In any discussion of the latest robotic technology, whenever there’s a mention of the origins of robotics, everybody thinks of Isaac Asimov. Fair enough, the science-fiction writer coined the term, and we are pretty certain without him, the things we know today as robots would be known by far less exciting (and definitely lengthier) names. However, it is quite ironic that the man who is actually the 
father of robotic technology is hardly known except within the closed community of robotic technology developers and the geeks who follow them closely. Outside of these, even the people who have heard of George Devol, who passed away on the 18th of August this year aged 99, associate him more with the auto industry rather than as the man who revolutionized the world of robotics as we know it today.
The Early Years: A Prelude to Robotic Technology
Devol was born in 1912 in Louisville, Kentucky, to an affluent family. A boyhood fascination with all things electrical and mechanical, as well as exposure to fantastic comic books and science-fiction stories planted the seeds of the inspiration that drove Devol. And so, in retrospect, it is hardly surprising that George Devol built the real-life digitally programmed robotic arm that has since been used on car assembly lines and in similar industrial roles.
That, however, was no bolt out of the blue. At Riordan Prep, he got some practical experience on top of his classroom lessons by helping construct some buildings and running the school’s electric light plant. He was never an exceptional student, but he would devour any reading material he could get related to mechanics, and was especially interested in the applications of vacuum tubes as control devices. Devol decided to forgo a college education in favor of gaining more know-how working at various electronics companies before founding United Cinephone in 1932. His initial business interest was to produce variable area recording directly onto film for the new sound motion pictures (“talkies”), an emerging form of entertainment after the silent film era. Faced with stiff competition from companies already established in this line of work, like RCA and Western Electric, he decided to explore other possibilities. At this point, he felt the boyhood fascination with reemerging “what else can we do with all these photocells and vacuum tubes?”
Innovations and Inventions Galore
Devol decided that United Cinephone needed inventions in order to sell its photoelectric switches. He invented his first significant contraption while still in his 20s: the automatically opening door that was billed by the advertisers of the day as ‘the Phantom Doorman’, and which is so commonplace nowadays. The New York World’s Fair of 1939 had another of his early inventions in attendance. Actually it was his invention that was helping gauge the attendance to the event. The device was a photoelectric entrance counter, which automatically counted visitors and replaced the turnstile.
In the 40s decade, Devol invented a rather rudimentary version of what we’d go on to know as the microwave owen. This coin-operated contraption was named the ‘Speedy Weeny’ and it cooked and dispensed hot dogs, initially in New York’s Grand Central Station.
The Word’s First Robotic Technology Manufacturing Company
He invented the robotic arm, initially named ‘programmed article-handling device’ in 1954. It wasn’t until he met eventual life-long friend and business partner Joseph Engelberger two years later that things begun to take shape. Over discussions of Isaac Asimov and his fictional robotic technology, Devol revlealed to his new friend that he’d invented a robotic arm two years ago. Himself an engineer, Engelberger quickly warmed to the idea as Devol elaborated on the concept.
United Cinephone had long been sold off, and after Engelberger had rechristened this invention ‘Unimate’, he set up ‘Unimation’ with Devol, based in Danbury, Connecticut. This was, by all indications, the world’s first company for development and manufacture of robotic technology.
In his later years, Devol ran a robotic technology consulting company in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. He continued to explore new technologies to ‘improve’ robotic behavior before retiring to Connecticut. He was inducted in the US National Inventors Hall of Fame in early 2011 .
The man who has been hailed as the ‘Father of Robotic Technology’ on more than one occasion, and who preferred to describe himself as the ‘perpetual Don Quixote’ had one lifelong regret. He’d forever lament the fact that Japanese industrialists not only appreciated his robotic arm quicker than the American stalwarts but also cashed in on it in a big way. Nevertheless, George Devol never let that get him down, and spent the better part of his 99 years transforming ideas into concrete robotic technology products. His robotic arm is still used across industries, working on the same principles, but updated to keep in sync with the latest robotic technology.
