What do you think of when you hear the word “robot”? Do you imagine a metal humanoid robot on a spaceship in the far future? Perhaps you are imagining a dystopian future where humanity is enslaved by robot overlords? . Or you might think of an automobile assembly line where robot-like machines assemble cars.
No matter how you look at it, one thing is certain. That means robots are here to stay. Fortunately, it seems likely that robots will focus on performing repetitive or dangerous tasks rather than seizing supreme executive power. Let’s take a look at robotics. Let’s define and categorize terms to understand the role of artificial intelligence in this field, the future of robotics, and how it will change our lives.
What is robotics?
Robotics is an engineering branch that deals with the conception, design, construction, operation, application, and use of robots. Digging a little deeper, we find that a robot is defined as a self-operated machine that independently performs a series of actions and performs tasks normally performed by humans.
By the way, robots don’t have to resemble humans, but they can. Look at the images of car assembly lines for proof. Robots that look like humans are commonly called “androids.” Robot designers make their creations look human-like so that people feel more at ease around robots, but that’s not always the case. Some people find robots, especially those that resemble humans, to be creepy.
Type of robot
Robots are versatile machines, as evidenced by their wide variety of shapes and functions. Below is a list of several types of robots we see today.
Healthcare: Robots in the healthcare industry do everything from assisting with surgeries, to physical therapy to help people walk, to getting around hospitals, and delivering essentials like medicine and linens. Healthcare robots are also contributing to the ongoing fight against the pandemic, filling and sealing test swabs and manufacturing ventilators. Home Life: To find a robot in someone’s home, look no further than Roomba. But they now do more than just vacuum the floors. Home robots can mow the lawn and power tools like Alexa. Manufacturing: Robots were first introduced in the manufacturing sector, such as the aforementioned automobile assembly line machines. Industrial robots handle a variety of tasks such as arc welding, material handling, steel cutting, and food packaging. Logistics: Everyone wants the products they order online to be delivered on time, if not sooner. That’s why companies are hiring robots to stack warehouse shelves, retrieve products, and even make short-distance deliveries. Space exploration: Mars explorers like Sojourner and Perseverance are robots. The Hubble telescope is classified as a robot, as are deep space probes like Voyager and Cassini. Military: Robots handle dangerous missions, none more difficult than modern warfare. As a result, the military enjoys a diverse selection of robots equipped to handle many of the dangerous tasks associated with war. Examples include Centaur, an explosive detection and disposal robot that searches for mines and IEDs, MUTT, which chases soldiers and carries equipment, and SAFFiR, which fights fires on naval ships. Entertainment: We already have toy robots, robot statues, and a robot restaurant. As robots become more sophisticated, we expect their entertainment value to increase accordingly. Travel: Only three words left to say. It’s a self-driving car.
Advantages and disadvantages of robots
Like all innovations today, robots have their good and bad sides. Here we will discuss in detail the good and bad of robots and the future of robotics.
advantage
They work in dangerous environments. Why risk human lives when you can send robots to do the job? Consider how desirable it would be for robots to fight fires or work in the core of a nuclear reactor. Cost-effective: Robots don’t need to take sick days or coffee breaks, and they don’t need perks like life insurance, paid time off, or medical services like dental or vision. Increase productivity. Robots are wired to perform repetitive tasks ad infinitum. The human brain is not like that. Industries use robots to perform boring and redundant tasks, freeing up employees to take on more difficult tasks and even learn new skills. Better quality assurance is provided. Vigilance is a loss of concentration that takes a toll on workers who repeatedly perform the same tasks. When a person’s concentration level decreases, the likelihood of errors, bad outcomes, and even accidents increases. Robots perform repetitive tasks flawlessly without slowing down their performance due to boredom.
Cons
It costs a lot of money to start up. Deploying robots involves investment risks and costs a lot of money. Most manufacturers believe that they will eventually recoup their investment in the long term, but it will be costly in the short term. However, this is a common obstacle when implementing new technologies, such as setting up a wireless network or performing a cloud migration. They may take jobs away: Yes, some people may be replaced by robots in certain situations, for example on assembly lines. Every time innovative technology is introduced into the business sector, some jobs are sacrificed. However, this disadvantage may be overstated, as robotic implementations typically place greater demands on the people who support the technology, creating a final disadvantage. Companies need to hire skilled support staff. This drawback is good news for potential employees and bad news for frugally-minded businesses. Robots require programmers, operators, and repair personnel. Job seekers may be happy, but the prospect of having to hire experts (and pay them expert-level salaries) may be an obstacle to robot adoption.
The future of robotics: What are the uses of AI in robotics?
Artificial intelligence (AI) improves human-robot interaction, collaboration opportunities, and quality. Industry is already introducing collaborative robots, which are robots that work with humans to perform testing and assembly.
Advances in AI allow robots to more closely imitate human behavior, which is why robots were created in the first place. Robots that act and think more like humans will integrate better into the workforce and bring levels of efficiency unmatched by human employees.
Robot designers use artificial intelligence to give their creations enhanced functionality, including:
Computer Vision: Robots can identify and recognize objects they encounter, identify details, and learn how to navigate or avoid certain items. Manipulation: AI helps robots acquire the fine motor skills needed to grasp objects without destroying them. Motion control and navigation: Robots do not require a human to guide them along a path or process flow. AI allows robots to analyze their environment and navigate themselves. This functionality also applies to the virtual world of software. AI helps robotic software processes avoid flow bottlenecks and process exceptions. Natural language processing (NLP) and real-world recognition: Artificial intelligence and machine learning (ML) help robots better understand their environment, recognize and identify patterns, and make sense of data. These improvements increase robot autonomy and reduce dependence on human agents.
A word about robot software
Software robots are computer programs that perform tasks without human intervention, such as web crawlers or chatbots. These robots are completely virtual and have no physical characteristics, so they are not considered real robots.
This technology should not be confused with the robot software that is loaded into the robot and determines its programming. However, in both cases, the software is helping an entity (robot or computer program) perform its functions independently of human interaction, so overlap between the two entities is common. It means.
The future of robotics and robots
Thanks to improvements in sensor technology and impressive advances in machine learning and artificial intelligence, robots will continue to evolve from mere machines to cognitive collaborators. These advances and other related fields are on an upward trajectory, and robotics will greatly benefit from these advances.
We can expect to see more and more sophisticated robots being integrated into more areas of life and collaborating with humans. Contrary to the dystopian prophets of doom, these improved robots will not replace workers. Industries rise and fall, and some become obsolete as new technologies emerge, creating new opportunities for employment and education.
The same goes for robots. There will probably be fewer workers welding car frames, but the need for skilled technicians to program, maintain, and repair machines will increase. In many cases, this means employees can receive valuable in-house training and upskilling, developing a set of skills that can be applied to robot programming and maintenance, as well as other fields and industries.
The future of robotics: How robots will change the world
Robots will increase economic growth and productivity, creating new career opportunities for many people around the world. However, warnings of large-scale job losses, such as the predicted loss of 20 million manufacturing jobs by 2030 and the potential for 30% of all jobs to be automated by 2030, are still exists.
But thanks to the consistent precision that robots provide, robots can handle more of the tedious and redundant manual labor, make transportation tasks more efficient, improve healthcare, and free people to self-improve. You can expect that. But, of course, only time will tell how this all turns out.
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