The history of robotics is intertwined with the histories of technology, science and the basic principle of progress. Technology used in computing, electricity, even pneumatics and hydraulics can all be considered a part of the history of robotics.
The timeline presented is therefore far from complete. Robotics currently represents one of mankind’s greatest accomplishments and is the single greatest attempt of mankind to produce an artificial, sentient being. It is only in recent years that manufacturers are making robotics increasingly available and attainable to the general public.
1996 :RoboTuna was created by David Barrett at MIT. The robot was used to study how fish swim. 1996 Honda created the P2, which was the first major step in creating their ASIMO. The P2 was the first self-regulating, bipedal humanoid robot.
1997 :NASA’s Path Finder landed on Mars. The wheeled robotic rover sent images and data about Mars back to Earth. 1997 IBM’s deep blue supercomputer beat the champion Gary Kasparov at a chess match. This represented the first time a machine beat a grand champion chess player. 1997 Honda created the P3, the second major step in creating their ASIMO. The P3 was Honda’s first completely autonomous humanoid robot.
1998 :Dr. Cynthia created Kismet, a robotic creature that interacted emotionally with people. 1998 LEGO released their MINDSTORMS robotic development product line, which is a system for inventing robots using a modular design and LEGO plastic bricks. 1998 Campbell Aird was fitted with the first bionic arm called the Edinburg Modular Arm System (EMAS).
1999 :Sony released the first Aibo robotic dog. 1999 Mitsubishi created a robot fish. The intention was to create a robotic version of an extinct species of fish. 1999 Personal Robots released the Cye robot. It performed a variety of household chores, such as delivering mail, carrying dishes, and vacuuming. It was created by Probotics Inc.
2000 :Sony unveiled the Sony Dream Robots (SDR) at Robodex. SDR was able to recognize 10 different faces, expresses emotion through speech and body language, and can walk on flat as well as irregular surfaces. Image of QRIO
2001 :iRobot Packbots searched through the rubble of the world Trade Center. Subsequent versions of the Packbot robots are used in Afghanistan and Iraq. 2001 MD Robotics of Canada built the Space Station Remote Manipulator System (SSRMS). It was successfully launched and worked to assemble the International Space Station.
2002 :Honda created the Advanced Step in Innovative Mobility (ASIMO). It is intended to be a personal assistant. It recognizes its owner’s face, voice, and name. Can read email and is capable of streaming video from its camera to a PC. 2002 iRobot released the first generation of Roomba robotic vacuum cleaners.
2003 :As part of their mission to explore Mars, NASA launched twin robotic rovers on June 10 and July 7, 2003 called Spirit and Sojourner. 2003 RobotShop Distribution Inc. was founded to provide today’s society with domestic and professional robot technology that can help increase the pleasure, knowledge liberty and security of individuals.
2005 :The Korean Institute of Science and Technology (KIST), created HUBO, and claims it is the smartest mobile robot in the world. This robot is linked to a computer via a high-speed wireless connection; the computer does all of the thinking for the robot. 2005 Cornell University created self-replicating robots.