The Robot Hall of Fame, established in 2003 by Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, honors significant robots in science, society, and technology. As of 2025, 34 real and fictional robots have been inducted.
The organization was established by the CMU's School of Computer Science as an acknowledgement of Pittsburgh's achievements in the field of robotics and with the aim of creating a broader awareness of the contributions of robotics in society. The idea was conceived by School of Computer Science dean James H. Morris, who described it as a means of honoring "robots that have served an actual or potentially useful function and demonstrated real skill, along with robots that entertain and those that have achieved worldwide fame in the context of fiction." The first induction ceremony was held at the Kamin Science Center on November 10, 2003. An exhibit named Roboworld was present at the Kamin Science Center from June 2009 until June 2022, featuring a physical embodiment of the hall of fame. Now some of them may be found in the lobby of Rangos Giant Cinema.
From 2003 to 2010, inductees to the Robot Hall of Fame were chosen by a panel of jurors. Members of the public could nominate a robot for induction with a one-paragraph explanation. In 2012, the voting process was altered. Nominations were gathered through a survey of 107 authorities on robotics, then divided into four categories: Education & Consumer, Entertainment, Industrial & Service, and Research. Members of the public were allowed to vote online for one of three nominees per category. Officials subsequently derived the final list of inductees from the survey and the public vote. Robot Hall of Fame director Shirley Saldamarco said of the changes:
Inductees
+List of robots in the Robot Hall of Fame Name Description Category 2003 HAL 9000 Character from the film 2001: A Space Odyssey Entertainment R2-D2 Character from the Star Wars franchise Entertainment Sojourner Mars rover developed by NASA Research Unimate Industrial robot developed by George Devol and Joseph Engelberger; first industrial robot Industrial & Service 2004 ASIMO Humanoid robot developed by Honda Research Astro Boy Character from the Astro Boy franchise Entertainment C-3PO Character from the Star Wars franchise Entertainment Robby the Robot Character from the film Forbidden Planet Entertainment Shakey Mobile robot developed by the Stanford Research Institute; first mobile robot able to reason about its own actions Research 2006 AIBO Robotic pet manufactured by Sony Education & Consumer David Character from the film A.I. Artificial Intelligence Entertainment Gort Character from the film The Day the Earth Stood Still Entertainment Maria Character from the film Metropolis Entertainment SCARA Industrial robotic arm developed by the University of Yamanashi Industrial & Service 2008 Data Character from the Star Trek franchise Entertainment Lego Mindstorms Robot kit toy series manufactured by the Lego Group Education & Consumer Navlab 5 Autonomous robotic vehicle developed by the Carnegie Mellon School of Computer Science Research Raibert Hopper Hopping robot developed by Marc Raibert; first self-balancing hopping robot Research 2010 da Vinci Surgical System Robotic surgical system manufactured by Intuitive Surgical Industrial & Service Dewey Character from the film Silent Running Entertainment Huey Character from the film Silent Running Entertainment Louie Character from the film Silent Running Entertainment Opportunity Mars rover developed by NASA Research Roomba Autonomous robotic vacuum cleaner manufactured by iRobot Education & Consumer Spirit Mars rover developed by NASA Research Terminator (T-800) Character from the Terminator franchise Entertainment 2012 BigDog Quadrupedal military robot developed by Boston Dynamics Research Nao Autonomous humanoid robot manufactured by Aldebaran Robotics Education & Consumer PackBot Military robot developed by iRobot Industrial & Service WALL-E Character from the film WALL-E Entertainment 2015 Robot (B-9) Character from the TV series Lost in Space Entertainment 2017 Character from the film The Iron Giant Entertainment 2021 Character from the TV series Mystery Science Theater 3000 Entertainment Character from the TV series Mystery Science Theater 3000 Entertainment
See also Robotics Institute
References
External links Robot Hall of Fame at Kamin Science Center's official website