Many years ago, service-providing robots have been considered no more as
fictitious thoughts made by deranged scientists and professors. In recent years, people
have seen it become a reality. Within the past few years, many robotic products have
come out that provide services for humans. Demand for these products have increased
dramatically since then. One such robot is the Roomba, by iRobot. One author stated,
“Uh oh. Somebody’s going to have to clean this up, I thought, looking down at the
sausage and hamburger bits all over the carpet…As I went to get the vacuum cleaner, I
wondered if it was time to get a personal robot.” He isn’t alone, stating that more than
1.5 million domestic cleaning robots have been sold by iRobot alone. They make four
different models that clean all types of surfaces. Due to this sudden increase in sales,
other companies have produced other robot types. A few examples are the Zucchetti
Orazio floor cleaner, the Karcher RC3000 Robocleaner, and the Electrolux EL520A
Trilobite. Although demand has not caught up to the new boom in the industry, the
companies will welcome consumers with open arms when they decide to make the switch
also. (Toplikar)
Another article, released in 2003, states that in the first six months of that year,
there was a twenty-six percent increase in demand for domestic and industrious robots for
households and factories. Between January and June of 2003, 80,000 new robots were
sold in Europe alone, claims the UN Economic Commission for Europe and the
International Federation of Robotics, despite the twelve percent drop in the robotics
market the previous year. Sales in North America increased an amazing thirty-five
percent; a true economical boom. Industry still uses the majority of robots in
manufacturing, although domestic units continue to grow. The majority of robots are in
Japan, yet sales and use of robots in the United States will likely rise up as well. In 2002,
new units, such as the automated lawnmowers and vacuum cleaners, rose from 20,000 to
33,000 units in a single year. (Clark)
A third article talks about the disappointment in the year 2001, when Sony’s
Aibo, a limited robotic dog came out, and how robots are going to improve in the years to
come. In a talk with the creator of RoboSapiens, Mark Tilden, he explains the realistic
future of robots. Robots are going to match their function, such as for entertainment,
cleaning, and intelligent service. Robots already are becoming exactly what he said. In
the year 2010, it is predicted that there will be 55.5 million robots, with a market of $75
China, there would be a multitude of early adopters interested in checking out the product online
More new products need to be introduced and research needs to be done to find out which products will be most popular and profitable.
As robots have become more of a reality and less of movie magic, (see Brian Gair’s robotics essay) they have been put to the test in many ways. Recently, the United States military has been funding companies to develop unmanned drones and unmanned vehicles that can travel to places we can’t, or don’t want to, go. They even have exoskeletons they allow soldiers to carry more without the added stress. Many companies, even ones you wouldn’t expect, are making these military robots. iRobot, the company known for its autonomous vacuum, makes four remote controlled vehicles used for situational awareness, bomb control, hazmat operations, and many other things. Boeing is working on unmanned helicopters and recon planes. Even the British Army is developing
Have you ever wondered what jobs a robot will have in the future? What are the parts to a
For many years robots have been used in factories and manufacturing processes to help humans do simple jobs. In the past robots were used for huge tasks such as in the production of a car by welding it or painting it. The future of robots in factories and manufacturing lies in the change of their utility. Robots are now being developed to do small tasks that take a high rate of precision. They also are being made to be smaller and easily reprogrammable, so they can do more than just one task in a singular location. The transition of robots taking a bigger role in the manufacturing process which forces out human workers is because of the reliability of having a consistent worker. Infosys an AI research company states, “ With robots attaining greater degrees of sensitivity in their touch capabilities, savvy manufactures are embracing robotics in greater volume to increase efficiency and work rates on production, picking and packing lines” (Limited, 2017) With robots becoming more advanced and cheaper to buy and operate many businesses have switched to robotics instead of workers. Robots can work continuously without stopping for a lunch break or to go home every 8 hours. In areas of the world that have high wages, robots are becoming an easy way for companies to cut cost by firing human employees they no longer need. They do not require a lot of training, which is an added cost to a company every time they hire a new human employee. Robots can also take over jobs that are dangerous for a human to do and perform the task at a higher success rate as well. In February of 2017 an article written by Kristin Houser explained how, a precision technology company in China replaced 90% of human employees with robots and saw 250% increase in production. A few of the issues with robots include the time needed to integrate and program
Now, 17 years later, we have seen much more technologies that shown in the movie are becoming a reality in modern’s days. However, we have not created the realistic humanoid robots we see in the movie, but I also do not believe that it will exist in the near future. As a matter of fact, the Gigolo Joe that played by Jude Law might be the only advancement that makes senses consider the fact that the only reason to give robots bodies like our own would be to have sex with them instead of the new type of robot “David” who is designed to have human emotions. From a scientific point of view, “David” is extremely silly. After all, humanoid robots are not particularly good at anything because it is difficult and pointless to replicate through engineering.
