Archive 15.08.2022

The simple design of pneumatic systems mean that the cobots are expected to be more durable and require less maintenance than their electric counterparts.

In early 19th-century England, the Luddites rebelled against the introduction of machinery in the textile industry. The Luddites’ name originates from the mythical tale of a weaver’s apprentice called Ned Ludd who, in an act of anger against increasingly dangerous and poor working conditions, supposedly destroyed two knitting machines. Contrary to popular belief, the Luddites were not against technology because they were ignorant or inept at using it (1). In fact, the Luddites were perceptive artisans who cared about their craft, and some even operated machinery. Moreover, they understood the consequences of introducing machinery to their craft and working conditions. Specifically, they were deeply concerned about how technology was being used to shift the balance of power between workers and owners of capital.

The problem is not the advent of technology; the problem is how technology is applied. This is the essence of the intensely polarizing debate on robotic labor. Too often the debate is oversimplified to two opposing factions: the anti-tech pessimist versus the pro-tech optimist. On the one hand, the deeply pessimistic make the case that there will be greatly diminished workers’ rights, mass joblessness, and a widening gulf between socioeconomic classes. On the other hand, the overly optimistic believe that technology will bring better jobs and unbridled economic wealth. The reality is that, although extreme, both sides have valid points. The debate in its present form lacks a middle ground, leaving little room for nuanced and thoughtful discussion. It is simplistic to assume those who are pessimistic towards technological change do not understand the potential of technology as it is incorrect to conclude those who are optimistic about technological change are not thinking about the consequences. Pessimists may fully understand the potential for technological change and still feel that the drawbacks outweigh benefits. Optimists may not want change at any cost, but they feel that the costs are worthwhile.

There are various examples of how the introduction of machines have made industries more efficient and innovative, raising both the quality of work and the quality of output (for example, automated teller machines in banking, automated telephone exchanges in telecommunications, and industrial robots in manufacturing). An important detail in these success stories that is rarely mentioned, however, are timelines. The first industrial revolution did lead to higher levels of urbanization and rises in output; however, crucially, it took several decades before workers saw higher wages. This period of constant wages in the backdrop of rising output per worker is known as Engels’ pause, named after Friedrich Engels, the philosopher who first observed it (2).

Timing matters because, although there will be gains in the long term, there will certainly be losses in the short term. Support for retraining those most at risk of job displacement is needed to bridge this gap. Unfortunately, progress is disappointingly slow on this front. On one level, there are those who are apathetic to the challenges facing the workforce and feel that the loss of jobs is part of the cut and thrust of technological change. On another level, it is possible that there is a lack of awareness of the challenges of transitioning people to a new era of work. We need to bring change and light to both cases, respectively. Those at risk of being displaced by machines need to feel empowered by being a part of the change and not a by-product of change. Moreover, in developing the infrastructure to retrain and support those at risk, we must also recognize that retraining is itself a solution encased in many unsolved problems that include technical, economic, social, and even cultural challenges.

There is more that roboticists should be doing to advance the debate on robotic labor beyond the current obsessive focus on job-stealing robots. First, roboticists should provide a critical and fair assessment of the current technological state of robots. If the public were aware of just how far the field of robotics needs to advance to realize highly capable and truly autonomous robots, then they might be more assured. Second, roboticists should openly communicate the intent of their research goals and aspirations. Understanding that, in the foreseeable future, robotics will be focused on task replacement, not comprehensive job replacement, changes the conversation from how robots will take jobs from workers to how robots can help workers do their job better. The ideas of collaborative robots and multiplicity are not new (3), but they seldom get the exposure that they deserve. Opening an honest and transparent dialogue between roboticists and the general public will go a long way to building a middle ground that will elevate discussion on the future of work.

References

1. J. Sadowski, “I’m a Luddite. You should be one too,” The Conversation, 25 November 2021 [accessed 3 April 2022].
2. R. C. Allen, Engels’ pause: Technical change, capital accumulation, and inequality in the British industrial revolution. Explor. Econ. Hist. 46, 418–435 (2019).
3. K. Goldberg, Editorial multiplicity has more potential than singularity. IEEE Trans. Autom. Sci. Eng. 12, 395 (2015).

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From “Lee, M. M., Robots will open more doors than they close. Science Robotics, 7, 65 (2022).” Reprinted with permission from AAAS. Further distribution or republication of this article is not permitted without prior written permission from AAAS.

Jessica Burgner-Kahrs, the director of the Continuum Robotics Lab at the University of Toronto Mississauga, and her team are building very slender, flexible and extensible robots, a few millimeters in diameter, for use in surgery and industry. You might call it "zoobotics."

It’s easy to mistake drones for glorified cameras, especially since many applications rely on the aerial photography and videography technology built into most unmanned vehicles. However, modern drones can do so much more.

