Electro-mechanical robots before the computer

Abstract

There were several electro-mechanical robots in the period leading up to the birth of the Journal of Mechanical Engineering Science in 1959. The authors examine the rise and fall of the electro-mechanical robot in the early twentieth century. After exploring the roots and uses of the term ‘robot’, a historical survey of the early landmark robots is provided. Some were controlled remotely by wireless radio signals or by selectively operating relays with whistle tones or by converting sound into light. Long before the invention of the modern digital computer, there were robots working autonomously with simple sensing and open-loop control. There were even learning machines. Many of the machines were inspired by and in turn inspired the development of mechanistic biology in the early twentieth century. The article ends with the demise of the electro-mechanical robot as the computer is developed and the new artificial intelligence takes hold.