Before we analyze who the most famous characters of today's robotics are, we can define what exactly this term is. Isaac Asimov As a science that studies robots. This word was first used by a writer in 1920. Karel Capek It comes from the Czech word robota, meaning slave or forced labor.
What is robotics? How is it different from AI?
Robotics refers to a field that is responsible for designing machines that can automate tasks, and professionals create, program, and manage these elements to perform specific tasks and skill development.
Although robotics and artificial intelligence are related, they should not be confused. The main difference between the two is in the approach.
While robotics focuses on manipulating the physical realm, AI is oriented toward enabling robots to move based on prior learning rather than set instructions to perform specific tasks. Therefore, AI-based robots can adapt to tasks based on their learning, and programmed robots can only perform the tasks they are configured to perform.
Here's a look at some of the most influential figures in robotics from a practical and theoretical perspective.
Leonardo Torres Quevedo
Spanish Leonardo Torres Quevedo (1852-1936) is known in many fields and for some of the world's engineering milestones, including the Spanish Aerocar, the world's oldest working cable car or air shuttle, at Niagara Falls. Masu.
In the field of robotics, he is known for developing the robot in 1912. El Ajedrexta (Chess Player), an experimental model unveiled in Paris in 1914, believed to be the first automaton in history capable of playing chess. Already in 1920 he created his second version, which did not change from an automatic point of view, but made noticeable improvements in presentation.
As stated on the Torres Quevedo Museum website, “Rather than playing a complete game, chess players play a final game of rooks and kings. Chess players move their white pieces and Movement is based on a complex mechanism consisting of axes, drums, etc. The second chess player uses electromagnets under the board to create the impression that the pieces are moving on their own, causing great confusion. “Impact on the Public.”
In short, Torres Quevedo “demonstrates his idea that we need to improve the intellectual capabilities of machines so that they can replace humans in some of the jobs hitherto reserved for human intelligence.” “I created a chess player to play the game.”
George Devol and Joseph F. Engelberger
george charles devol (1912-2011) and Joseph Frederick Engelberger (1925-2015) is considered the father of industrial robots.
In 1954, Devol developed the idea for a programmed material handling device, a successor to programmable manipulators, considered the ancestors of industrial robots.
Engelberger founded Unimation Inc. in 1956, which is considered the world's first company to develop robotics.
This company produced first robot arm George Devol's design was improved, paving the way for the project to be sold to General Motors, although it suffered a loss.
The device weighed 1,800 kilograms and its function was to lift and stack large pieces of hot metal.
The car company installed the arm in one of its factories in 1961, foreseeing the transformation it would bring to the sector's production model, and soon after, Chrysler and Ford would also introduce robotic arms.
Meanwhile, in 1978, Devol's first programmable robot, PUMA (Programmable Universal Machine for Assembly), was born. This device can move objects and position them in any direction and is the basis for most robots today.
Interestingly, Mr. Engelberger was awarded Japan's Science and Technology Progress Award in 1997 for the contribution of industrial robots to the so-called Japanese miracle that began in the 1960s.
Isaac Asimov
Isaac Asimov (1919 or 1920-1992) was a literary biochemist who published extensively in science fiction, history, and popular science.
Asimov also declared that Three principles of roboticsand the subsequent ethical foundations of autonomous system development:
- Robots must not harm humans and must not allow humans to be harmed through their inaction.
- Robots must follow orders given by humans, unless they conflict with the First Law.
- Robots must protect their existence to the extent that it does not conflict with either the first law or the second law.
These three laws first appeared in his work Vicious Circle (1942) and served as rules for robots with the ability to act independently in his stories.
victor scheinman
victor scheinman (1942-2016) invented the Standford Arm in 1969, a six-axis, all-electric articulated robot, a technology that uses robots for assembly and welding.
As a teenager, Scheinman designed and built a voice-controlled typewriter.
Takeo Kanade
Takeo Kanade (1945) are famous for building the first robotic arm with motors attached directly to the joints in the early 1980s. This gave it much better speed and accuracy than its predecessor.
mark lybert
mark lybert (1949) co-founded Boston Dynamics in 1992 and, with other colleagues, founded Big Dog and the DARPA Robotics Challenge to develop robots that run and maneuver like animals.
Of particular note is Spot the Dog, an intelligent robot launched in the US in 2020 for $74,500, whose brain is an artificial one that operates autonomously and can detect and even predict problems. It is composed of intelligent algorithms.
mark tilden
mark tilden (1961) created RoboSapien in 2004. The robot received great acclaim and sold almost 2 million units.
It is a humanoid robot toy that can be operated by remote control and has about 70 pre-programmed functions and over 80 movement program steps, including walking without wheels and picking up and throwing objects with its hands. You can also.
conclusion
From the early 20th century to the early 21st century, we saw how robotics evolved, enabling increasingly complex mechanisms with incorporated elements to make robots more advanced. .
From the mid-20th century, when industrial robots became popular, to their current interaction with artificial intelligence, robots have been integrated into our daily lives, extending not only to industrial fields but also to service and social fields. It is useful for the development of daily work. .
