ASEA IRB

The ASEA IRB is an industrial robot series for material handling, packing, transportation, polishing, welding, and grading. Built in 1975, the robot allowed movement in 5 axes with a lift capacity of 6 kg. It was the world's first fully electrically driven and microprocessor-controlled robot, using Intel's first chipset.

The ASEA IRB was constructed by Björn Weichbrodt, Ove Kullborg, Bengt Nilsson and Herbert Kaufmann and was manufactured by ASEA in Sweden/Västerås. The first model, IRB 6, was developed in 1972-1973 on assignment by the ASEA CEO Curt Nicolin and was shown for the first time at the end of August 1973. The example shown in the Swedish National Museum of Science and Technology is the first robot that was sold. It was bought by Magnussons in Genarp to wax and polish stainless steel tubes bent at 90° angles. This robot was donated to the museum during ASEA's 100-year anniversary in 1983.

The IRB 6 sold 1900 copies during the next 17 years (1975–1992). It became the Swedish symbol for a new Labour market, shared between man and robot.^[1]

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