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Five-ton robot on wheels sticks out it arm to turn a "hot" valve in Hanford plutonium plant.

One-Armed Robot Tackles Hot Jobs
A ONE-ARMED robot is turning the valves in the giant plant at Hanford, Wash., that makes A-bomb plutonium out of uranium. The new robot looks like a railroad handcar with a small Navy gun on top. It has no fancy name, just the unimaginative title "tool dolly." But it can do practically anything the human arm can do, and it can go where human arms can't go—into areas swarming with invisible, deadly radiation.
Operated either remotely or from the dolly itself, the robot can move around on its track; raise, lower, or extend its arm (the "gun"); and grab, twist, or bend with its claw hand. The dolly easily takes apart machinery—and puts it back together again —opens and closes doors, and works with all kinds of tools. Engineers of the General Electric Co., which runs Hanford for the Atomic Energy Commission, developed it.

Source: Popular Science, Aug 1950

Not a Programmable robot, but a manipulator.

Patent number: 484870
Filing date: Jun 13, 1892
Issue date: Oct 25, 1892

Seward Babbitt's crane first mentioned around 1980 in terms of robotics history and timelines in textbooks, but in terms of enabling technology only, rather than being identified as a robot in itself.  That distinction is getting lost in modern references to this invention.  Its included in my timeline only to highlight that it is not a robot.  It shares characteristics of manipulator arms only.

The first mentioned of Babbitt's invention in terms of robotics that I can find is from The Journal of Epsilon Pi Tau – Volumes 6-10 – Page 98
"In 1892, Seward Babbitt of Pittsburgh patented a rotary crane with a motorized gripper for removing hot ingots from furnaces. "

Text: Science Journal, October 1968 Special Issue: Machines Like Men

Machines with arms  p59
H. A. Ballinger

Representing a further class of machines for the radioactive environment is the result of my [Ballinger] own work at Harwell. Some four years ago a study of reports on' criticality' incidents in the United States highlighted the advantages of a machine with arms for reactor damage control duties. A survey of existing designs showed, however, that none had the obstacle surmounting ability needed to reach an accident point within a building. A vehicle study was therefore made which resulted in the design of the RIVET (Remote Inspection Vehicle, 'Telechiric'). The dimensions of this device are such that it has, when in transit, the profile of a crawling man — yet at the scene of an accident it can erect its TV eyes and operating arm to the height of a standing man. In this position it can outreach a human by manipulating loads of up to 35kg at a 1.4 m radius. A novel track design enables it to surmount those obstacles where any single step is as high as 50 per cent of its track length—the limit of a modern tank is 12.5 per cent. It can mount stairs of 45^o angle, turn in a 1.2 m corridor, or enter an office, pass through the knee hole of a desk and then climb onto the desk top.

Hugh A. Ballinger is an assistant chief engineer at the Harwell Atomic Energy Research Establishment. His department develops the technology of remote and active handling for the Authority. It also provides the general scientific equipment and services for research into materials science. Previously has led groups developing nuclear fusion and fission plant; he helped to build and operate the first experimental reactor at Harwell.

I was recently researching the robots used in the 1979 movie "Saturn 3". One of the minor robots is referred to and is said to be a RIVET made by Harwell Laboratories (UK Atomic Energy Authority).

The original patent was filed in Great Britain in 1967.

Here are the details on the US patent of RIVET. See here.

Patent number: 3533483
Filing date: Feb 8, 1968
Issue date: Oct 13, 1970

A later version [but pre-1986] from UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) called "Spider".

Another later version called ROMAN.

Origins of Articulated Track

The track design, particularly that of the later model "Spider" above,  is very similar to that of iRobot's Packbot. It's interesting to note that the original track patent for Packbot does not reference the "Spider" vehicle in its prior art. Possibly the "Spider" design is not patented or only patented in the UK.  Other than similar approaches used for wheelchair climbing, the RIVET/SPIDER design is the first I've come across like this.

See full iRobot patent here.

Patent number: 6263989
Filing date: Jan 26, 1999
Issue date: Jul 24, 2001

See also later revised patent of same here which does cite Ballinger's RIVET, unlike the earlier patent.

