When you think of the 1970s you don’t really think of major technological advancements. It is very easy to think negatively about the 70s. The Vietnam War was raging, Richard Nixon embarrassed the nation, 40 million people bought the pungent hunk of duck droppings that was Disco Duck and Jonathan Livingston Seagull was one of one four films that Roger Ebert ever walked out on. Ok, there was Star Wars, so not everything was bad. But forgotten in that decade was a major technological development that was revealed to the public in the early part of the decade that goes relatively unheralded today, the birth of artificial intelligence with Shakey the robot.
The First Electronic Person
Referred to as the first “electronic person” by Life Magazine in 1970 was Shakey the robot. It was also featured by National Geographic as part of the future of computers. The Shakey Project began in 1966 as a project to combine artificial intelligence and computer technology. It utilized the automated planner Stanford Research Institute Problem Solver (STRIPS), a primitive artificial intelligence program.
Shakey was built with a TV camera, rangefinder and feelers so it could detect objects near it. The robot connected to a computer that could process incoming information and send commands via a radio link. When a command was entered Shakey had the ability to plan its route to go around obstacles and it could even move some obstacles like boxes. It could also turn light switches on or off and could climb up or down obstacles. It could move about 2 meters per hour.
Why Shakey?
Shakey is of course not the most impressive name for a robot or even any major technological development. So, why was it given the name Shakey? The team considered more heroic names from Greek mythology and others but couldn’t come to a consensus. Instead they settled on a more practical name since the robot shook heavily and called it Shakey.
AI And More
What Shakey could do might not be impressive for 2020 but in the late 1960s and early 1970s this was a major technological breakthrough. There was more than just a robot. The Shakey Project developed the world’s first search algorithm, which was so unheralded that no reputable journal of the time would publish it. One of the project’s leaders, Bert Raphael was so proud of this achievement and so mad that no one would publish it that he founded his own journal to do so.
The development team expected military interest in Shakey. They thought that it would be good at conducting reconnaissance in hostile environments but DARPA eventually pulled their funding in 1971. They did not want robots.
Problems Envisions 50 Years Ago Coming To Pass
Others did take notice. Union representatives were extremely interested in Shakey for reasons that you can probably guess. They feared that robots would replace human workers. That day has not still arrived but we are beginning to talk about that. Considering AI can handle anything from flipping burgers to farming to trucking, that day is approaching.
How Advanced Was Shakey?
How far reaching was Shakey the robot? According to the plaque with the IEEE Milestone Program “Shakey’s software architecture, computer vision, and methods for navigation and planning proved seminal in robotics and in the design of web servers, automobiles, factories, video games and Mars rovers. The method devised for Shakey to identify when points in an image fall into a line is still utilized today with self-driving vehicles. The project itself is cited in over 2,100 US patents and in around 5,000 research papers.
The team produced a 24 minute film in 1969 showing off Shakey. It can be found on YouTube here.
Shakey is still with us today. It can be found on display at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, California.