IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine - March 2015 - 142

Develop

Simulation

Experiment

Force

Manipulator

Algorithm
Kinematic

Application

Time

Dynamic
Controller

Robotic

Propose

Joint

Object

Describe

Learn
Trajectory

Control

Model

Method
Real

Track
Experimental

Motion

Robot System
m
Design

Performance

Paper

Result

Image
Sensor

Base

Process

Position

Information
Task

Approach

Environment

Data

Analysis
Space

Path

Human
Vehicle

Planning

Mobile

Autonomous

New

Figure 3. The 50 most commonly used words in the titles of robotics articles.

researchers identified as central by one of
the four measures of centrality described
earlier. It is interesting that all of the authors are connected. Most of them have
direct ties, and quite a few have only a few
researchers between them.
As can be seen in collaboration networks, robotics researchers collaborate
widely across borders. Robotics is truly
an international endeavor. The distribution of robotics papers across the world
is shown in Figure 2. Researchers from
80 countries have published papers in
the nine major robotics journals. The top
ten contributors are: 1) the United States,
2) Japan, 3) Canada, 4) France, 5) Italy, 6)
Spain, 7) South Korea, 8) China, 9) Germany, and 10) England.
Bibliometric analysis also allows us to
map some of the conceptual features and
changes in the robotics field. The main
words used in paper titles in the field and
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IEEE ROBOTICS & AUTOMATION MAGAZINE

their clusters based on co-occurrence are
shown in Figure 3. How the conceptual
focus of the field has changed through
the years is shown in Figure 4. The word
manipulator was specific to the early
years of robotics (1983-1989), which we
also trace in our interviews describing
the development of robotic arms. The
vocabulary used at that time was very
different from the later periods. The only
outlier is the year 1984, which is much
closer to the vocabulary of the 1990s
than any other year from the 1980s. The
term that is a bridge between 1984 and
the 1990s is kinematic. The specific focus
of the early 1990s (1991-1993) was on:
1) space, 2) joint, 3) force, 4) trajectory,
and 5) dynamic. The period from 1994
to 1997 had a specific focus on: 1) position, 2) controller, 3) control, 4) path, and
5) planning. The late 1990s and early
2000s focused on: 1) mobile, 2) force,

MARCH 2015

3) image, and 4) sensor. The period
from 2007 to 2014 shows a shift to issues
related to: 1) human, 2) learn, 3) environment, 4) information, 5) autonomous, 6) simulation, 7) algorithm,
8) design, 9) time, and 10) vehicle. Similar topical changes can be seen in the collected interviews, with early narratives
focusing on the development of robotic
manipulators, followed by more development of mobile robots, and most recently, attention to the application of robotic
technologies in everyday environments
and robots' interaction with people.
A New Resource for Robotics
The Robotics History Project funded by
the RAS collects information on the personal experiences of robotics researchers
in the field and supplements them with
(continued on p. 146)

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine - March 2015