Robot Evolution
I saw a variant of the classical monkey to man evolution chart recently, applied to robotics. However I could not find a version with the actual historical revolutionary milestone robots, so I created one myself using Gemini and Nano Banana. The robots I chose to show each highlight a significant step in the evolution of robotics.
Evolution of robots from Unimate to Optimus
Unimate
The first industrial robot, Unimate, was installed in 1961 at a General Motors factory. The robot arm performed repetitive tasks such as welding and material handling, that were dangerous or monotonous for human workers. (wiki)
Shakey the Robot
The first mobile robot that could move and sense its environment, developed at SRI International in the late 1960s. (wiki)
ASIMO
A humanoid robot created by Honda in 2000, capable of walking and interacting with humans. (wiki)
Atlas
A bipedal robot developed by Boston Dynamics in 2013, known for its agility and balance. (wiki)
Optimus
A humanoid robot developed by Tesla, announced in 2021, designed for general-purpose tasks and human interaction. (wiki)