Joseph Frederick Engelberger, the Father of Robotics, was born on July 26, 1925. He received his degree in Electric Engineering in 1949 from Columbia University. He worked as an engineer in a company and then he met George Devol at a party in 1956, two years after Devol had designed and patented (获得专利权) an industrial robotic arm. However, the company where Engelberger worked was closed in the year he met Devol.
Finding himself jobless but with a business partner and an idea, Engelberger co-founded Unimation with Devol, creating the world's first robotics company. Over the next two decades, the Japanese took the lead by investing (投资) heavily in robots to replace people performing certain tasks. In Japan, Engelberger was widely recognized as a key player in Japanese manufacturing quality and efficiency.
After observing his aging parents, Engelberger saw the robotics automation could be used in the medical field. In 1984, Engelberger introduced HelpMate and hoped to start a new industry for in-home robots. He sold his first HelpMate to Danbury Hospital in 1988. The medical robot was so successful that the hospital ended up purchasing another, and within a decade, well over 100 hospitals worldwide operated HelpMates.
Senator Joseph Lieberman delivered a speech in the U. S. Senate in praise and recognition of the inventor, calling HelpMate an example that shows the federal investment in science and technology for patients can lead to new products that create jobs for Americans and make for a better quality of life.
Engelberger liked working. So even after he got into his 80s, he remained active in the promotion and development of robots for use in elder care.