I have loved science fiction ever since I was a kid and read all my Dad’s ancient issues of Analog Science Fiction and Fact from the 1940s. The first book I can remember reading was The Green Hills of Earth anthology by Robert Heinlein. Fast forward to the 1990s, when, as a new professor of computer science, I began adding sci-fi short stories and movies as extra credit for my AI and robotics courses. Later as a Faculty Fellow for Innovation in High-Impact Learning Experiences at Texas A&M, I created the Robotics Through Science Fiction book series as a companion to my textbook, Introduction to AI Robotics.

The books I picked & why

Little Eyes By Samanta Schweblin, Megan McDowell A Firby-like robot pet becomes an international fad, where a “keeper” buys a little wheeled robot and is randomly paired with a “dweller” who teleoperates the robot. The robot has only a camera and microphone, but no audio output, and the identity of the keeper and dweller are hidden. The game is that the keeper is entertained trying to figure out why the robot does what it does, while the dweller is entertained by exploring a new place. What could go wrong? Lots. Lots! Little Eyes absolutely terrified me, much more than any Stephen King novel because there is nothing supernatural, it could really happen.

The Warehouse By Rob Hart This is my favorite introduction to the state of automation and autonomy in manufacturing. In a near future, a Sam Walton type has made a fortune through drone delivery and warehouse automation. The warehouse automation is based on a well-intentioned, but shallow, interpretation of the outdated Fitts Law in human factors that divide different jobs between robots and humans. Except humans can’t match robot speed and endurance. The tension is whether a corporate spy who has infiltrated a warehouse to steal secrets is there to expose the inherent cruelty or, worse, to replicate the work practices at a competitor’s facility.

Rendezvous with Rama By Arthur C. Clarke This 1973 hard sci-fi classic is perhaps the best fictional introduction to behavioral robotics there is, appearing a decade before researchers, most notably Rod Brooks, created the behavioral paradigm. An alien spaceship is passing through our solar system on a slingshot orbit. It is autonomous but controlled strictly by simple biological affordances that enable it to respond to the human intruders without applying any of the HAL 9000 reasoning Clarke popularized in his more famous 2001: A Space Odyssey. I mentally throw this book at engineers when they try to make unnecessarily complex robots.

Kill Decision By Daniel Suarez When Kill Decision came out, I sent an email to all my Department of Defense colleagues saying: finally, a book that gets swarms, drones, computer vision, and lethal autonomous weapons right! The book shows behavioral robotics can duplicate insect intelligence to create simple, but relentlessly effective, drones. The inexpensive individual drones are limited in intelligence but a greater, more adaptive intelligence emerges from the swarm. It’s on par with a Michael Crichton technothriller with lots of action (plus romance), making it an easy read.

Head On: A Novel of the Near Future By John Scalzi The second in his entertaining detective series in a near future where 2% of the population is paralyzed and has to teleoperate robots in order to interact with the world (interestingly, it was written before the pandemic). The protagonist, Chris (we never are told their gender, making for a delightful guessing game), is an FBI agent investigating a murder and along the way faces the kind of casual discrimination that the disabled undoubtedly face every day. Chris maintains a wry sense of humor through it all, adding an Elmore Leonard or Donald E. Westlake vibe that makes me laugh out loud.

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Original article published in Shepherd. Shepherd also has bookshelves about robots and robotics.

Today, society is involved in a hyperconnected world and the questioning about what will be the technologies that will shape the world in the future. Likewise, a lot of data is analyzed to try to understand which technological innovations will have a radical impact on the world economy, the environment, or the social order. In...

The post 10 emerging technologies that will have a significant impact in the coming years appeared first on 1redDrop.

Soft robots that can complete tasks with high efficiency, accuracy and precision could have numerous valuable applications. For instance, they could be introduced in medical settings, helping doctors to carry out complex surgical procedures or assisting elderly and vulnerable patients during rehabilitation.

Rather than replace analog gauges and processes with an array of high cost and specialized connected sensors, forward-looking companies are deploying advanced robots that bring the sensors to where and when they’re needed most.

Meet Edgar Duéñez-Guzmán, a research engineer on our Multi-Agent Research team who’s drawing on knowledge of game theory, computer science, and social evolution to get AI agents working better together.

Meet Edgar Duéñez-Guzmán, a research engineer on our Multi-Agent Research team who’s drawing on knowledge of game theory, computer science, and social evolution to get AI agents working better together.

Telexistence Inc. and FamilyMart Co. are rolling out a fleet of AI-driven robots to restock shelves in 300 convenience stores across Japan.

A team of researchers at Johannes Kepler University, in Austria, has developed a series of tiny, steerable electromechanical robots that can walk, run, jump and swim at high speeds for their size. In their paper published in the journal Nature Communications, the group describes how they built their robots and suggests possible uses for them.

Artificial intelligence (AI) methods have become increasingly advanced over the past few decades, attaining remarkable results in many real-world tasks. Nonetheless, most existing AI systems do not share their analyses and the steps that led to their predictions with human users, which can make reliably evaluating them extremely challenging.

