Unimate was the first industrial robot,[1] which worked on a General Motors assembly line at the Inland Fisher Guide Plant in Ewing Township, New Jersey, in 1961.[2][3][4]
It was created by George Devol in the 1950s using his original patent filed in 1954 and granted in 1961. The patent begins:
The present invention relates to the automatic operation of machinery, particularly the handling apparatus, and to automatic control apparatus suited for such machinery.[5]
Devol, together with Joseph Engelberger, started the world's first robot manufacturing company, Unimation.[6]
The machine undertook the job of transporting die castings from an assembly line and welding these parts on auto bodies, a dangerous task for workers, who might be poisoned by exhaust gas or lose a limb if they were not careful.[4]
The original Unimate consisted of a large computer-like box, joined to another box and was connected to an arm, with systematic tasks stored in a drum memory.
The Unimate also appeared on The Tonight Show hosted by Johnny Carson on which it knocked a golf ball into a cup, poured a beer, waved the orchestra conductor's baton and grasped an accordion and waved it around.[7][8]
In 2003 the Unimate was inducted into the Robot Hall of Fame.[9]