Ford to create an automated production line or conveyor (1913). The first industrial robot that actually existed in hardware belongs to L.G. Pollard. October 29, 1934, Willard L.G. Pollard submitted an application to the patent office for the invention of a new fully automatic device for painting surfaces. In 1937, the license to manufacture this manipulator somehow went to DeVilbiss. It was DeVilbiss that built the first prototypes of this device in 1941, with the help of Harold Roseland. However, the final Roseland version, patented and released to market in 1944, was a completely different mechanism, borrowing only the idea of a control system from Pollard Jr.

The history of serious robotics begins with the advent of the nuclear industry almost immediately after the end of World War II. The task set - to ensure the safety of personnel working with radioactive drugs - is successfully solved with the help of manipulators that copy the movements of a human operator. These are not yet completely “honest” robots, since they still consist only of mechanical parts: belt and herringbone drives are used. The modern name for such devices is copying manipulators or MSM (master-slave manipulators). One of the first companies producing MSM - "CRL" (Central Research Laboratories) - was founded in 1945, and its first MSM - "Model 1" - was submitted to the US Atomic Energy Commission already in 1949.

The date of birth of the first truly serious robot, which the whole world heard about, can be considered May 18, 1966. On this day, Grigory Nikolaevich Babakin, chief designer of the machine-building plant named after S.A. Lavochkin in Khimki, signed the main volume of the E8 preliminary project. It was Lunokhod-1, the lunar rover 8EL as part of the automatic station E8 No. 203, the first vehicle in history to successfully conquer the lunar surface on November 17, 1970.

In 1968, the Stanford Research Institute (SRI, Stanford Research Institute) created “Shakey,” the first mobile robot with artificial vision and the rudiments of intelligence. A device on wheels solves the problem of avoiding possible obstacles - various cubes. Exclusively on a flat surface, because the robot is very unstable. The most remarkable thing is that the robot’s “brain” occupies an entire room next door, communicating with the “body” via radio.

Stability research is leading to work on the dynamic balance of robots, resulting in horse robots and even several robots on one leg - they have to constantly run and jump to avoid falling. The era of stability and cross-country ability research begins. At this time, many robots appear to explore other planets and, of course, conduct combat operations in the desert. All robotics in the United States to this day is very often sponsored by DARPA.

Japan ranks first in the world in the production and use of robots. In 1928, under the leadership of Dr. Nishimuro Makoto, a robot called “Natural Scientist” was created, 3.2 meters high. Equipped with motors, he could change the position of his head and arms. And on November 21, 2000, at the first ever ROBODEX exhibition in Yokohama, Japan, Tokyo Sony Corporation introduced its first humanoid robot, the SDR-3X.

Robots. Origin of species. A Brief History of Robotics.

Probably each of us (or most of us) have wondered: who invented the first robot? Let's figure it out together...

From the very beginning of our evolution, man needed help... But such help was not available to him. And since antiquity, people began to think about creating mechanical people capable of performing hard and routine work. In myths there are references to the creation by Hephaestus of mechanical slaves who do work for humans.

But various mechanisms were also created out of scientific interest. For example, the mechanical pigeon of the Greek mathematician Archytas from Tarentum, built by him around 400 AD, is known. Possibly propelled by steam, the pigeon was capable of flight.

And some robots were created more for entertainment or for the purpose of making commercial profit, and many of them were fakes, such as the famous chess machine "Turk".

The first drawing of a humanoid robot was made by Leonardo da Vinci around 1495. His notes were only found in the 1950s and contained detailed drawings of a knight capable of moving his arms and head. Although, it is not known whether this robot was built. There is also an opinion that NASA specialists used Leonardo’s findings to create a manipulator in preparation for expeditions to the Moon.

The first functioning humanoid robot was created by French inventor Jacques de Vaucanson in 1737. The android was a life-size human capable of playing the flute. Flutist Vaucanson had 12 works in his repertoire!

But the most famous invention of Jacques de Vaucanson is the digestive ducks, created by him in 1739. These robots consisted of about 400 parts, and were able to flap their wings and drink water. The ducks also pecked the grains and defecated a second later. But, in fact, the duck did not digest the food: the grains eaten were placed in a special container, and the “output product” was stored in another.

By the end of the 19th century, an engineer from Russia, Chebyshev Pafnutiy, came up with a mechanism - a stop walker, which had high maneuverability. Of course, this invention was not of great benefit to humanity, but the idea itself gave a certain impetus to the development of robotics technologies.

By the way, the word robot did not yet exist. It appeared only in 1920, thanks to Karel Capek and his brother Josef.

When we imagine a robot, we usually think of human-shaped electronic machines - such as cyborgs or androids - or other computerized autonomous devices, such as Roomba. But the definition of the word "Robot" covers a deeper meaning.

A robot is any machine or mechanical device that operates automatically or semi-automatically. This means that the "robot" is not necessarily limited to being powered by electricity.

By far the most common application of modern robots is in manufacturing. They are used to make production more efficient for the company, cheaper for the consumer and safer for the employees. But where did this word come from?

Origin of the word "Robot".

The word "Robot" was coined in 1920 by Karel Kapek and his brother Josef Kapek. Karel was a Czech writer who coined words to name the artificial creatures in his play. Dissatisfied with the word laboři (or "workers" in Latin), his brother suggested roboti from the Latin word robota (meaning "serf labor").

In 1944, science fiction writer Isaac Asimov decided to expand on it and coined the word "robotics" for use in his story "Escape". He later began repeating the word in many of his books. This helped increase the popularity and use of the word.

What was the first robot in the world?

Mythological tales aside, which include mechanical servants built by the Greek gods, clay golems of Jewish legend, and clay giants of Norse legend, the first real documented example of a robot was invented by the Greek mathematician Archytas in the 4th century BC. He created a wooden mechanical a steam bird, which he named "Dove".

It is believed that the bird was suspended from the end of a turning rod, and the apparatus was rotated under layers of compressed air and steam. Information about the "Dove" was found in the writings of Heron of Alexandria, who described it as "controlled by water, rotating weight and steam." Not only does it claim to be the first known robot, but it is also the first documented recording of a scientist trying to figure out how birds fly.

What about modern robots?

Robots and robotics are developing at an ever faster pace. We've sent robots into space to explore planets for us, into nuclear reactors, and even as soldiers in the war on terror. The industry itself is evolving in unpredictable but exciting ways. For example, the robot shown in the video below features a robotic "pop star" that sings and dances for an audience:

PS: The first person killed by a robot was Kenji Urada in 1981. Urada was repairing a broken robot at the Kawasaki plant in Japan. After failing to completely disable him, the robot pushed him into a grinding machine, resulting in his death.

A robot is any machine or mechanical device that operates automatically or semi-automatically. This means that the "robot" is not necessarily limited to being powered by electricity.