Newsgroups: comp.robotics
Path: brunix!doorknob!jak
From: jak@cs.brown.edu (Jak Kirman)
Subject: Re: Father of Robotics?
In-Reply-To: br@cs.cmu.edu's message of Thu, 10 Feb 1994 20:53:43 GMT
Message-ID: <JAK.94Feb13154824@aruba.cs.brown.edu>
Sender: news@cs.brown.edu
Reply-To: jak@cs.brown.edu
Organization: Dept. of Computer Science, Brown University
References: <CKv5qu.F2B@trivia.coginst.uwf.edu> <760810515snz@envex.demon.co.uk>
	<CL10pJ.CnK.3@cs.cmu.edu>
Date: Sun, 13 Feb 1994 20:48:24 GMT
Lines: 43

>>>>> "Bill" == Bill Ross <br@cs.cmu.edu> writes:
In article <CL10pJ.CnK.3@cs.cmu.edu> br@cs.cmu.edu (Bill Ross) writes:

 Bill>    This is a kind of silly topic unless we decide what "Father of
 Bill>    Robotics" means...

 Bill> 	First person to (fictionally) describe a robot
 Bill> 	    probably could find an instance in the 1800's - certainly in 1920's

Hephaestus, the Greek god of fire, had some number of helpers in the
shape of women that he had constructed from metal; I think these would
qualify as "robots", and they must have been described by early Greek
authors.  Does anyone have a date for the first mention of them?

 Bill> 	First person to use the term "robot" or "robotics"
 Bill> 	    eastern european guy?

As many have pointed out, Karel Capek for robot and Isaac Asimov for
robotics. 

 Bill> 	First person to use those terms for what they mean today
 Bill> 	    Asimov?

I would have thought Capek's use was quite consistent with the modern
notion of robot.

 Bill> 	First person to construct a robot (now we have to define "robot")
 Bill> 	    The "Doodlebug" was a clockwork autopiloted un-manned bomb built
 Bill> 	    in 1920's or 1930's -- does that count?

To take a fairly restricted view, how about an autonomous mechanical
agent that reacts to its environment? 

Candidates mentioned so far:
Dr W Grey Walter     1940s (when exactly?)
Conrad Zuse          WWII  (when exactly?)
Joseph Engelberger   When?

                         Jak Kirman                        jak@cs.brown.edu
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The middle of the road is all of the usable surface.  The extremes,
right and left, are in the gutters.
                                                    -- Dwight D. Eisenhower
