Trending News in the Robotics Field for March 2022

What's the trending news in the robotics field for March 2022? Welcome to the 30th installment in our monthly series, What's Trending in Robotics News! We cover all the breaking news, hot issues, trending stories, and cool stuff that's happening — or has happened — in the robotics industry.

There were plenty of amazing things happening in the robotics industry throughout March. Let's see what caught our attention this month with the trending news in the robotics field for March 2022!

Beer Me, Please

Here's a fun way to make use of your personal robot. Per The Verge, users are taking full advantage of the capabilities of Amazon's "Astro" robot. Of course, this includes robots bringing people cold, frosty beverages. This is truly the pinnacle of robotic innovation. Would you add Astro to your home for this purpose?

 

It's Just Emotions Taking Us Over

Big news this month is in a popular category: robotics and the emotional world. First, per an article in Business Insider, Elon Musk detailed a next-generation Tesla robot that could "download" the personalities of humans. Additionally, a Japanese company is investing in the future of an "affectionate companion robot" for humans, per U.S. News and World Report. It's hard to tell what to think about these two reports. Should we be grateful for another companion in the house or concerned about the ethical future of "downloading" a personality into a robot? It's definitely something to think about. 

 

Heads-up: National Robotics Week Is On!

One final note for your calendar: National Robotics Week is on! This celebratory period runs from April 2–10 every year. You can check out more details about National Robotics Week right here: https://www.nationalroboticsweek.org/.
 

Delivery Update

It wouldn't be a month in the robotics world without some fascinating development in the autonomous delivery world. This month, it's a partnership between TERAKI and Foodora to use sidewalk robots to deliver food to hungry Stockholmers. You can read about this new partnership in this article from The Robot Report. Just another entry into the ever-growing library of astonishing innovations in robotics deliveries. 

 

Quick Hits

From Tech XPlore: There's a new startup airline out there, and it's harnessing the power of robotics to sanitize and disinfect planes between travel. Another reminder that COVID-19 is still hanging around. 

The Daily Beast has an intriguing article about robotics working to clean up our water system. 

Finally, School News Network profiles a very cool elementary school robotics program. 

What's To Come?

There is a lot of news out there — but these are the stories that caught our eyes this month. If we could give one big theme for the month, it would be "personality." The idea of robots having human emotions (for good and bad) is a continuing science-fiction trope; in fact, the "Star Trek: The Next Generation" series had a continuing storyline about it. Now, we see the worlds between science fiction and fact blurring once more. From people "downloading" their personalities into robots to robotic companions that make people feel happy, human and robotic personalities are getting ever nearer to one and the same. How close will we come to replicating actual human emotion in a robot? That question is probably coming for all of us sooner rather than later. 

The bottom line: Robotics, as a whole, are on a roll. They're adapting to every aspect of our lives and touching every element of what we do, from how we eat to where we will go as a species. Our best advice? Sit back and enjoy the ride.

One more thing, readers — if you have anything we should add for the next edition, let us know! What caught your attention in the robotics world throughout April? Comment below, and we might feature it in our next issue!