Robots of the United States include simple household robots such as Roomba to sophisticated autonomous aircraft such as the MQ-9 Reaper that cost 18 million dollars per unit. [1] [2] The first industrial robot, robot company, and exoskeletons as well as the first dynamically balancing, organic, and nanoscale robots originate from the United States. [3] [4] [5] [6]
In 1898 Nikola Tesla publicly demonstrated a radio-controlled torpedo. [7] Based on patents for "teleautomation", Tesla hoped to develop it into a weapon system for the US Navy. [8] [9]
In 1926, Westinghouse Electric Corporation created Televox, the first robot put to useful work. In the 1930s, they created a humanoid robot known as Elektro for exhibition purposes, including the 1939 and 1940 World's Fairs. [10] [11]
Unimate was the first industrial robot, [3] which worked on a General Motors assembly line in New Jersey in 1961. [12] [13] It was created by George Devol in the 1950s using his original patents. Devol, together with Joseph F. Engelberger started Unimation, the world's first robot manufacturing company. [4]
In 2008 the U.S. Air Force 174th Fighter Wing transitioned from F-16 piloted planes to MQ-9 Reaper drones, which are capable remote controlled or autonomous flight, becoming the first all-robot attack squadron. [2] [14] [15]
These machines are human operated and not autonomous. Therefore, they do fit the classical description of a robot.
