Raymond Goertz
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Raymond C. Goertz (March 12, 1915 - June 4, 1970) was an American mechanical engineer and an early pioneer in the field of
robotics Robotics is an interdisciplinary branch of computer science and engineering. Robotics involves design, construction, operation, and use of robots. The goal of robotics is to design machines that can help and assist humans. Robotics integrat ...
, specifically
remote-controlled In electronics, a remote control (also known as a remote or clicker) is an electronic device used to operate another device from a distance, usually wirelessly. In consumer electronics, a remote control can be used to operate devices such as ...
robots (see
telepresence Telepresence refers to a set of technologies which allow a person to feel as if they were present, to give the appearance or effect of being present via telerobotics, at a place other than their true location. Telepresence requires that the user ...
). In 1949, while working for the Atomic Energy Commission at
Argonne National Laboratory Argonne National Laboratory is a science and engineering research United States Department of Energy National Labs, national laboratory operated by University of Chicago, UChicago Argonne LLC for the United States Department of Energy. The facil ...
, Goertz filed a patent for an early master-slave manipulator () in order to handle radioactive material. Goertz recognized the value of electrically coupling manipulators and laid the foundations of modern tele-robotics and bilateral force-reflecting positional
servos In control engineering a servomechanism, usually shortened to servo, is an automatic device that uses error-sensing negative feedback to correct the action of a mechanism. On displacement-controlled applications, it usually includes a built-in ...
. Goertz also performed early research on the
degrees of freedom Degrees of freedom (often abbreviated df or DOF) refers to the number of independent variables or parameters of a thermodynamic system. In various scientific fields, the word "freedom" is used to describe the limits to which physical movement or ...
necessary for smooth motion by remote manipulation and developed one of the first head-mounted displays as a prototype for
virtual reality Virtual reality (VR) is a simulated experience that employs pose tracking and 3D near-eye displays to give the user an immersive feel of a virtual world. Applications of virtual reality include entertainment (particularly video games), educ ...
. Nautical terms such as pitch, yaw, and
roll Roll or Rolls may refer to: Movement about the longitudinal axis * Roll angle (or roll rotation), one of the 3 angular degrees of freedom of any stiff body (for example a vehicle), describing motion about the longitudinal axis ** Roll (aviation), ...
were incorporated into the lexicon of robotics by Goertz. Today, the purpose of
teleoperation Teleoperation (or remote operation) indicates operation of a system or machine at a distance. It is similar in meaning to the phrase "remote control" but is usually encountered in research, academia and technology. It is most commonly associat ...
has expanded beyond the scope of nuclear safety and now includes uses such as reaching remote environments in space or in surgical operations, among other uses. (Print; or In 1985 the
American Nuclear Society The American Nuclear Society (ANS) is an international, not-for-profit organization of scientists, engineers, and industry professionals that promote the field of nuclear engineering and related disciplines. ANS is composed of three communities ...
established the 'Ray Goertz Award' to recognize and honor members who have made outstanding contributions to the field of remote technology.


Education and early life

Raymond C. Goertz was born in
Clearwater, Kansas Clearwater is a city in Sedgwick County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 2,653. History Clearwater was first settled in 1870, then platted as a city in 1872. It was named from the clear water of th ...
on March 12, 1915. He was the son of Norma E. and Flora (Saint) Goertz and had a sister, Mrs. Thelma Main and two brothers, Lynn Goertz and Lee Noble. Goertz received his Bachelor of Science degree from
Montana State College Montana State University (MSU) is a public land-grant research university in Bozeman, Montana. It is the state's largest university. MSU offers baccalaureate degrees in 60 fields, master's degrees in 68 fields, and doctoral degrees in 35 field ...
in 1940, graduating with honors. He then began his graduate studies at the
Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn The New York University Tandon School of Engineering (commonly referred to as Tandon) is the engineering and applied sciences school of New York University. Tandon is the second oldest private engineering and technology school in the United Sta ...
in 1942, staying there until 1946. In 1947 Goertz moved to Illinois and completed his graduate studies at the
Illinois Institute of Technology Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Tracing its history to 1890, the present name was adopted upon the merger of the Armour Institute and Lewis Institute in 1940. The university has prog ...
from 1947 to 1949.


