Robots

What is a Robot? A machine that is controlled by a computer and is often made to look like a human or an animal A device that automatically performs complicated, repetitive tasks

Leonardo da Vinci’s Robot Mechanical Knight constructed in 1495 He made it for the Duke of Milan The robot was made of a series of pulleys and cables covered by a suit of armor It could stand, sit, and move its arms Da Vinci’s sketches were found in the 1950’s. The robot was rebuilt from his plans and was fully functional

The Mechanical Monk This robot was constructed in Spain during the 16th Century Commissioned by King Phillip II of Spain Built by clock maker, Juanelo Turriano A life like recreation of Franciscan Friar Diego de Alcala The robot was 35 cm tall, and powered by a wound spring It used simple levers to move on three small wheels The robot looked like a monk walking around the church praying

It was built in 1773 by a pair of watch makers The Silver Swan This robot is a life like Swan that appears to be floating in a stream of water It was built in 1773 by a pair of watch makers The robot is able to bend its neck, open its bill, and eat fish from the water below

The Three Automatons The three automatons were constructed by Pierre Jaquet- Droz in the 18th Century “The Writer” was a two foot doll that could write up to 40 pre-programmed letters on a sheet of paper “The Musician” played five different songs on a fully functional organ “The draughtsman” could draw four different pictures These are all operational today still

World’s First Assembly Line Was installed at the Henry Ford Car Factory in 1913 Moving assembly line for mass production of an entire automobile Reduced the time it took to build a car from over 12 hours to 2.5 hours Greatly reduced the price of a car and made them accessible to all

Lilliput Toy Robot The world’s first toy robot Built in Japan during the 1940’s It was made of tin and could walk around

Unimate Unimate was the world’s first industrial robot It worked in the General Motors assembly line in 1961 It was a large computer like box, connected to an arm It performed dangerous tasks on the assembly line The robot was featured on the Tonight Show, a popular talk show in the U.S.

Explored Mt. Spurr Volcano in Alaska in 1994 Dante II A robot used in Science Explored Mt. Spurr Volcano in Alaska in 1994 Studying volcanos is extremely dangerous work for scientists Dante II was able to descend down into the volcano to collect samples

A robotic dog Created by Sony in 1999 AIBO A robotic dog Created by Sony in 1999 AIBO had the ability to learn, entertain and communicate with its owner

The Roomba is a robot that vacuums your house It was introduced in 2002 It is able to learn the shape of your house and avoid obstacles

Can you design a robot? Think about a problem you have, or one facing the community Or think about a task that you have to complete frequently Could a robot solve this problem or complete this task? On a piece of paper draw your robot on one side On the other side of the paper discuss what problem this robot solves or what task it completes Talk about how the robot does this