JOSEPH F ENGELBERGER – THE FATHER OF ROBOTICS

Conceived from a design for a mechanical arm patented in 1954 (granted in 1961) by American inventor George Devol, the Unimate (very first industrial robot)was developed because of the foresight and business acumen of Joseph Engelberger - the Father of Robotics

- Kruti Bharadva

Joseph F. Engelberger, an American physicist, engineer and businessman, was responsible for the birth of one the most important and impactful industries, gaining him global recognition as the ‘Father of Robotics.’

At a cocktail party in 1956, Joseph Engelberger met inventor George Devol and the two got to talking about George’s latest invention - his Programmed Article Transfer Device. “Sounds like a robot to me!” exclaimed Engelberger, who had a deep fascination with robots because of his love for writer Isaac Asimov’s science fiction stories.

In 1957, Engelberger, who at the time was director of Consolidated Controls Corp. (Condec subsidiary) located in Bethel, Connecticut, convinced Condec’s CEO to finance the development of Devol’s invention. After almost two years in development, Engelberger and Devol produced a prototype - the Unimate #001.

MASS-PRODUCED ROBOTIC ARM