Ebook: The International Robot Industry Report

Like many other new technologies which have since been seized and exploited by others, the industrial robot is a British invention. In 1957, a patent was produced by a British inventor, Cyril Walter Kenward, and later it became crucial to the future of robotics. For across the Atlantic two robot builders, Unimation and AMF, both infringed this patent and ultimately a cash settlement was made to Kenward. The owner of Unimation Inc. was Joseph Engelberger, an entrepreneur and avid reader of Isaac Asimov, the writer who helped to create the image of the benevolent robot. It is claimed that Engelberger's journey of fame down the road which led to him being hailed as the 'father of robotics' can be traced to the day that he met George C. Devol at a cocktail party. Devol was an inventor with an impressive list of patents to his name in the electronics field. One of Devol's patent applications referred to a Programmed Transfer Article. Devol's patent was issued in 1961 as US Patent 2,988,237, and this formed the basis of the Unimate robot which first saw the light of day in 1960. The first Unimate was sold to Ford Motor Company which used it to tend a die-casting machine. It is perhaps ironic that the first robot was used by a company which refused to recognise the machine as a robot, preferring instead to call it a Universal Transfer Device.

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The International Robot Industry Report has been compiled from data made available at four major exhibitions: Hannover Fair in West Germany, Robots 9 in the USA, Automan 85 in the UK and Robots 85 in Japan as well as through research interviews. The International Robot Industry Report provides a unique company-by-company assessment of the world's major suppliers of robots, each company having been individually researched to determine the latest information with respect to sales, employers, installation base etc. Readers can expect to obtain a unique insight into the background of major robotics companies in Europe, the USA and Japan. This information will help them when they come to design robotics systems and purchase the robots from suppliers. It will also provide a better understanding of the firms involved in the fast-changing robotics world.

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The International Robot Industry Report has been compiled from data made available at four major exhibitions: Hannover Fair in West Germany, Robots 9 in the USA, Automan 85 in the UK and Robots 85 in Japan as well as through research interviews. The International Robot Industry Report provides a unique company-by-company assessment of the world's major suppliers of robots, each company having been individually researched to determine the latest information with respect to sales, employers, installation base etc. Readers can expect to obtain a unique insight into the background of major robotics companies in Europe, the USA and Japan. This information will help them when they come to design robotics systems and purchase the robots from suppliers. It will also provide a better understanding of the firms involved in the fast-changing robotics world.
Content:
Front Matter....Pages i-viii
Introduction....Pages 1-7
Company Profiles....Pages 9-216
Industrial Robot Specifications....Pages 217-231

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The International Robot Industry Report has been compiled from data made available at four major exhibitions: Hannover Fair in West Germany, Robots 9 in the USA, Automan 85 in the UK and Robots 85 in Japan as well as through research interviews. The International Robot Industry Report provides a unique company-by-company assessment of the world's major suppliers of robots, each company having been individually researched to determine the latest information with respect to sales, employers, installation base etc. Readers can expect to obtain a unique insight into the background of major robotics companies in Europe, the USA and Japan. This information will help them when they come to design robotics systems and purchase the robots from suppliers. It will also provide a better understanding of the firms involved in the fast-changing robotics world.
Content:
Front Matter....Pages i-viii
Introduction....Pages 1-7
Company Profiles....Pages 9-216
Industrial Robot Specifications....Pages 217-231
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