1953 – “Archie” & “Buster” Deep Water Robots – William E. Denny (American)

1953 – "Archie" & "Buster" Deep Water Robots – William E. Denny 'BILLION DOLLAR MERMAID' TO SEEK SUNKEN TREASURE—It's not a real mermaid—it's a 3,300-pound metal robot and its name is Archie. But the billion dollars is real, all right, says Archie's inventor and builder, William E. Denny. Kansas City, Kan., building contractor. The treasure …

1964 – UNUMO UNiversal Underwater MObot – Hughes Aircraft (American)

Source: The Advanced Handbook of Robotics, Safford.   Source: Popular Mechanics, Aug, 1963. Source: Teleoperator Operations. The MOBOT (MObile roBOT) was developed by Hughes Aircraft Company and is used by Shell Oil Company of California as an underwater wellhead manipulator. MOBOT, which is shown in Figure 16, consists of an electro-hydraulic vehicle designed to be …

1962 – Underwater MOBOT – Hughes Aircraft (American)

Source: Meccano Magazine, Feb, 1963. ….. I am introducing you to a machine known as Mobot, pictured above. Developed by the Shell Oil Company in the U.S.A., Mobot can work on oil wells 1,000 feet down on the ocean bed. It can swim, see, hear, and has a "nose" that can turn screws, work valves, …

1985 – Nuclear Maintenance Robot “AMOOTY” – Tokyo Uni / Toshiba (Japanese)

1985 – Nuclear Inspection Robot "AMOOTY" climbing stairs in a mock-up of a nuclear power plant. Before AMOOTY there was MOOTY. No manipulator arm here, just vision and star-wheel propulsion. Text Source: Inside The Robot Kingdom, Frederik L. Schodt, 1988 If cleverly designed, a robot on modified wheels or tank treads can still have considerable …

1958-62 – “Beetle” Mobile Manipulator – G.E. Corp. (American)

1958-62 – "Beetle" Mobile Manipulator. Background Information: Popular Mechanic's (Sep 1956) drawing made by Frank Tinsley from designs by Lee A. Ohlinger of Northrop Aviation, Inc. of a robot mechanic for the proposed atomic-powered airplane, a star-crossed project that stumbled through 10 years and $500,000 without ever getting off the ground. General Mills was one …