Page 18 - Modern Robotics Building Versatile Macines

xviii Modern Robotics

Researchers such as Grey Walter began to build robots that
rolled about on their own, searching for light sources or otherwise
interacting with the environment. By the mid-1960s, a rather wob-
bly robot called Shakey was slowly navigating its way down the
corridors of the Stanford Research Institute, attempting to interpret
pictures taken through its television camera.
The first real impact of robots, however, came when engineer-
entrepreneur Joseph Engelberger and inventor George Devol created
Unimate, the first industrial robot, which went to work in a General
Motors plant in 1961. Unimate was essentially a big arm that could
be fitted with various kinds of grasping devices and tools. Precisely
positioned, the robot could work tirelessly at jobs that were either
dangerous or unpleasant for human workers (such as casting and
handling red-hot car parts) or were tedious but required consistent
precision (such as riveting or painting).
Industrial robots increased productivity and helped factories
remain competitive. The Japanese in particular embraced robots in
the 1970s. Although some people feared that the industrial robot
would lead to a massive loss of jobs for human workers, this first
wave of robots did not cause much disruption.

Mobile Robots and Explorers

Industrial robots were fixed to the assembly line. Robotics research-
ers were also learning how to create robots that could move freely in
the environment, perceiving and reacting to humans and their world.
Starting in the 1970s, considerable strides were made in developing
navigation systems for robots. By the end of the decade, Hans Moravec
had improved the Stanford Cart, one of the first autonomously navi-
gating robots, so that it could (slowly) find its way through a room
strewed with chairs without bumping into any.
By the 1980s, robots were even learning to walk like people
and other animals. Marc Raibert’s “Leg Laboratory” at the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) analyzed the gaits of
humans and animals and created robots that could walk on two
or four feet or even hop like kangaroos. Other researchers such as