I would not have accomplished such progress had it not been for those who went before me. A special thanks for the work of so many.

Everyone at the Dartmouth AI Conference of 1956. The summer conference to “solve” the AI problem—That’s what started it all.

Wabot – 1 from Waseda University in 1973. The first life-sized humanoid robot. From the first time I laid eyes on it, I was inspired. As well as Wabot – 2.
http://www.humanoid.rise.waseda.ac.jp/booklet/kato_2.html

The MIT Leg Lab
http://www.ai.mit.edu/projects/leglab

Stanford’s Dexterous Manipulation Lab:
http://www-cdr.stanford.edu/Touch/index.html

TEME, Centre for Mechanical Technology and Automation
www.mec.ua.pt/_deptenglish/tema/unit/reslines21.html

Dante II from the Robotics Institute at Carnegie Mellon University
Dante’s motion control and laser pinpointing systems were crucial milestones for my own designs.
http://volcano.und.nodak.edu/vwdocs/vw_news/dante.html

But most of all, Newton.

(be sure to check out Robo Sapiens, MITP, ISBN 0-262-13382-2)
http://www.sciencesbookreview.com/Robo_sapiens_Evolution_of_a_New_Species_0262133822.html