When Was the First Robot Made?
The first robot was a mechanical bird made in 350 B.C. by Archytas of Tarentum. It was called “The Pigeon” and was powered by steam.
Archytas was an ancient Greek mathematician. His creation, a wooden dove that could fly up to 200 meters connected to a cable, was not only the first robot but also one of the earliest flight studies.
In 200 B.C., Ctesibus, another Greek inventor, made an automated water clock with movable hands. Leonardo da Vinci’s drawings of a mechanized knight inspired inventors in the late 1400s to build simple robotic machines. In 1738, Jacques de Vaucanson of France built a robotic flute player, drum and tambourine player, and a moving and quacking duck. In 1801, Joseph Jacquard made an automated loom. Charles Babbage’s “Difference Engine” of 1822 and Nikola Tesla’s 1898 robot boat were other prominent robotic inventions. The 1966 “Shakey” robot was the first self-aware robot.
