RIA launches tribute website in honor of the Joseph F. Engelberger

The Robotic Industries Association (RIA) today announced the launch of a website paying tribute to Joseph F. Engelberger, known as the “Father of Robotics.”

Engelberger, who recently celebrated his 90th birthday, was an engineer and entrepreneur who pioneered the robotics field. Engelberger founded the world’s first robotics company, Unimation, in 1956. The tribute site is located on the RIA website, Robotics Online.

“It’s important to remember our history in robotics,” said Jeff Burnstein, president of RIA. “This website provides a timeline of his many accomplishments in the field of robotics that is still revolutionizing modern manufacturing processes today.”

RIA also announced that nominations are now being accepted for the Joseph F. Engelberger robotics awards. The awards are presented each year to individuals for excellence in robotics technology development, application, education, and leadership. Since the awards inception in 1977, they have been presented to 116 robotics leaders from 17 different nations. Recent winners of the Engelberger award include Dean Kamen, founder of the FIRST Robotics competition and Rodney Brooks, co-founder of iRobot and current chairman and CTO of Rethink Robotics.

The 2016 awards will be presented in the categories of leadership and application. Each winner receives a $5,000 honorarium and a commemorative medallion with the inscription “Contributing to the advancement of the science of robotics in the service of mankind.” These distinguished awards will be presented in conjunction with the International Symposium on Robotics in Munich, Germany, June 21-24, 2016. The nomination form is available on the RIA website. Applications must be received by January 15, 2016.