1964 – Aluminaut Submersible – Reynolds Submarine Corp. (American)

1964 – Aluminaut Submersible. Image source: Manned Submersibles, Frank Bushby, 1976. The Aluminaut is equipped with external dual manipulators which were designed jointly by Reynolds and the General Electric Company, Schenectady, New York and built by General Electric. Each manipulator handles up to 200 pounds at its full nine foot extension, and both are jointly …

1985 – ACEC Mobile Inspection Vehicle – (Belgian)

1985 – ACEC Mobile Inspection Vehicle The manipulators are master-slave force feed-back and electrically driven. The ACEC Vehicle for remote inspection and intervention has a minimal footprint when the treads are folded up and the manipulator arms are also folded. Publication number EP0197020 A1 Publication date Oct 8, 1986 Filing date Mar 7, 1986 Priority …

1976 РMF3 Manipulator Vehicle РK̦hler (German)

MF3 Blocher-Motor GmbH & Co. KG, Metzingen, West Germany CMS Technologies, Inc., Ft. Lee, N.J., U.S. Distributor This device is a remotely controlled, tethered 4-tracked vehicle which is used in the nuclear industry and other hazardous environments. It was initially conceived and developed at the KFA Julich Research Laboratory in West Germany. Its single, light-duty, …

1970-2 – “Virgule” Remote-Controlled Manipulator – Jean Vertut (French)

1970-2 – "Virgule" Remote-Controlled Manipulator. Virgule being demonstrated at an exhibition. See 1:14 and 4:16 into video clip. The MA22 arm (slave unit shown) was very innovative at the time. The motors counterbalance the rest of the arm. It was replaced in 1975 by the MA23 which is still highly successful today. The Virgule was …

1958 – Mobile Remote Servo-manipulator – Ray Goertz et al (American)

Mobile Remote Servo-manipulator. Caption: Robot Demonstrations Of The Atomic Age: Many onlookers – including schoolboys were thrilled by the robot "hands" – dealings with a variety of tasks on one of the stands at the Geneva Atomic Exhibition. The "almost human hands" are used in dealing with radio-active materials behind protective walls and are controlled …