IKDEC-4

Elijah McCoy: The Uncredited Father of Automation — And the Hidden Lineage to Modern Robotics

Elijah McCoy revolutionized the industrial age with a self-regulating invention that birthed automation — yet history nearly erased him. His 1872 lubrication system enabled the continuous, autonomous machines that underpin modern robotics. This InnerKwest investigation uncovers how McCoy’s genius powered the modern world while the nation overlooked the architect behind it.