Shakey the robot at the Computer History Museum

Shakey the Robot

Research BreakthroughsThe Birth of AI
Impact

What Happened

Shakey was the first mobile robot that could reason about its actions. It combined computer vision, natural language processing, and planning to navigate rooms, push objects, and solve simple tasks. It used the A* search algorithm and STRIPS planner.

Why It Mattered

Pioneered robotics planning and reasoning. The A* algorithm it used remains fundamental to pathfinding in games and navigation systems worldwide.

Key People

Organizations

Tags

Part of the The Birth of AI (1956–1969) era · Browse all research breakthroughs · View all 1969 milestones

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John McCarthy, organizer of the Dartmouth Conference
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The Dartmouth Conference

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Frank Rosenblatt, inventor of the Perceptron
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The Perceptron

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Frank RosenblattCornell Aeronautical Laboratory

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