TABLE OF CONTENTS Automaton 4 Radio-Controlled Boat 6 Cybernetic Tortoise 8 Industrial Robot 10 Artificial Intelligence 12 Robotic Spacecraft 14 Humanoid Robot 16 Mars Rover 18 Social Robot 20 Robotic Pet 22 Home-Cleaning Robot 24 Robotic Car 26 Fact Sheet 28 Glossary 30 For More Information 31 Index 32 About the Author 32
1 AUTOMATONS PROVIDE INSPIRATION FOR FUTURE ROBOTS Jaquet-Droz made two others The Musician could play five songs on an organ The Draughtsman could be programmed to draw simple pictures such as a dog or a man ROBOTS A robot is a type of machine that carries out a complex set of tasks automatically Early robots called automatons were purely mechanical They had moving parts similar to a clock Later robots were controlled by computers Some robots are made to resemble people Others are built for specific tasks In 1768 Swiss watchmaker Pierre Jaquet-Droz introduced The Writer It was like a wooden doll but with mechanical parts that moved on their own The 28-inch 0 7-m figure was carved from wood Approximately 4,000 cams gears and rods turned inside It sat at a table and wrote up to three lines of text The Writer dipped a quill into a pot of ink Its eyes and head followed its hands as they moved Its motions made it appear lifelike A wheel could be changed to make it write different words Automatons such as The Writer were an early kind of robot An automaton is a machine that can move by itself in a repetitive manner The Writer could be programmed to write different text This set it apart from other automatons of the time 4
The 12 Biggest Breakthroughs In Robot Technology
Learn amazing facts, along with information about key players and the science behind each robot breakthrough.
About This Book
By: Marne Ventura
Illustrated by:
Published by: 12-Story Library provided by Amicus, part of The Creative Company
