1983-88 – “Greenman” Teleoperator – Smith & Armogida (American)

“Greenman” (1983-1988) – The first anthropomorphic (human configured) manipulator developed at SSC San Diego was the Remote Presence Demonstration System, nicknamed “Greenman”. It was assembled in 1983 using MB Associates arms and a SPAWAR Systems Center San Diego-developed torso and head. It had an exoskeletal master controller for the human operator’s torso, arms, and head. …

1971 – Naval Anthropomorphic Teleoperator (“NAT”) – Adamski (American)

Thursday; 14 October 1971 Naval Anthropomorphic Teleoperator (NAT) developed by MBAssociates, San Ramon, California, under a joint Navy-NASA-AEC contract. Slave arm and 3-D TV system mounted on Tripod. Exoskeleton master controller worn by operator (Donald F. Adamski) to the right in the photograph.  Naval Anthropomorphic Teleoperator (NAT) The kinematic arrangement is shown in Figure 3.2.2-7(c)[not …

1978-9 – Mobile Suit Gundam (Fiction) – Yoshiyuki Tomino (Japanese)

Although inspired by Robert Heinlein's "Starship Troopers" that had infantrymen wearing "power suits" that surround their bodies and amplify their movements, most of the Gundam mobile suits were of the "driveable robot" tradition, where operators sat in cockpits and manipulated levers and pedals. The Gundam concept was developed in 1978, with the TV series first …

1969 – Self-propelled Anthropomorphic Manipulator (SAM) – Edwin Johnsen (American)

SAM, a mobile manipulator, mimics the movements of an operator stationed at a far-distant control center. The Self-propelled Anthropomorphic Manipulator (SAM) that wears NASA logos was developed under Edwin Johnsen's direction in 1969 by the now defunct Space Nuclear Propulsion division of the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission. Johnsen is credited with introducing the popular term …

1972 – JPL/AMES Manipulator Arm – Hubert “Vik” Vykukal (American)

The JPL/AMES Manipulator arm came about around 1972. It utilises the arms of Vykukal's Hard Space Suit (see patent infomation below).  The patent has Hubert C. Vykukal, Reginald F. King, and Wilbur C. Vallotton as the joint inventors. Around 3 models were built. "Unilateral" means that there is no "force reflection" (feedback) provided in this …