Robot Hall of Fame

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.

Replica of the Metropolis character Maria on display at the Kamin Science Center

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.^[1] 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."^[1] The first induction ceremony was held at the Kamin Science Center on November 10, 2003.^[2] 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.^[3][4] Now some of them may be found in the lobby of Rangos Giant Cinema.^[5]

From 2003 to 2010, inductees to the Robot Hall of Fame were chosen by a panel of jurors.^[6] Members of the public could nominate a robot for induction with a one-paragraph explanation.^[1] 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.^[6] Members of the public were allowed to vote online for one of three nominees per category.^[7][8] Officials subsequently derived the final list of inductees from the survey and the public vote.^[6] Robot Hall of Fame director Shirley Saldamarco said of the changes:

The technology and art of robotics are advancing at an increasingly rapid rate and so the Robot Hall of Fame also must evolve. As more students, workers and consumers become accustomed to robots, it seems like a natural step to give the public a voice in selecting inductees.^[9]

Inductees

HAL 9000, inducted in 2003

ASIMO, inducted in 2004

AIBO, inducted in 2006

Opportunity, inducted in 2010

PackBot, inducted in 2012

List of robots in the Robot Hall of Fame

Year	Name	Description	Category	Ref.
2003	HAL 9000	Character from the film 2001: A Space Odyssey	Entertainment	[10][11]
	R2-D2	Character from the Star Wars franchise	Entertainment	[10][12]
	Sojourner	Mars rover developed by NASA	Research	[10][13]
	Unimate	Industrial robot developed by George Devol and Joseph Engelberger; first industrial robot	Industrial & Service	[10][14]
2004	ASIMO	Humanoid robot developed by Honda	Research	[10][15]
	Astro Boy	Character from the Astro Boy franchise	Entertainment	[10][16]
	C-3PO	Character from the Star Wars franchise	Entertainment	[10][17]
	Robby the Robot	Character from the film Forbidden Planet	Entertainment	[10][18]
	Shakey	Mobile robot developed by the Stanford Research Institute; first mobile robot able to reason about its own actions	Research	[10][19]
2006	AIBO	Robotic pet manufactured by Sony	Education & Consumer	[10][20]
	David	Character from the film A.I. Artificial Intelligence	Entertainment	[10][21]
	Gort	Character from the film The Day the Earth Stood Still	Entertainment	[10][22]
	Maria	Character from the film Metropolis	Entertainment	[10][23]
	SCARA	Industrial robotic arm developed by the University of Yamanashi	Industrial & Service	[10][24]
2008	Data	Character from the Star Trek franchise	Entertainment	[10][25]
	Lego Mindstorms	Robot kit toy series manufactured by the Lego Group	Education & Consumer	[10][26]
	Navlab 5	Autonomous robotic vehicle developed by the Carnegie Mellon School of Computer Science	Research	[10][27]
	Raibert Hopper	Hopping robot developed by Marc Raibert; first self-balancing hopping robot	Research	[10][28]
2010	da Vinci Surgical System	Robotic surgical system manufactured by Intuitive Surgical	Industrial & Service	[10][29]
	Dewey	Character from the film Silent Running	Entertainment	[10][30]
	Huey	Character from the film Silent Running	Entertainment	[10][30]
	Louie	Character from the film Silent Running	Entertainment	[10][30]
	Opportunity	Mars rover developed by NASA	Research	[10][31]
	Roomba	Autonomous robotic vacuum cleaner manufactured by iRobot	Education & Consumer	[10][32]
	Spirit	Mars rover developed by NASA	Research	[10][31]
	Terminator (T-800)	Character from the Terminator franchise	Entertainment	[10][33]
2012	BigDog	Quadrupedal military robot developed by Boston Dynamics	Research	[34][35]
	Nao	Autonomous humanoid robot manufactured by Aldebaran Robotics	Education & Consumer	[34][36]
	PackBot	Military robot developed by iRobot	Industrial & Service	[34][37]
	WALL-E (character)	Character from the film WALL-E	Entertainment	[34][38]
2015	Robot (B-9)	Character from the TV series Lost in Space	Entertainment	[39]
2017	The Iron Giant	Character from the film The Iron Giant	Entertainment	[40]
2021	Crow T. Robot	Character from the TV series Mystery Science Theater 3000	Entertainment	[41]
	Tom Servo	Character from the TV series Mystery Science Theater 3000	Entertainment	[41]

See also

• Robotics Institute