a history of cybernetic animals and early robots
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 …
Read More “1950 – General Electric Robotic Manipulator – (American)”
CRANE by SEWARD S. BABBITT. See full patent details here. 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 …
Pollard Jr SPRAY PAINTING MACHINE by Willard Lacey George Pollard Jr. See full patent here. Patent number: 2213108 Filing date: Oct 29, 1934 Issue date: Aug 27, 1940 Pollard Sr POSITION-CONTROLLING APPARATUS by W. L. V. POLLARD Sr. See full patent here. Patent number: 2286571 Filing date: Apr 22, 1938 Issue date: Jun 16, 1942 Roselund …
Images and text source from here. The original name of ABB’s robot factory at Bryne was Trallfa, a company that pioneered development of a robot for spray painting in 1965 – 67. It has its origin in a company manufacturing wheelbarrows, sack trolleys and transport equipment, which was founded in Bryne in 1941 by Nils …
Read More “1965-7 – Trallfa spray-paint robot – Ole Molaug and Sverre Bergene (Norweigan)”
Another early patent that looks surprisingly modern was granted for a robot called 'Improvements in or relating to Positioning or Manipulating Apparatus' invented by Cyril W. Kenward. The British patent was filed March 29, 1954 and was published August 21, 1957, and preceded George Devol's first robot patent by several months. It is an interesting …