Happy 250 years of American robotics and AI!
Here are a few fabulous forgotten milestones - what should come next?
My interest in robots began when I was lucky enough to be taken to New York’s World Fair in 1964. Even though I was only four years old, I can remember the sense of wonder that seeing an animatronic figure gave me. I’m afraid my interest wasn’t really in the content of Abe Lincoln’s address on the preservation of American democracy, liberty, and the rule of law. I was spellbound by seeing that such a lifelike robot had been constructed by humans.
This fascination was only reinforced when I was five or six and toured Disneyland. It’s no surprise that Disney Imagineers are at the forefront of robotics and human-robot interaction because even before the Hall of Presidents and the creation of Audio-Animatronics, Disney film animators had defined 12 principles for the artificial production of emotion as described in The Illusion of Life.
1840: PT Barnum’s imported automata
One of the world’s most sophisticated automatons, the ‘Draughtsman-Writer’ lives in the Franklin Museum in Philadelphia. This machine had a memory capable of producing four drawings and three poems.
Built around 1800 by Swiss mechanician Henri Maillardet, it toured the world. The Draughtsman-Writer was probably acquired by PT Barnum in the 1840s for one of his museums, either in New York or Philadelphia, joining other automata on show. Sadly both Barnum’s museums were destroyed by fire.
In 1928, the Brock family donated the badly burnt remains of the Draughtsman-Writer to the Franklin Institute, where it was restored by one of the museum’s staff and has been on display ever since. More information here
1867: Goodwin’s Mechanical Horse
Goodwin is an American inventor who may have created the first walking mechanism for toys. He patented a walking doll and a walking horse, as well as a number of other mechanisms for agriculture and engines, including a planetary gear-box.
Mechanical horses and Men.-A mechanical horse is being made at the National Ironworks, New Brunswick, New Jersey, which is quite a curiosity in its way, and is to be on exhibition at the Centennial. The life-size model has been operated satisfactorily to all who have seen it. Every movement of the horse is as natural as life. It walks, and each joint of the leg is put in its proper motion, while the neck and head bob in appropriate unison, and yet the simplest mechanism is used, being nothing more than a few pulleys and one or two belts, the latter corresponding with the tendons of the natural animals. There are also four steam men being manufactured at Munn’s machine shop. These men are for exhibition at the Centennial.
Life-size mechanical horses and men were created at the National Ironworks in New Jersey for the Philadelphia Centennial celebrations in 1876 from Goodwin’s designs. More information here
1877: Edison’s Uncanny Valley
Invented in 1877, with mass production intended by 1890, Edison’s talking dolls were a complete failure. At 18” tall these lovely little girls sang lullabies and gave everybody nightmares. Not only were the dolls super creepy, but the wax recording cylinders were fragile and each song required removing the clothing to hand crank the doll. They were also quite expensive for a doll at that time. More information here
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory working with the Library of Congress has been able to extract and digitize the recordings without damaging the original wax cylinders. The recordings have been collected online. Go on. I dare you.
1890: Radio and teleoperation with Tesla
Tesla filed the first patent for radio in 1896 and developed a radio controlled remote operated boat to be a demonstration model. This ‘Teleautomoton’ was able to move in various directions as directed, and also to flash signal lights on the mast. For example, to answer questions like “What is the square root of 64?” by flashing eight times.
To most people of the time, Tesla’s demonstration looked like magic, or the work of a well trained monkey, in spite of his efforts to then explain the controls and mechanisms. In 1898, Tesla gave demonstrations at Madison Square Garden and by 1899, Tesla’s improved model was able to perform some autonomous actions.
“These automata, controlled within the range of vision of the operator, were, however, the first and rather crude steps in the evolution of the Art of Telautomatics as I had conceived it. The next logical improvement was its application to automatic mechanisms beyond the limits of vision and at great distance from the center of control…” –Nikola Tesla
PBS.org says that “Tesla’s invention is literally the birth of robotics, though he is seldom recognized for this accomplishment.” For more information and also here.
1900: Automation and automobiles
The birth of the automobile assembly line, while often credited to Henry Ford can actually be traced back to Oldsmobile from 1901. The Oldsmobile Curved Dashboard Model was made on a progressive moving assembly line, although vehicles were manually progressed or pushed from one station to the next.
Ford improved on this by introducing the continuously moving and synchronized assembly line starting in 1913. There is strong synergy between automation, robotics and automobiles. Vehicle production is the first real market for robotics and automation, and vehicles are themselves becoming robots. For more information
1900: Automats
First showcased in Berlin in 1895, Horn and Hardart brought the Automat concept to America, opening the first in 1902 in Philadelphia, reaching New York City by 1912. Automats quickly gained popularity in America during the early 20th century, especially among the growing workforce seeking fast and affordable dining options.
