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Elektro
Elektro was an 7 foot tall, 265 pound robot created by the Westinghouse Electric Corporation that made its debut at the 1939 World's Fair. Responding to verbal commands spoken into a microphone, Elektro could perform 26 movements, as well as smoke and blow up balloons. The vibrations from speaking into the microphone were converted to electrical signals, and those signals directed the motors that caused Elektro's movement.
Source: http://davidbuckley.net/DB/HistoryMakers/HM-Elektro.htm -
ENIAC
Proposed by physicist John Mauchly, who wanted a completely electronic computation device, ENIAC was built over a period of two years. It was the first large computer to run without being inhibited by mechanical parts. Over the next decade, it is possible that may ENIAC have ran more calculations then all humans had since the beginning of time.
Source: http://www.computerhistory.org/revolution/birth-of-the-computer/4/78 -
Direct Keyboard Input
Researchers at MIT began experimenting with direct keyboard input to computers. At the time computers were given programmed by feeding them paper tape, inserting punched cards or using dials and switches. A new idea at the time, it is now common-place.
Sources: http://www.computerhistory.org/tdih/July/4/
https://edu.hstry.co/item/direct-keyboard-input-to-computers-1956-researchers-at-mit-began-experimentin -
Unimate
The Unimate was the first robotic arm to be introduced into the assembly line at a factory. Designed to perform tasks that would be dangerous, repetitive or unpleasant for humans, the Unimate first was installed at a General Motors plant in New Jersey. It was involved in die casting, with about 450 in use by 1961.
Source: http://www.robotics.org/joseph-engelberger/unimate.cfm -
IBM System/ 360
The IBM System/ 360 was a groundbreaking accomplishment, allowing machines across a product line to complete tasks working together. At the time, IBM had five different computer product lines, and they were all replaced with one harmonious system, the IBM System/ 360. Through this invention, it was possible to think about more complex computer systems, instead of individual computers.
Source: http://www-03.ibm.com/ibm/history/ibm100/us/en/icons/system360/ -
Dartmouth Time Sharing System
Research took place at Dartmouth to create a time-sharing system. The project resulted in not only a time-sharing system, but also BASIC, a programming language. By 1965, a year after the system started up, other computer installations began to use Dartmouth's system.
Source: http://dtss.dartmouth.edu/history.php -
Stanford Arm
Invented by Victor Scheinman, the Stanford arm was one of the first so called robots to be designed specifically for control by computer. It was designed to be easy to control, and had six joints. The robot was built completely on the Stanford campus.
Source: http://infolab.stanford.edu/pub/voy/museum/pictures/display/1-Robot.htm -
C programming language
Developed by Dennis M. Ritchie, C programming language helped revolutionize how computer code was written. C built off of B language, which allowed specific tasks to be written in a few lines of code instead of the pages of code it took before. C, however, also knew data-types and had several other major improvements.
Source: https://www.codingunit.com/the-history-of-the-c-language -
Voyagers 1 & 2
Twin spacecraft, Voyagers 1 & 2, were launched in 1977 to study Jupiter, Saturn, Saturn's rings, and several moons of both planets. The spacecraft continued on, passing all the outer planets and providing huge amounts of information for astronomers. Voyager 1 recently reached interstellar space in 2012, and Voyager 2 is also on the way out of the Solar System.
Source: http://voyager.jpl.nasa.gov/science/planetary.html -
Macintosh Computer
The Macintosh computer was a new era for computers. As opposed to the text-based computers of the past, the Macintosh was controlled by using a "mouse" to select icons on a screen. This made the Macintosh special, although it was limited by its insufficient memory capacity.
Source: http://www.oldcomputers.net/macintosh.html -
Honda humanoid robot research
Honda started research on a humanoid robot that was required to be intelligent and mobile. The guideline was to create a robot that could "coexist" with humans and perform tasks humans could not. Honda broke through with ASIMO almost 20 years later after several prototypes and design changes.
Source: http://world.honda.com/ASIMO/P3/ -
The Internet
In 1969 the ARPANET launched, and in 1983 it adapted the TCI/IP protocol. It was retired and added to the NSFNET, which then connected to the CSNET, and the EUnet. This connected universities across the US and Europe, and usage of the Internet drastically increased starting in 1990.
Source: http://www.livinginternet.com/i/ii_summary.htm -
Mars Pathfinder mission
The Mars Pathfinder mission was a NASA mission to learn more about the planet Mars. The Sojourner rover was able to explore and collect data for three months after landing. Some of the
experiments conducted included research on dust and soil.
Source: http://www.nasa.gov/centers/glenn/about/history/marspath.html -
PackBot
Packbots are used by the military for tasks that would put human soldiers at risk. They have been used for cave-clearing, crossing minefields, vehicle searches, and rescue operations. Packbots reach speeds up to 14 km per hour and has a GPS receiver, an electronic compass and temperature sensors.
Source: http://defense-update.com/products/p/pacbot.htm -
Robot Scientist
The Robot Scientist, also known as Adam, was designed to perform the entire scientific method on its own. Found at Cambridge University, it is the first robot to make a discovery through independent experimentation. Only a prototype, the next robot Eve should be even more improved.
Source: http://www.cam.ac.uk/research/news/robot-scientist-becomes-first-machine-to-discover-new-scientific-knowledge?scrlybrkr=f2fbfe8e
