Who invented the programmable industrial robot later known as Unimate?

George Devol invented the programmable industrial robot later known as Unimate.

Devol filed the key patent for a programmable article-transfer machine in 1954. His design used stored instructions to control a mechanical arm, making it suitable for repetitive factory work rather than one fixed motion.

Devol met entrepreneur Joseph Engelberger in 1956, and their partnership turned the invention into a commercial robot. Engelberger is often called the “father of robotics” because he promoted and deployed the technology, but Devol was the inventor of the original programmable manipulator.

The first Unimate was installed at a General Motors plant in New Jersey in 1961. It handled hot die-cast parts and performed dangerous, repetitive tasks. Unimate is therefore associated with the birth of modern industrial robotics, while Engelberger is more closely associated with its commercialization.