13 Robots, Real and Imagined, You Need to Know
Heritage Images/Getty Images01__Pygmalion (Ancient Greece)__ The start of it all. In Greek mythology, Pygmalion sculpted a female figure out of ivory, and found himself falling for her. He kissed her, and she felt warm, which is weird for ivory. Aphrodite transformed the statue into a real live human woman so Pygmalion could marry her. Thus comes an intelligent humanoid machine into being.
Pictorial Press/Alamy02Rossum's Universal Robots (1921)
__Rossum's Universal Robots (1921)__ Karel Capek’s 1921 play *Rossum's Universal Robots* introduces the word “robot” into the lexicon, though these artificial laborers were made of chemical batter, not metal. They were also more murderous than most robots, helping solidify the "killer machines" trope.
Everett03Maschinenmensch (1927)
__Maschinenmensch (1927)__ The humanoid robot star of the silent film *Metropolis.* Technically, it was a gynoid, meaning a female robot. This has developed into an extremely problematic category, packed with various sexualized machines modeled after women.
Ralph Crane/The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images04Shakey (1966)
__Shakey (1966)__ A not-inaccurate name for a trembling machine developed between 1966 and 1972. It was the first truly perceptive and mobile robot, capable of navigating obstacles in a room. That was thanks to an early form of computer vision, a technology that today helps machines recognize cats in pictures and, more importantly, allows self-driving cars to perceive the world around them.
Stanford Special Collections and University Archive05Stanford Cart (1960)
__Stanford Cart (1960)__ Like Shakey, the Stanford Cart was an early experiment in getting machines to navigate autonomously. It got around on four bicycle tires and relied on a car battery for power. Fun fact: The “CAUTION ROBOT VEHICLE” sign posted on the road to the lab where the Cart lived was [repeatedly stolen](https://web.stanford.edu/~learnest/les/cart.html).
AF/Alamy06C-3PO and R2-D2 (1977)
__C-3PO and R2-D2 (1977)__ The greatest robot duo of all time. That is all.
Orion Pictures Corp/Everett07Terminator (1984)
__Terminator (1984)__ I need to take issue with the Terminator’s supposed lack of pain. Roboticists actually want their creations to feel pain, for the same reasons you and me need to feel it: Pain keeps us from hurting ourselves. Is it good for the Terminator to withstand bullets? Sure, but it also needs to know when it’s pushing its body/armature too far.
NASA08Mars rovers (1997-present)
__Mars rovers (1997-present)__ Perhaps the most endearing robots in the solar system, the Mars rovers—four in total—have been scooting around the Red Planet since Sojourner landed in 1997. The rovers have, of course, grown increasingly sophisticated. Today the Curiosity rover, pictured above, can autonomously seek out the best rocks to [blast with its laser](https://www.wired.com/story/curiosity-rover-autonomy/). Shown here: Two spacecraft engineers with a flight spare of Sojourner, a working sibling to Spirit and Opportunity (left), and a test rover Curiosity (right).
Dieter Klein/Redux09Asimo (2000)
__Asimo (2000)__ Honda’s first humanoid robot, the P1, stood a [horrifying 6-foot-2](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3pbbJTTzNBU). Its descendant, the modern Asimo, measures in at just over 4 feet tall—much more endearing. That’s not really the point, though. Honda was experimenting with robots that walk on two legs without face-planting, a skill that may one day make them useful for exploring environments built for humans, like decommissioned nuclear reactors.
Media for Medical/Getty Images10daVinci surgical robot (2000)
__daVinci surgical robot (2000)__ Introduced in 2000, the daVinci surgical system isn’t a replacement for surgeons, but rather a complement. The doctor teleoperates the instruments to pull off more precise procedures. That doesn’t come without downsides, though. For one, the system drives up costs. And it turns out that med students are getting [worryingly terrible training](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3pbbJTTzNBU) in the system.
Larry D. Moore11Roomba (2002)
__Roomba (2002)__ Everyone’s favorite vacuum cleaner. Notable for its transformation into [DJ Roomba](http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/ac3ea16cfa/dj-roomba) in Parks and Rec, and also for the [most ridiculous correction](https://www.wired.com/2015/02/incredible-hospital-robot-saving-lives-also-hate/) in my career. We all make mistakes, but some are much dumber than others.
Photograph: David McNew/Getty Images12Darpa Challenge self-driving cars (2004)
__Darpa Challenge self-driving cars (2004)__ The robocar revolution began in 2004 with the Darpa Grand Challenge, a [grueling race through the desert](https://www.wired.com/story/darpa-grand-challenge-2004-oral-history/). Darpa is the far-out research wing of the Pentagon, and it was interested in keeping human drivers out of combat zones. The Challenge jumpstarted research into self-driving cars, but we’re likely still a long ways off from a robocar that is 100 percent autonomous.
Boston Dynamics13Boston Dynamics’ SpotMini (2016)
__Boston Dynamics’ SpotMini (2016)__ Boston Dynamics is one of those rare companies that doesn’t have to worry about advertising—it just releases videos of its robots doing insane things. In the span of a week, for instance, it first showed how its SpotMini quadruped could open a door and hold it for another SpotMini to [slip through](https://www.wired.com/story/watch-boston-dynamics-spotmini-robot-open-a-door/), then another of a human trying to fight the robot off with [a hockey stick](https://www.wired.com/story/watch-a-human-try-to-fight-off-that-door-opening-robot-dog/).