Career and research

Raymond Goertz worked for the
Sperry Gyroscope Company Sperry Corporation was a major American equipment and electronics company whose existence spanned more than seven decades of the 20th century. Sperry ceased to exist in 1986 following a prolonged hostile takeover bid engineered by Burroughs ...
at the Servomechanisms Laboratory as a project engineer from 1940 to 1947 while also working on his graduate studies at the Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn. In 1947 Goertz moved to Illinois to begin work at
Argonne National Laboratory Argonne National Laboratory is a science and engineering research United States Department of Energy National Labs, national laboratory operated by University of Chicago, UChicago Argonne LLC for the United States Department of Energy. The facil ...
as a mechanical engineer, meanwhile completing his graduate studies at the Illinois Institute of Technology through 1949. Goertz later became a senior engineer at Argonne National Laboratory in the remote control engineering division. At the first and second International Conferences on Peaceful Uses of Atomic Energy in 1955 and 1958 Goertz represented the United States as a delegate. During his career Goertz was a member of the
American Nuclear Society The American Nuclear Society (ANS) is an international, not-for-profit organization of scientists, engineers, and industry professionals that promote the field of nuclear engineering and related disciplines. ANS is composed of three communities ...
, the
American Institute of Chemical Engineers The American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) is a professional organization for chemical engineers. AIChE was actually established in 1908 to distinguish chemical engineers as a profession independent of chemists and mechanical engineer ...
, and the
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) is a 501(c)(3) professional association for electronic engineering and electrical engineering (and associated disciplines) with its corporate office in New York City and its operation ...
. Goertz's primary work and accomplishments revolved around the development and improvement of master-slave manipulator devices, but Goertz also devoted time to completing basic research on the degrees of freedom necessary for smooth motion by remote manipulation. He also created an initial prototype of a virtual reality device by developing one of the first head-mounted displays. For his work Goertz also codified terms so that university and industrial developers could replicate and contribute to his field, and he incorporated nautical terms into the lexicon of robotics, including pitch, yaw, and roll. The company of Central Research Labs in Red-Wing, Minnesota was created by Goertz's efforts and technological developments, and the company made more than 8,000 master-slave manipulators for entities in 26 different countries. Goertz was replaced in 1953 as head of Central Research Labs by Demetrius Jelatis. Today, the purpose of teleoperation has expanded beyond the scope of just safety and now includes uses such as reaching remote environments in space or deep underwater and working with manipulating extremely large or small objects for surgical operations or manufacturing, among many other uses.


Master-slave manipulator device

The goal of a master-slave manipulator is the protection of workers from radiation while enabling precise manipulation of materials. The machine can be thought of as two distinct devices, the "slave" and "master" arms. The "slave" arm is responsive to the controlling device, the "master" arm, with the benefit that through remote handling manual tasks can be performed without the need of direct human intervention. In nuclear settings the slave arm is located within a hot-cell and the master arm is located in a control room. Whenever the master arm is manipulated, the motion is reproduced precisely by the slave arm. While at Argonne National Laboratory Goertz developed the master-slave manipulator in order to safely handle hazardous material from the 100-B plutonium reactor at Hanford. The initial master-slave manipulator device was designed by Goertz in 1948 as a seven-degree-of-freedom bilateral (symmetrical) metal tape transmission
pantograph A pantograph (, from their original use for copying writing) is a mechanical linkage connected in a manner based on parallelograms so that the movement of one pen, in tracing an image, produces identical movements in a second pen. If a line dr ...
device, which was operated through a leaded glass wall. In 1949 Goertz filed a patent for a mechanical, bilateral master-slave manipulator, and in 1951 Goertz improved upon this design with the first tel-operated articulated arm with a design that relied on mechanical coupling between the master and slave arms through the utilization of steel pulleys and cables. This was a major milestone in
force feedback Haptic technology (also kinaesthetic communication or 3D touch) is technology that can create an experience of touch by applying forces, vibrations, or motions to the user. These technologies can be used to create virtual objects in a computer ...
technology and derivatives of this design are still seen today. Goertz gradually became aware of the necessity of haptic senses for manipulating delicate objects and used force-feedback systems to improve the deftness of the human-machine combination. Through incorporating the principles of
cybernetics Cybernetics is a wide-ranging field concerned with circular causality, such as feedback, in regulatory and purposive systems. Cybernetics is named after an example of circular causal feedback, that of steering a ship, where the helmsperson m ...
Goertz was able to also construct the first electrical master-slave manipulator system, and by 1954 a modified version of the master-slave manipulator ( Model 8) began commercial production. In order to create accurate master-slave manipulator devices, it was necessary for Goertz to develop several principles, all of which are applicable to our own contemporary robotic surgical systems. The principles are as follows. The motion of the slave arm must possess six independent degrees of freedom, three of translation and three of rotation to position gripping devices, and a tong squeeze motion to grip items. The motion of the slave arm must be coupled to the master arms that the position and the direction of the two arms correspond to. The coupling of the two arms must be bilateral and this means that forces at the slave end must be reflected at the master end and displacements produced at the slave end must be able to produce a displacement at the master end, with the slave arm being able to align itself in response to the constraints imposed by the task being done.


Awards

Goertz was the recipient of the Edward Longstreth medal at the
Franklin Institute The Franklin Institute is a science museum and the center of science education and research in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is named after the American scientist and statesman Benjamin Franklin. It houses the Benjamin Franklin National Memori ...
in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1967. He also received the Radiation Industry award from the
American Nuclear Society The American Nuclear Society (ANS) is an international, not-for-profit organization of scientists, engineers, and industry professionals that promote the field of nuclear engineering and related disciplines. ANS is composed of three communities ...
in 1969. In 1985 the American Nuclear Society established the " Ray Goertz Award" to recognize and honor its members who have made outstanding contributions to the field of remote technology.


Personal life

Goertz married Helen Boula on September 2, 1950, in Cook, Illinois. Together they had three children: Alan, Jean, and Linda. Goertz died on June 4, 1970, at the age of 55 in
Downers Grove, Illinois Downers Grove is a village in DuPage County, Illinois, United States. It was founded in 1832 by Pierce Downer, whose surname serves as the eponym for the village. It is a south-west suburb of Chicago. The village is located between I-88 and I-55. ...
.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Goertz, Raymond 1915 births 1970 deaths American roboticists People from Sedgwick County, Kansas