Items14The creator’s order
  1. 1George DevolGeorge DevolGiving a factory arm a stored sequence of moves Devol’s programmable arm could follow commands stored for it in advance. The idea reached factory work through Unimation. Start here to see why a machine designed to do a job repeatedly could still be valuable when the job changed: a new sequence…0
  2. 2Victor ScheinmanVictor ScheinmanUsing computers to control an electric arm Scheinman’s Stanford Arm put electrical power and computer control together in a machine that researchers used to explore assembly. Put it alongside Devol’s factory arm to see the difference between proving a programmable machine useful on a line and…0
  3. 3Charles Rosen (scientist)Charles Rosen (scientist)Born Dec 7, 1917Putting perception and planning on wheels Rosen led the SRI group behind Shakey, a mobile robot that could use information from its sensors to plan how to complete a task. Its camera and touch sensors sent information to a separate computer. The separation makes it easier to see the job the system…0
  4. 4Nils John NilssonNils John NilssonBorn Feb 6, 1933Working out where a robot should go next Nilsson worked on planning for Shakey and helped develop a way to search for routes with colleagues Peter Hart and Bert Raphael. Read him alongside Rosen for a closer look at one part of the same project. Knowing where something is gives a mobile robot a…0
  5. 5Shigeo HiroseShigeo HiroseBuilding a gripper that could adapt to a shape Hirose drew on work with snake-like robots to develop a flexible hand that could hold objects gently. The Soft Gripper shows why the shape of a machine matters as much as its controls. When the hand can conform around what it touches, there are more…0
  6. 6Hans MoravecHans MoravecBorn Nov 30, 1948Getting a cart across a cluttered room Moravec used a sliding camera to give the Stanford Cart several views of obstacles. In 1979 the cart made its way across a room without a person steering it, but the trip took hours. That combination makes it a good example of the gap between showing that a…0
  7. 7Takeo KanadeTakeo KanadeBorn Oct 24, 1945Finding corresponding details in images Kanade and Bruce Lucas developed a way to match details across images. Their 1981 paper explains how the technique could help with stereo vision and motion analysis. The paper is a good place to see what computer vision contributed to robotics. Recognizing…0
  8. 8Red WhittakerRed WhittakerInspecting places people could not safely enter Whittaker and colleagues developed robots to inspect the aftermath of the Three Mile Island accident. The project is an early example of field robotics. A machine built for the site had to be useful in a real environment it could not change, a…0
  9. 9Donna ShirleyDonna ShirleyTaking a small rover to Mars Shirley oversaw development of the microrover experiment for Mars Pathfinder. Sojourner, the six-wheeled rover, reached the Martian surface in 1997. Its small size helps explain the problem her team faced. A machine that had to travel with a lander still needed to move…0
  10. 10Russell H. TaylorRussell H. TaylorHelping a surgeon hold a tool steady Taylor and colleagues developed a steady-hand system in which the surgeon and robot hold a tool together. The machine responds to the surgeon’s movements while helping with steadiness. It gives you a concrete example of medical robotics in which the machine is…0