The Future of Robotics: Economic and Social Aspects

1. Economical & Social Aspects ofROBOTICS “the future is already here - it’s just not evenly distributed.”-William Gibson

2. Abstract • Industrial robots (programmable manipulators) can be regarded as replacements for human workers. • A list of reasons for replacing people by robots is given shortly. • They can also be installed as part of a flexible automation system such as a manufacturing cell; • In this case it is dedicated automatic machinery, rather than people, with which robots compete. • Similarly an AGV can replace a man with a fork lift, or a fleet of AGVs may replace a conveyor-style assembly line. • A teleoperator does not replace a person but extends his capabilities.

3. Reasons for installing Robots In case of jobs that are dangerous, the benefits of eliminating the work has to be weighed against the effect of the displaced worker. He may be allotted other interesting & safe works.

4. Costs & Benefits of Installing Robots In any particular situation the decision whether to use robots or not must be justified. The decision is primarily an economic one, it is possible to quantify the costs & benefits

5. Payback Period

6. Social Aspects of Robotics • Spanish researchers have carried out a study looking into the potential future impact of robots on society. • Their conclusions show that the enormous automation capacity of robots and their ability to interact with humans will cause a technological imbalance over the next 12 years between those who have them and those who do not. • “Just as we depend upon mobile phones and cars in our daily lives today, the next 15 years will see mass hybridisation between humans and robots,” • By 2020 the robots “will be able to see, act, speak, manage natural language and have intelligence, and our relationship with them will have become more constant and commonplace”. • It is predicted that 40% of armies will be automated with robot soldiers by 2020 “just as a car factory is today, which will result in less human deaths during violent conflicts”. • This will follow a revolution in robotics after which they will no longer be sophisticated machines, but tools to be used on a daily basis, helping us with a large number of work and social activities

7. What will robots do for us? Automation currently exists in areas such as: • water management • unmanned aircraft that fly and shoot missiles But whole new areas of robot use will open up in future. • One such use will be in a medical context, to help disabled people move, helping to make them less dependent on others. • Insertion of robots into our bodies, such as intelligent implants in the brain, which will improve our rational thought, • Nanorobots to be released into the blood to clean our arteries. • Another important role will be the replacement of people working in the areas of security, surveillance or defence. • They will help us to clean our houses, will milk cows on farms, and will be programmed to work 24 hours per day in factories without resting, with a yield equivalent to 3 day shifts. • Prevent workers from being exposed to dangerous, stressful or unhealthy environments, thus reducing labour-related risks.

8. If robots are to carry out so many labour tasks and replace human labour, unemployment may rise just as it did in the 19th century with the invention of textile machines. • Factories with high robot use will retrain workers to work in other, though possibly more poorly paid, areas. • The situation will balance out with the development of new services involved in the design and maintenance of the robots • Social robots, machines with artificial intelligence, with which we will have emotional and even intimate interactions. • A robot might be a more effective partner and a better person than the humans, just as you can see dog owners talking to their pets today, soon we may be talking to robots. • Estimating the global manufacturing labor costs at $6 trillion annually, it is forecasted that advanced robotics could have an economic impact on the manufacturing sector of between $720 billion to $1.45 trillion annually.

9. Areas in robotics that can have a positive impact on society, economically and functionally and help to transform society over the next decade or so are: • Drones • Medical Procedures, Operations and Health • Prosthetics and Exoskeletons • Artificial Assistants • Driverless Cars

10. Drones • Non-military usage in the civil environment for a number of governmental functions, like policing, border control, search and rescue, fire fighting, ground traffic surveillance, and pollution control. • Commercial ventures such as farming, logistics, mapping, real-estate sales and inspection, oil and gas pipeline monitoring cinematic filming and security monitoring

11. Medical Procedures and Operations • Facilitating medical processes by precisely guiding instruments, diagnostic equipment and tools for diagnosis and therapy. • Improving safety and overall quality of the medical surgery • Enhancing the cost-effectiveness of patient care • Improving the training and education of medical personnel through the use of simulators • Promoting the use of information in diagnosis and therapy.

12. Robotic Prosthetics and Exoskeletons • Prosthetics and exoskeletons offer major improvements in the life of people that may have lost a limb, or have another movement disability. • Many modern prosthetics now contain microprocessors, sensors and actuators to improve their functionality. • Making exoskeletons, these wearable, ‘bionic devices’ enable wheelchair users to walk again. 

13. Driverless Cars • Google self-driving cars, will be on the road commercially before 2018 • Solutions to some of our most intractable social problems - the high cost of traffic crashes and transportation infrastructure, the millions of hours wasted in traffic jams, and the wasted urban space given over to parking lots

14. Future Impacts of Advanced Robotics