Arrange these sentences in order to make a logical paragraph paying attention to the dates.

1. In 1954, the American inventor George Devol began work that eventually led to the industrial robot as we know it today.

2. Between 1967 and 1969, researchers at the Stanford Research Institute in the United States developed a robot with wheels named Shakey.

3. Since then, many companies have entered the robotics market.

4. This was because it could only be controlled by a separate mainframe computer, which sent its commands to the robot through a radio channel.

5. All three helped Shakey to move freely and avoid obstacles.

6. Later devices were more successful – for example, a four-legged robot developed at the Tokyo Institute of Technology in 1980.

7. In 1983, a six-legged robot was developed by Odetics Incorporated, for commercial production.

8. This system combined a human controller with automatic processing of information about the terrain, right down to the foot movements needed to ensure smooth movement.

9. Shakey was fitted with bump detectors, a sonar range finder, and a TV camera.

10. This was an extremely difficult job for the driver, and the machine regularly became unbalanced and fell over.

11. A battery-powered model, Odex 1, used a radio channel for leg control and a video link for conveying images.

12. Shakey was thought to be a failure.

13. This machine could walk over obstacles and lift loads several times its own weight.

14. The machine carried a human operator who had to control each of the four legs.

15. In 1967, the General Electric Corporation (GEC) had developed a four-wheeled machine for the US Department of Defense.

16. The next important step was the development of robots with legs.

5.15. Answer the questions to the text.

1. What is the origin of the word “robot”?

2. How did robots look like for many years?

3. Is there an exact definition of the word “robot”?

4. How many generations of industrial manipulators are there?

5. What generation do industrial robots which are used in stamping belong to?

6. What types of jobs do the robots do?

7. Why is spray painting suited to robots?

8. Why are robots particularly valuable in assembly of electronic parts?

9. What robots are used in space projects?

10. What advantages has the use of industrial robots produced?

5.16. Discuss the following.

1. Different types of industrial robots and their application.

2. Robots today and tomorrow.

3. Types of jobs suitable for robots.

4. Robots in space exploration.

5. Robots in military service.