PITTSBURGH — Inductees to a new hall of fame here don't have to write chart-topping songs or pitch no-hitters. They won't even be human.
Welcome to the hall of fame for robots.
Eligibility is broad. Science fiction robots are just as eligible as real robots, though there's a limit. James Morris, the dean of Carnegie Mellon University's computer science school, said HAL-9000, the computer in "2001: A Space Odyssey," has been nominated but may not make the cut because it isn't, strictly speaking, a robot.
Morris envisions the hall, which will induct its first round of robots this fall, highlighting such important developments in robotics, whether real or fantasy, along with interactive exhibits.
"The creation of humanoids has been something that's gripped man's imagination for centuries," he said. "Long before the term was invented, people were building robots."
The ancient Greeks had moveable statues. In the 1700s, an automaton was invented to "play" chess, although it was ultimately discovered that it held a small person. Those early ideas laid the groundwork for modern robotics, such as NASA's Mars Explorer and industrial robots.