Freddy II facts for kids

Freddy (1969–1971) and Freddy II (1973–1976) were special experimental robots. They were built at the University of Edinburgh in a department that studied how machines could think and see. These robots were very important for the future of robotics.

Robot Technology Breakthroughs

The Freddy robots brought many new ideas to the world of robotics in the 1970s. Freddy was one of the first robots to combine different abilities. It could "see" with a camera, "grab" things with an arm, and "think" using a computer.

One clever idea was to move the table where objects sat, instead of moving the robot's arm a lot. This made the robot simpler to build. Freddy also used a special way to recognize parts. It would look at shapes and patterns to figure out what an object was. The system also had smart ways to program the robot's arm movements. These programs could be used again for many different tasks.

Meet Freddy I and Freddy II

Freddy Mark I (1969–1971)

Freddy Mark I was the first version, built as a test. It could move in three main ways. It had a spinning platform with two wheels that helped it move around. It also had a video camera and sensors that could feel if it bumped into something. A computer told the platform where to move so the camera could see and identify objects.

Freddy II (1973–1976)

Freddy II was an improved robot, built a few years later. It could move in five main ways. It had a large vertical "hand" that could move up and down. This hand could also spin around. The robot could even rotate objects it held. The table underneath the robot's gripper could move in two directions. This helped the robot reach different spots. Freddy II had a two-finger gripper to pick up items. It also used a video camera and later a special light that helped it see shapes better.

The Brilliant Minds Behind Freddy

The Freddy projects were started and led by Donald Michie. The robot's mechanical parts and electronics were designed by Stephen Salter. He also worked on creating energy from ocean waves. The digital electronics and computer connections were designed by Harry Barrow and Gregan Crawford.

The computer programs for Freddy were created by a team led by Rod Burstall, Robin Popplestone, and Harry Barrow. They used a programming language called POP-2. This was one of the first "functional programming" languages. It was a new way to tell computers what to do.

The main computer for Freddy was an Elliot 4130. It had a lot of memory for its time. A smaller Honeywell H316 computer was linked to it. This smaller computer directly controlled the robot's sensors and movements.

Freddy's Amazing Skills

Freddy was a very flexible robot. It could be taught new tasks quickly, often in just a day or two. Imagine that! Freddy learned to do things like putting rings onto pegs. It could also put together simple toy models. These toys included wooden blocks of different shapes. It even assembled a toy boat with a mast and a toy car with axles and wheels.

The robot used its video camera to find where parts were located. Then, it matched what it saw to models of parts it already knew.

A Smarter Way to Program Robots

Early on, the Freddy team realized something important. Telling a robot every tiny movement, like "move here, then do this," was very slow and difficult. This old way of programming also made it hard for the robot to handle small changes. For example, if a part was slightly out of place, the robot might get confused.

Because of this, a new robot programming language called RAPT was created by Pat Ambler and Robin Popplestone. With RAPT, you could tell the robot what you wanted it to do with objects. You didn't have to tell it every single step.

This meant you could tell the robot, "Put this block on top of that block." The robot's software would then figure out all the exact movements needed. Even though RAPT was made in the 1970s, it was very advanced. It is still more sophisticated than many robot programming languages used today!

Many talented people helped with the Freddy project. They were leaders in their field at the time. Some of them included Pat Ambler, Harry Barrow, Ilona Bellos, Chris Brown, Rod Burstall, Gregan Crawford, Jim Howe, Donald Michie, Robin Popplestone, Stephen Salter, Austin Tate, and Ken Turner.

Another interesting part of the project was using a special scanner. This "structured-light 3D scanner" used light to figure out the exact 3D shape and position of the parts the robot was working with.

Today, the Freddy II robot is on display at the Royal Museum in Edinburgh, Scotland. You can even see a video of it assembling things!