Patent number: 8113304
Filing date: Jun 13, 2008
Issue date: Feb 14, 2012
Application number: 12/138,737

Challenge: If anyone comes across an earlier implementation of this design, or more information on the UKAEA "Spider" vehicle, let me know. 

It's interesting to note that an ex-employee of iRobot built and sold his own version of Packbot, called Robot FX "Negotiator".  This resulted in a controversy over patent-infringements in 2010.

CAPTION: ROBOTS ON PARADE Keisuke Inada of Bridgestone Corp.of Tokyo adjusts the Soft Arm robot, a multijoint robot that resembles a human arm in its movements, at Cobo Hall. The Society of Manufacturing Engineers expects 25,000 people to attend its AUTOFACT '90, an exposition demonstrating computer-integrated manufacturing. Photo is dated 11/13/90.

Pneumatic actuator for manipulator Takeo Takagi et al
Patent number: 4615260
Filing date: Apr 25, 1984
Issue date: Oct 7, 1986
Japanese pat in 1983

See full patent here.

The Hybrid robot was mainly used for spray painting. Instead of being static, the arm could move sideways on a horizontal plane.

The Servo Rubbertuator Kits came with 2 pneumatic muscles, as in most cases they were to be used as an antagonistic pair i.e. each side alternatively 'pulls' as do the human muscles and joints they simulate.

Pop Sci May 1985

Rubber-armed robot
Working together in Japan, researchers at Bridgestone Corp. and Hitachi Ltd. have developed what may be the most humanoid industrial robot yet. Using novel rubber "muscles" and a rubber "hand," the new robot arm (right) can perform delicate assembly tasks. At its heart are rubber actuators that power each of the arm's seven degrees of freedom of movement.

Caption: Bridgestone's rubber actuators are used in pairs. Robot's hand moves down as bottom actuator is filled with compressed air and top one is emptied.

These actuators, shaped like sausages, behave much like human muscles, shortening and lengthening as compressed air is fed in or bled out. This linear motion, transmitted through arm to bend at its various "joints." The actuator—called the Rubbertuator- is made from a high-molecular-weight rubber tube covered with braided fiber. A flange at each end permits the entry and exit of compressed air. Bridgestone developed the rubber used in the actuator during research into long-life automobile tires. Hitachi built the arm's mechanical components. The prototype arm works under the direction of a 16-bit microprocessor, and it can lift objects weighing as much as 4.4 pounds in its simple horseshoe-shaped rubber "hand."
One of the main advantages of rubber actuators, engineers say, is that they can control not only the movement of a robot's arm but the force of that movement. Thus, rubber-armed robots can be designed to carry out the low-force tasks assigned to them but will stop should they encounter a human worker. Because the robot is pneumatic, it can be supplied by a remote air compressor, permitting installation where space is limited. Hydraulic robots, another common type, require their own bulky power supplies nearby. Bridgestone and Hitachi are now marketing their robot to companies that perform precise assembly operations using fragile components. —Stuart F. Brown

For a more complete article of the Bridgestone-Hitachi Arm see "Rubber muscles take robotics one step further" in Rubber Developments Vol 37 no 4, 1984 pdf here.

"ROBIN" – Vanderbilt University Bridgestone "Rubbertuator"-based Wall Climbing Robot.

ROBIN [ROBotic INspector] was patented September 3, 1996 in the United States (Patent Number: 5,551,525) by Robert T. Pack, Moenes Z. Iskarous, and Kazuhiko Kawamura.

