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George Devol

Robotics Engineering

George Devol was an American inventor and engineer who built the first industrial robot. In 1954 he patented a programmable mechanical arm he called Unimate, designed to be reprogrammed for different tasks through a magnetic drum memory, and in 1961 the first Unimate was installed at a General Motors plant in New Jersey to handle hot die-cast metal parts, marking the start of industrial robotics. He co-founded Unimation, the first robotics company, with Joseph Engelberger to manufacture and sell the machines, launching an industry that transformed manufacturing worldwide. This description is adapted from Wikipedia contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0; changes were made. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

Facts
Birth Year
1912 1
Death Year
2011 1
Nationality
American 1
FAQs

What was the first Unimate robot used for?

It retrieved and stacked hot die-cast metal pieces at a GM plant in 1961.

The first Unimate was installed in 1961 at a GM plant. There it carried out programmed commands to retrieve and stack hot die-cast metal pieces.
Connections

In Field

Source George Devol (Wikipedia)Wikipedia contributors

Invented

Filed the first robotics patents in 1954 and, with Joseph Engelberger, founded Unimation in 1956, the first company to produce industrial robots; the earliest known industrial robot itself is credited to Griffith P. Taylor's 1937 Meccano device.

Source George Devol (Wikipedia)Wikipedia contributors
Source George Devol (Wikipedia)Wikipedia contributors
In the Other Atlases

Nationality

Also in Geography Atlas: the nationality of this subject.

Source George Devol (Wikipedia)Wikipedia contributorsLead sentence 1tier 2
Quote, Lead sentence 1
George Charles Devol Jr. (February 20, 1912 – August 11, 2011) was an American inventor, best known for creating Unimate, the first industrial robot.
Sources
1. George Devol (Wikipedia)
Wikipedia contributors, Wikimedia Foundation
  • Lead section
    George Charles Devol Jr. (February 20, 1912, August 11, 2011) was an American inventor, best known for creating Unimate, the first industrial robot.
  • In Field: Robotics Engineering
  • Invented: Industrial Robot, Robotics section, 1954 patent application sentence
    In 1954, he applied for his robotics patent.
  • In Group: Robotics Pioneers, Lead paragraph
    best known for creating Unimate, the first industrial robot
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