With their shiny chrome exteriors and a variety of fresh meals inside, automats became a symbol of progress and innovation in the United States. As a result, Horn and Hardart’s became the largest restaurant chain in the United States, serving hundreds of thousands of people a day at its peak.
America ditched the Automat in the 50s and 60s in favor of fast food to go, particularly via drive-thrus. However they remained popular elsewhere, particularly in Japan. Recent years have seen a renewal of interest in the concept, from tablet or QR code based ordering to robot pizza delivery. More information here and also here
1920: Televox, the first household robot
In 1923, Roy James Wensley had invented and patented a ‘suspervisory control system’ to remotely control equipment via power lines, wireless or telephone lines. In 1927, Wensley expanded this to remote control by sound or tones as the “Televox” system.
The initial boxes looked sufficiently anthropomorphic that all subsequent demos involved a robot body. Usually a metal body, but sometimes on tour a cardboard cutout would be used instead. More information here
1930: Elektro and Appliances
The Chicago World’s Fair in 1939 showcased a novel Westinghouse appliance - Elektro and his wonder dog Sparko. Elektro could walk, talk, smoke cigarettes and tell (bad) jokes. Elektro was also responding to rudimentary voice control.
Elektro and Sparko were in fact a continuation of Westinghouse’s work in switching gears and electronic substations as first demonstrated by Televox. It turned out to be a stroke of PR genius to add names, faces, bodies and personalities to relays and control units. People loved Elektro and Sparko, who proceeded to tour the country hawking kitchen appliances for Westinghouse. More informaton here
Did I miss something? What should come next? What are the biggest milestones for robotics and AI?
Robotics News
When Sony released a robotic dog called AIBO in Tokyo in May of 1999, the first batch of 3,000 units sold out online in 20 minutes — and today, more than 800 of those same AIBOs have been given traditional Buddhist funerals at a 450-year-old temple in Chiba Prefecture, where a priest chants sutras for the peaceful transition of their souls - Space Daily
The Quest to Make Humanoid Robots Safe Enough for Humans - WSJ
Are Humanoid Robots Ready to Be Deployed? - The New Yorker
Boston Dynamics’ New Atlas Humanoid Robot: ‘Order Of Magnitude’ Simpler - Forbes
Boston Dynamics CEO: America’s next 250 years will be built by robots. Here’s what’s standing in the way - Fortune
Robot hand company settles Tesla trade secret suit and announces $11M raise - TechCrunch
Half of Unitree, the “grandfather” of robots is completely sold out - 36KR
Chinese robot maker Unitree wins approval for $619 million Shanghai IPO - Reuters
Which Are Better For Humanoid Robots: Legs or Wheels? - WSJ Video
Alibaba-affiliate Ant Group rushes into humanoid robots with a dozen deals in 18 months - CNBC
Maison Roboto Begins Field Testing of Robot Fashion During Kung Fu-Inspired Humanoid Mobility Trials in China - TMX Newsfile
Hegseth stands up a new drone office with authority on everything from one-way attack drones to ground robots and boats - Business Insider
Defense manufacturing emerges as Pentagon bottleneck - Federal News Network
AeroVironment’s Big Bet Gets a Pentagon Payday - Yahoo Finance
Autonomous drone startup Quantum Systems raises $1.2 billion as investors pile into defense - CNBC
Major Union Livid After 1,000 Factory Workers Were Replaced With 50 Robots - Futurism
GM lays off over 1,000 workers at Detroit plant, adds 50 robots: ‘We are in a fight for humanity.’ Progress or betrayal? - Yahoo Finance
Robots, not chatbots, will realise AI’s potential - Financial Times
South Korean shops turn to robots, self-service to escape labour woes - Reuters
Autonomous construction bots are building the solar infrastructure behind Meta’s massive Hyperion data center - Business Insider
Apptronik turns robot simulations into reality - Semafor
Tesla Optimus project fires up as Musk sees production line progress - Teslarati
Elon Musk Says Optimus Production Will Be ‘Extremely Slow’ in the Beginning: ‘This is Not Like Making a Car’ - Benzinga
Rivian CEO frets about supply chain amid critical R2 launch - Axios
BMW Group deploys Figure 03 humanoid after tests with previous version - The Robot Report
A $7,999 home robot joins the race to automate household chores - Business Insider
Video Friday: An Earthbound Mars Rover for the Moon: Your weekly selection of awesome robot videos - IEEE Spectrum
My mom wants a sex robot. Will China or the U.S. give it to her first? - SF Standard
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If we're picking the next milestone, I'd nominate something a lot less photogenic than Elektro smoking a cigarette: vision-guided robots on assembly lines that now stop themselves the instant they detect a defect, instead of flagging it for a human to review hours later. We're seeing that shift happen in automotive and electronics plants right now, and the real engineering story isn't the arm or the camera, it's the confidence threshold teams set before trusting the system to act without a person in the loop.