Technology can now build robots that interact with people and perform routine workplace tasks. Modern robots can even adapt to behavioral tasks. According to Rodney Brooks, Co-Founder and President of Rethink Robotics, these technologies will reshape low skill and dangerous tasks throughout the workforce over the next 10 to 15 years. Mr. Brooks was interviewed by McKinsey Global Institute Partner, Michael Chui, in a recent publication.
Schimelpfening, Nancy. Robots for Humanity: Restoring Function to the Disabled Through Technology. 21 December 2013.
Scientific progress makes huge milestones toward developing new advanced technologies which are more and more present in human lives. Today robots replace people in many spheres such as health care, security and military, industry, education, entertainment and science. Role of robots becomes more significant because they are able to do the job which people are not able to perform well. Sometimes people are too lazy to do some routine work, due to such situation those tasks could be delegated to machines. People’s life become more technology based what makes demand for efficient robots larger. Engineers say that today robots look like machines, but in near future robots will have more human appearance, today they do some simple job, but in near future much more complicated tasks would be trusted to them. History of robotics goes far to the history when the ancient Greeks describes first devices that people were projected to fly to the sky like birds. In fact, heart of any robot is some program that direct the device and control it actions. Robot cannot perform the tasks that was not programmed in it and this if the factor what makes it quite limited in its actions. Current studies in robotics are aimed to remove those disadvantages and make robots more functional and universal through development of artificial intelligence that can operate independently. Curiosity of world community to robotics increase every day what make all the research and inventions in robotics more demanded. History of robots, resent achievement and future perspectives of robotics have to be studies and researched to understand what machines can give to humanity and what pros and cons exist in the r...
The idea behind robots and their uses has been a compilation of thoughts stewing in the minds of engineers and physicists from as early as the 1700s. The first representations of these creations was in the textile production industry; i.e. Hargreaves’ spinning jenny around 1770 and Cropmton’s mule spinner around 1779. Once these ideas were put into action, the robot development seed was planted and its roots spread into the minds of many potential engineers. This ventured into the development of Numerical Control (NC) and Telecherics technologies in the robotic field. John Parson’s Numerical Control is a system that integrated numbers as a tool to control the machine/robot’s actions, and this led to the creation of a prototype at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1952.
Robots are over-taking us. Or are being taken over by robots? There have been many robots developed to make life easier. Robotics has had some positive effects in the performance of certain jobs. It can help us complete difficult jobs that use materials that are not safe for humans to handle such as radioactive materials. A single robot can do heavy tasks that would require 10 people to complete. However, this savings in time and money for companies could result in loss of hours and wages for employees.
I don’t think there is any reason for these robots to have every ability that a human does. There is no way they are going to have the intelligence a human does. Artificial Intelligence is just going to bring more harm into our communities. We can’t trust the robots doing the “everyday” human activities, they are going to lead to unemployment, and will lead to laziness causing more obesity.
Williams, Gray ?Robots and Automation.? The new book of popular science. Grolier Inc., 1996, 186-94.
In case of emergencies, robots could reduce the percentage of fatal damages that occurs through these cases. In fact, humans’ lives are much valuable and precious rather than robots, in which societies could use robots to scarify through the dangerous situation for the sake of rescuing people. In addition, dangerous situations such as firefighting or earthquake require much effort, precision, and scarifying in the evacuation process. Furthermore, a beneficial feature that could help robots to coexist through the risky situations easily and preform the rescuing mission perfectly is that robots do not have feelings or emotions. According to Bruemmer (2006), robots do not have the ability to realize or notify any aspect that people do not programmed them to do. In other words, robots are merely machines that cannot feel or recognize what surrounding them without a sophisticated program done by humans. Therefore, as robots do not have the ability of feeling or knowing they could go through inhumane conditions for saving people. Moreover, robots have various capabilities that make them unique enable them to do heavy duties and bear more serio...