According to Universal Robots (UR), in 2019, around 38 per cent of the manufacturing labor force still moved parts manually between bins and manufacturing machines, rather than use industrial robots.

By Andrew Dunne

Gardening is proven to be healthful and joyful, but as more of us discover the joys of working in the garden for the first time, some basic knowledge about plants, landscaping and soil is required to get started. What, where and when should you plant, for instance?

These were some of the core questions co-founder of the start-up Draw Me A Garden (DMAG), Florent De Salaberry, realised were standing in the way of more people digging in to the subject.

IKEA-like

Many people want to garden, but lots of us just don’t have the expertise or confidence to begin,’ said the French tech entrepreneur.

DMAG is an app and website service which offers tailored 3D-plans for garden design. It helps budding gardeners to transform any plot into a beautiful, sustainable garden with ease.

The inspiration behind the company’s name comes from the children’s book ‘Le Petit Prince’ in which the prince requests the narrator to ‘draw me a sheep’ to start a conversation and build a relationship.

De Salaberry says “Draw Me A Garden” uses digital tools in a similar way to help people build a relationship with nature in their gardens.

The DMAG service helps customers envisage their dream garden by providing creative ideas, planting tips and, most important of all, delivering all the plants to their door.

Giving customers ownership of their creations is what distinguishes DMAG from traditional landscaping, argues De Salaberry. ‘We know that if you just pay people to landscape your garden, not only is that really expensive but it’s also hard to feel pride in it,’ he said.

‘DMAG is about making gardening easy and affordable, and providing the resources to enable customers to be at the heart of their own projects.’

Garden varieties

Customers locate their garden online via a satellite map. Next, they list any pre-existing features such as a terrace or a child’s play area, then select a preferred garden style, such as for example English cottage garden or Mediterranean.

“Many people want to garden, but lots of us just don’t have the expertise or confidence to begin.”

– Florent de Salaberry, Draw Me A Garden

Behind the scenes, DMAG’s algorithm whirrs away using these inputs together with local knowledge (soil type, elevation, sun direction) to map out the perfect garden design. Customers can visualise the design using 3D mapping tools on the DMAG website.

A qualified landscaper supports the design process and the customer receives a number of planning options to mull over.

Green thumbs

Results come back almost instantaneously. ‘The idea was always to enable customers to do this wherever or whenever they wanted and it takes just a few seconds to get the first design back,’ said De Salaberry.

Once further small refinements are made, a 3D view is rendered, and customers can sit back and wait for all plants and growing instructions to be delivered.

A typical delivery might consist of between 200 – 300 plants. These come with biodegradable cardboard scaffolds cut to the exact garden size and instructions to help the gardeners plant them out.

So far, the DMAG team have supplied to gardeners of all kinds in France, Belgium and Luxembourg, with average expenditure of around €1 500.

De Salaberry likens his turnkey garden concept to how IKEA has revolutionised kitchen design.

As they look to scale-up this work in new EU countries and the US, they hope many more people will soon be asking them to start their gardening journey and “draw me a garden.”

Glade runner

If DMAG can help gardeners create the ideal future garden space, then the TrimBot2020 might be the answer to help maintain it.

The brainchild of computer vision and robotics’ expert, Professor Bob Fisher of the University of Edinburgh, TrimBot2020 is one of the first robot gardening devices that promises to do more than simply mow the lawn.

Based on a modified commercially available robot lawnmower, the autonomous vehicle prunes roses, trims hedges and shapes topiary, all while auto-navigating garden terrain.

To achieve this, the robot uses a ring of cameras to draw a 3D map of the garden, some robotic snippers and hefty dose of computer processing power.

‘There are ten cameras which work together to build up a 3D model of the garden, just like our eyes do,’ said Fisher.

Together, these cameras help the robot gain a 360-degree view of the complex terrain of the garden. The robot also matches what it sees to a hand drawn map supplied by the users.

Upon command, the TrimBot springs into life by rolling up to the bush and scanning it to build up a computer-vision model of that particular plant.

‘Once it has an idea of where all the stems are, its robotic arm comes out with the cutter and it starts snipping away,’ said Fisher.

Robochop

For the TrimBot team, the commercial target market is horticultural businesses responsible for maintaining parks, gardens, and recreational areas.

In such cases, they believe the robot can take on pruning duties while the human gardener does something more challenging.

While the commercial future of TrimBot is yet to be determined, the real benefits may yet come through incorporating the technology into the “brains” of next-generation of garden robots.

‘Outdoor robotics is notoriously hard,’ said Fisher. Typical challenges include constant lighting changes, the many different shades of green and variations in the terrain.

Current robot lawnmowers usually require users to mark out an exact area to mow and to position a robot in the right place to start. TrimBot’s technology should enable robots of tomorrow to work that out themselves.

‘With the TrimBot project we’ve really demonstrated what might be possible in the future,’ said Fisher.

Research in this article was funded by the EU.

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This article was originally published in Horizon, the EU Research and Innovation magazine.