Issue #69
Last Update October 31, 2010
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Technology RoboBusiness 2009 by David Katz May 14, 2009 Technical robotics conferences are good for finding out what the critical technological problems are that face the creation of fully autonomous machines, but to understand where robotics is likely to impact our lives in the next year or two, the RoboBusiness Conference and Expo is probably the best place to be. This year the conference was held in Boston in April, and provided a measure of the degree to which robotics impinges on each of us. There are four main areas of robotics use currently: manufacturing (which does not have a large presence at Robobusiness); toys, games and educational kits; consumer appliances; medical and therapeutic; and military and governmental uses. Military and Governmental uses will be the subject of a later New York Stringer article (see Military Robotics); this article will concentrate on the other non-manufacturing uses.
Consumer appliances, as implemented by iRobot, manufacturer of the Roomba vacuuming robot, consist mostly of cleaning implements: vacuums, floor washers, pool cleaners, house gutter cleaners and lawn mowers. These not very glamorous uses are nevertheless selling reasonably well, and are the thin edge of wedge of public acceptance of robots in everyday life. Toys, hobby kits, educational kits and entertainment robots give the public hands-on experience with the construction, programming and design of robots, demystifying a developing technology and creating a public persona for robots that is non-threatening and interesting.
Coming into increasing use is telepresence, where robotic techniques allow work to be done from a distance. Although most commonly seen in white collar work, where working from home through the home computer and the internet facilitate a productive placelessness (also allowing work to continue during a crisis or emergency when transportation may not be operating, the normal work place may be unavailable or gatherings may be forbidden, as during a pandemic), telepresence is also making inroads into the commercial sphere, with robotic equipment being instructed and controlled by a remote operator, and in the military, where remotely operated ground, sea and aerial vehicles substitute for putting soldiers, sailors and airmen in harm's way.
Some of the most interesting, useful and complex applications of robotics occur in medicine and other therapeutic settings. Computer-aided diagnosis, while not strictly speaking a robotic enterprise, has proven more accurate than most doctors in a variety of situations. Robotic surgery, where the surgeon tele-operates intelligent surgical tools, has been shown to be more effective for certain kinds of surgery than when the surgery is actually done by a surgeon, due to the greater accuracy possible with robotic tools. Telemonitoring permits doctors to keep track of patient situations while allowing the patients to remain in their homes. Doctor telepresence robots make hospital rounds while the doctor remains in his office, allowing the doctor to interact with the patient remotely, allowing for more efficient use of doctor time. Oddly, this somewhat spooky method of interaction has been well received by patients.
Robotic prostheses are beginning to allow patients that have lost limbs to have a more normal life, as the robot replacements become more effective at mimicking natural movements, compensating for rough terrain, avoiding obstacles, and improving patient's balance. Robotic physical therapy devices allow more physical therapy time, often in the patients home, while reducing the number of physical therapists required. Socially interactive robots have been used in therapeutic play with autism patients. In hospitals, roboticised pharmacies reduce errors in medication.
No longer experimental, robots and other autonomous devices have migrated from the factory floor to everyday life. Japan and South Korea as well as the United States are active developers. In Japan, in particular, robots are seen as providing a supplemental labor force to cope with an aging population. That some population curve is coming to the US soon.
New York Stringer is published by NYStringer.com. For all communications, contact David Katz, Editor and Publisher, at david@nystringer.com