What images go to your mind when you think about robots? Some people view robots as friendly - as nice partners or helpmates. Others view them as a threat - machines with superior intelligence and abilities, maybe one day replacing humankind (like the movies always show). Still, to many others, robots are more the fare of science fiction than of real life. Today's world is full with robots; in fact, there are almost one million industrial robots in service worldwide, and of these almost half exist in Asia (Japan, China, Korea). So, I wonder myself, why is there such demand?
Imagine a worker who is always on the job, who never complains, and who can work hard 24 hours a day, all days of the week. Well, industrial robots are taking the role of a host of automative, electrical, and household items. Robots live up their name, which comes from the Czech word robota, meaning "forced labor." Unlike humans, robots are more efficient, because they are programmed to execute a specific action. Yes, robots are doing what the man is not doing!
Now, robots are more equipped with such things as voice-recognition software, gyroscopes, wireless data communication, and a range of sensors including those for heat, force, ultrasound, chemicals, radiation, etc. More powerful and versatile than ever, robots are performing tasks that were viewed as imposible in the past.
Nevertheless, are robots capable of making us happy, or making our lives easier? In time, technology has been developed and how far robots progress remains to be seen. But, is the human able to create a humanoid? We already saw what science and technology have done to create artefacts that work their way into our lives... Is it really possible to create a robot resembling a human, imitating man's characteristics, feelings, and behaviours? How far have technology and science come? Is there any limits for them?
Here are some few examples of robots:
--> A pharmacy robot with mechanical arms retrieves and dispenses medication within seconds in a hospital in UK.--> Elderly patients in Japan take turns stroking a cute, furry robotic baby seal. It is use as a therapy and companionship.
--> A robot with three arms stands over a patient.--> Just press a button, and a disk-shaped robot goes to work vacuuming your floors.
I firmly think that robot technology is reaching its limit. These devices can (un)do almost anything, and that can be quite worrying for humans. But here is the catch: Robots are extremely expensive to maintain, and humans are not. Based on this idea, institutions of any area will always prefer to have humans working instead of individual robots; however, for mass production, they will always use machines because it requires less money and time investment in terms of maintenance.
ReplyDeleteI do believe robots cannot be at the same level as humans. We have a complexity that even the best scientists cannot imitate and reproduce it in a machine, at least not now. Although, there are several examples of how technology has made a dream come true. Robots trying to copy men´s behavior, doing their job and making easier everyone´s life. But, let me stop here; not everyone´s life, because we all know big industries in Asia have the power of performing this particular creation and acquiring new equipment to enrich its industries.
ReplyDeleteThere is a kind of monopoly...Why? Well, this continent is full of acknowledgment for being pioneers in having new advances in technology all the time. So, in this case for them is not a matter of money, it is just about making a creature pretty similar as a human being every single day ,and improving it without limits , perhaps, to keep this prestige.
The issue is very clear, how can make a robot people´s life better if it is extremely expensive, as my classmate Joaquin argued?
Maybe, some decades late, this problem will not be a discussion anymore. But, I agree when saying that machines are “less expensive” than human work and there is no contradiction with what I affirmed before, because robots are expensive; nevertheless, they are constructed to a second intention: Inversion now, less people and less money involved later on.