1801 Joseph Jacquerd invents a textile machine that is operated by punch cards
1892 In the US Seward Babbit designed motorized crane with gripper to remove ingots from a furnace
1921 First reference to the word robot appears in a play opening in London entitled "Rossums Universal Robots". The play was written by Czechoslovakian Karel Capek introduces the word robot from the Czeck robota meaning serf or subservient labor
1939 Isaac Asimovs science fiction writing introduces robots designed for humanity and work safely. He formulates the "Three Laws of Robotics"
1946 George David patents a general purpose playback device for controlling machines
1948 Norbert Wiener, a professor of Massachusetts Institute of Technology(MIT) publishes Cybernetics, a book that describes the concept of communications and control in electronic, mechanical and biological systems
1951 A tele-operator equipped articulated arm is designed by Raymond Goertz for the Atomic Energy Commisison
1954 The first programmable robot is designed by George Devol who coined the term universal automation. Devol is joined by Joseph Engelberger in 1956 and shorten the name to Unimation and form the first successful robot manufacturing company