Technical Description
ROBIN is a 4 DOF serial mechanism with fixtures at each end. By fixing one end of the mechanism and moving the other, ROBIN can walk, turn and transition between surfaces. ROBIN uses all off-the-shelf gears, bearings, and fittings so the system can be reproduced easily and inexpensively. ROBIN's motions are powered by Rubbertuators which are rubber pneumatic muscles that have a high strength-to-weight ratio. The pneumatic muscles and vacuum fixtures are controlled by a master-slave network of microcontrollers that continually monitor pressure, valve settings, and joint angles to keep the robot in position and on course. Chain tension of each joint is maintained by a "torque" controller. Initially, each joint's microcontroller is loaded with a table of pressures and corresponding encoder positions. Motion is achieved by applying an additive pressure, or "torque", to a rubbertuator in the desired direction of rotation. Power is provided to the robot by an umbilical cord that carries air lines, DC power, and a serial communication line for interfacing with a host computer that directs ROBIN's actions.
Advantages of ROBIN

• High Mobility
• Walks on planar surfaces (horizontal or vertical).
• Transitions between horizontal and vertical surfaces, as shown in this image.
• Steps over obstacles and gaps on surfaces.
• Large Sensor Payload – 8Kg for prototype.
• Scalable to Task – Design can be enlarged or miniaturized for a specific task.
• Light Weight – 20Kg for prototype.
• Versatile Fixtures – Handles many types of surfaces using interchangeable vacuum, magnetic, and grippers.
• Parallel Multicontroller – Modular, extensible control system that can support fault tolerance and hot-swapping of controllers.
• Applications of ROBIN
• Building Inspection – Outer walls, windows, elevator shafts.
• Aircraft Inspection – Wings, fuselage, cowling, engine mounts.
• Ship / Tanker Inspection – Outer Hull, inner tank surfaces.
• Bridge Inspection – Support columns, superstructure, bearings.
• Behavior Explanation

ROMAC, THE PNEUMATIC MUSCLE
Actuator pulls 10,000 pounds using 60 psi
A pneumatic actuator based on the principle of the human biceps has come to our attention in the form of a patent disclosure. The ROMAC, under development by MacDonald Detwiller & Associates of Richmond, British Columbia, Canada, works on low-pressure (shop) air and can lift over 200 pounds using 60 psi. The device weighs one pound. Its pulling force is said to exceed 10,000 pounds, rendering it superior to conventional pneumatic cylinders and nearly in the range of comparable hydraulic cylinders.
The flexible walls of the ROMAC are not designed to work as elastometers. Rather, the geometry of the individual pyramid elements allows for greater contraction. Additionally, the wire restraining cables and pyramid elements are combined into a "single surface" actuator designed to eliminate sliding friction during contraction, reducing wear on the soft parts and extending service life.
The device operates only under tension. Like the human biceps, it bulges in the middle as it contracts and flattens with
extension. In Photos 1 and 2, the ROMAC is manually manipulated by means of a lever to demonstrate its flexed and extended configurations. The potential contraction is 50 percent. The actuator is said to provide an extremely high force at the beginning of contraction, decreasing rapidly to zero at approximately 50 percent of contraction (Figure 1). The ROMAC's other advantages, as described, include the following:
• It is pneumatically powered but can also work with low-pressure hydraulics.
• It is leak-free, with no sliding seals and no static friction.
• It can be fabricated without metallic parts. (Fiber glass could be substituted for wire in the restraining cables.)
• It can be configured to do precision closed-loop control tasks.
• In opposing pairs, it can provide open-loop proportional control with inherently stiff operating characteristics.
Because of its high initial pulling force and its ability to perform in hostile surroundings, the ROMAC is expected to number among its future applications robotics, prosthetics, and nuclear and space environments.

[Source:The Robotics Age Nov 1985 - Edited by Stephanie vL Henkel]

Like the muscle used in Tim Jones' arm, the ROMAC is another example of the Netted-type of Pneumatic Artificial Muscle (PAM).

Axially contractable actuator by Guy Immega and Mirko Kukolj  
Patent number: 4939982
Filing date: Oct 16, 1985
Issue date: Jul 10, 1990

See full patent details here.

Grodski and Immega used ROMACs to control a 1-dof teleoperated arm by means of the myoelectric signals taken from a human operator's biceps and triceps. The operator can thus make the robot arm move without having to move his own. Independent position and stiffness control of the robot arm is achieved by regulating the ROMAC gauge pressures proportional to the operator's EMG signal output. Visual feedback to the operator is necessary.

Myoelectric control of actuators Juliusz J. Grodski et al
Patent number: 4964061
Filing date: Jul 5, 1989
Issue date: Oct 16, 1990

See full patent here.