2000: Run, ASIMO, Run:
Honda has worked on an interactive, walking robot since 1986, aiming to improve our quality of life. The company started with legs, and improved its models over time.
In October 2000, Honda debuted the famous ASIMO robot — Advanced Step in Innovative Mobility — the first one designed both to function in a human environment and also to incorporate predicted movement control (hence, a more natural walking movement). The four-foot, three-inch tall robot’s claim to fame was its advanced technology (i.e., hip joints) that allowed it to walk smoothly and climb stairs.
With newer versions released in 2002, 2005, 2007 and 2011, the most recent ASIMO not only walks, runs and turns, but it can also navigate uneven surfaces, climb stairs, reach for and grasp objects, recognize faces, map its environment, and avoid obstacles.
2001: PackBots and Sept. 11:
After the Sept. 11 attacks, the collapsed buildings and landscape were too enclosed and dangerous for humans or dogs to navigate.
Remote-controlled, shoebox-sized PackBots, manufactured by iRobot, became known for being the first robots used in response to a disaster. They went where no robot had gone before: determining the structural integrity of damaged buildings, taking images and searching through rubble for survivors.
Like ASIMO, PackBots have continued to be updated and have been used in various difficult instances.
2002: Roomba, the Domestic Robot:
The first truly popular domestic robot, iRobot’s Roomba let every family pretend it lived alongside the space-age Jetsons. The cordless silver disk weighed just seven pounds and provided real utility for only $199. It zoomed around the room and vacuumed your floors, all without instruction.
The Roomba turned 10 last year, and is arguably the first robot to enjoy such a degree of commercial success, to the tune of 8 million units sold.
2003: Neural Networks Increase Robotic Movement:
Fujitsu Laboratories developed the first learning system for humanoid robots that utilizes a dynamically reconfigurable neural network.
Simply put, the researchers’ new mathematical model of the nervous system found in humans was a breakthrough that allowed robots to learn movement and motor coordination faster and more easily. Neural networks previously took days or even months to generate new movement. The new technology translated to unprecedented learning flexibility, and greatly minimized the amount of software code necessary in motion control.
2004: DNA Robot Capable of Bipedal Motion:
Chemists Nadrian Seeman and William Sherman successfully built the first two-footed molecular robot — the first nanobot capable of bipedal motion.
Its legs measure 10 nanometers long, and each is made with two strands of DNA, which match off to form a double helix. Scientists welcomed this DNA robot as a vital step in nanotechnology, or molecular gadgets.
2005: The Reproductive Robot:
This robot isn’t reproductive in the biological definition of the word, but rather, it can produce an exact replica of itself, given it has the right materials.
Cornell University researchers built the first self-replicating robot out of computerized cubes, which use magnets to link and swivel themselves. Each cube is made of a microprocessor, motor and electromagnets. The robots couldn’t do much more than self-replicate, but it enthused scientists who believed that self-reproduction isn’t exclusive to living organisms.
Now we have self-assembling robots, to boot — although, yes, they’re still made of cubes.
2006: The Robot Surgeon Will See You Now:
In May 2006, a robot armed with information on 10,000 real operations performed an unassisted, 50-minute surgical procedure on a 34-year-old man’s heart.
From Boston, Dr. Carlo Pappone supervised — but didn’t control — the surgery, which took place in Milan.
2007: i-LIMB, the Bionic Hand:
The world’s first commercially available prosthetic hand, created by Touch Bionics, was both multi-articulating (each finger is capable of its own movement) and capable of power grip (for holding larger objects). In only one year, more than 200 patients had been fitted with i-LIMB hands.
Prosthetic limbs have continued to advance by leaps and bounds. This year, a new prototype restores patients' sense of touch by attaching itself to the body’s nervous system.
2008: Original “E-Skin":
With the help of carbon nanotubes, scientists at the University of Tokyo engineered a new, thin type of "e-skin" that gave robots a better sense of “touch” and better conducted electricity.
The material has been increasingly used as robot “skin,” or potentially on the steering wheels of cars, to assess a driver’s physiology. Robots must be able to “feel” if they are to interact with us in our real-world environment. This was another step in the journey to create the most human-like robot possible, although we can't rule out the use of such skin in human bodies just yet (skin grafts, for example).
2009: Adam, the Robot Scientist:
Robots can’t think for themselves...right?
The great minds of Aberystwyth University and the University of Cambridge created Adam, an automated scientist that demonstrated active machine learning. It formulated hypotheses, designed experiments and ran tests for its investigation of orphan enzymes in the yeast saccharomyces cerevisiae, all on its own.
2010: Rex Robotic Exoskeleton, or Bionic Legs:
New Zealand company Rex debuted a pair of bionic legs in July 2010. Intended for paraplegics and those confined to wheelchairs (but able to operate hand controls), it’s incredibly stable and uses Velcro and buckles so the user doesn’t waver while he or she stands, walks and climbs stairs.
These robotic legs may even soon be controlled by your mind.
2011: The Nano Hummingbird:
Tech company AeroVironment’s remote-controlled hummingbird, an ornithopter, achieved flight in February 2011. It was developed for the United States' Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). The robot is equipped with motors, a communications system, a battery and video camera, yet it weighs less than a AA battery.
The Nano Hummingbird will most likely pave the way for a new class of aerial surveillance vehicles.
2012: Paralyzed Patients Use Their Minds To Control A Robot Arm:
A lot of robot developments took place in 2012, and this was among the most advanced breakthroughs. With the help of a 4 millimeter-wide chip implanted in the brain, two stroke victims used their minds to command a robotic arm.
This was an experiment of the BrainGate system, in which a computer decodes neural signals in real-time.
2013: Kirobo, the Talking Robot Astronaut:
At just 13 inches tall, Kirobo, the world’s first talking humanoid astronaut, said its first words in Japanese on Aug. 21 while aboard the International Space Station (ISS).
Kirobo, which was designed by the University of Tokyo, Toyota and ad firm Dentsu, currently awaits the arrival of astronaut Koichi Wakata, who will become the first Japanese commander of the ISS. Kirobo is poised to show emotion when he meets Wakata, and will also help researchers determine if machines can provide emotional support to people during an extended period of time.
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