George C. Devol, the inventor of the first robot arm: "Unimate", died on Thursday at his home in Wilton, Conn. He was 99. In May of this year, Mr. Devol was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame. The citation states, in part, “George Devol’s patent for the first digitally operated programmable robotic arm represents the foundation of the modern robotics industry.”

Here is his NY Times obituary and a reprint of a Robot Magazine article titled The Rise And Fall Of Unimation. It profiles the history of Unimation, the original company Devol and partner Joseph F. Engelberger formed to produce the Unimate.