| The idea of artificial people dates at
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| | humanoid robot was made by Leonardo da
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| least as far back as the ancient legend
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| | Vinci (1452-1519) in around 1495. Da
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| of Cadmus, who sowed dragon teeth that
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| | Vinci's notebooks, rediscovered in the
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| turned into soldiers, and the myth of
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| | 1950s, contain detailed drawings of a
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| Pygmalion, whose statue of Galatea came
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| | mechanical knight able to sit up, wave
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| to life. In Greek mythology, the deformed
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| | its arms and move its head and jaw. The
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| god of metalwork (Vulcan or Hephaestus)
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| | design is likely to be based on his
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| created mechanical servants, ranging from
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| | anatomical research recorded in the
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| intelligent, golden handmaidens to more
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| | Vitruvian Man. It is not known whether he
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| utilitarian three-legged tables that
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| | attempted to build the robot (see:
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| could move about under their own power.
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| | Leonardo's robot).
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| Medieval Persian alchemist Jabir ibn
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| | An early automaton was created 1738 by
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| Hayyan, inventor of many basic processes
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| | Jacques de Vaucanson, who created a
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| still used in chemistry today, included
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| | mechanical duck that was able to eat
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| recipes for creating artificial snakes,
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| | grain, flap its wings, and excrete.
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| scorpions, and humans in his coded Book
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| | Many consider the first robot in the
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| of Stones. Jewish legend tells of the
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| | modern sense to be a teleoperated boat,
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| Golem, a clay statue animated by
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| | similar to a modern ROV, devised by
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| Kabbalistic magic. Similarly, in the
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| | Nikola Tesla and demonstrated at an 1898
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| Younger Edda, Norse mythology tells of a
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| | exhibition in Madison Square Garden.
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| clay giant, Makkurkalfi or Mistcalf,
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| | Based on his patents 613,809, 723,188 and
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| constructed to aid the troll Hrungnir in
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| | 725,605 for "teleautomation", Tesla hoped
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| a duel with Thor, the God of Thunder.
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| | to develop the "wireless torpedo" into an
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| The word robot was introduced by Czech
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| | automated weapon system for the US Navy.
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| writer Karel Capek in his play R.U.R.
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| | (Cheney 1989) Tesla also proposed but did
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| (Rossum's Universal Robots) which was
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| | not build remotely operated war planes
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| written in 1920 (See also Robots in
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| | and ground vehicles. He also predicted
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| literature for details of the play).
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| | these remote controlled machines were
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| However, the verb robotovat, meaning "to
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| | merely precursors of "machines possessed
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| work" or "to slave", and the noun robota
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| | of their own intelligence" (Cheney 1989).
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| (meaning corve) used in the Czech and
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| | See also the PBS website article (with
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| Slovak languages, has been used since the
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| | photos) : Tesla - Master of Lightning:
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| early 10th century. It was suggested that
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| | Race of Robots
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| the word robot had been coined by Karel
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| | In the 1930s, Westinghouse made a
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| Capek's brother, painter and writer Josef
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| | humanoid robot known as Elektro. It was
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| Capek.
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| | exhibited at the 1939 and 1940 World's
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| Concepts akin to today's robot can be
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| | Fairs while the first electronic
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| found as long ago as 450 BC when the
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| | autonomous robots were created by W. Grey
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| Greek mathematician Archytas of Tarentum
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| | Walter at Bristol University, England in
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| postulated a mechanical bird he called
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| | 1948.
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| "The Pigeon" which was propelled by
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| | The first human to be killed by a robot
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| steam. Heron of Alexandria (10AD-70AD)
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| | was 37 year-old Kenji Urada, a Japanese
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| made numerous innovations in the field of
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| | factory worker, in 1981. According to the
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| automata, including (allegedly) one that
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| | Economist.com, Urada "climbed over a
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| could speak. Al-Jazari (1136-1206) an
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| | safety fence at a Kawasaki plant to carry
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| Ortoqid (Artuk) Arab inventor designed
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| | out some maintenance work on a robot. In
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| and constructed automatic machines such
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| | his haste, he failed to switch the robot
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| as water clocks, kitchen appliances and
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| | off properly. Unable to sense him, the
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| musical automats powered by water (See
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| | robot's powerful hydraulic arm kept on
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| one of his works at [6]).
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| | working and accidentally pushed the
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| One of the first recorded designs of a
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| | engineer into a grinding machine."
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