Trending News in the Robotics Field for November 2021

Posted on 03/12/2021 by Mnadeau989 in Blog, Discover, Robotic News

What's the trending news in the robotics field for November 2021? Welcome to the 26th 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 November. Let's see what caught our attention this month with the trending news in the robotics field for November 2021:

Robots, Reporting for Duty

The military industry is always on the front lines (pardon the pun) when it comes to advancing and deploying robotics technology. This month, we saw a ton of advancement in the industry sparked by militaries around the world. Let's rundown of some of those here:

From the experts at Forbes, the Australian army has something straight out of science fiction: bulletproof attack robots.
The Jerusalem Post has a story on Israel's "next-gen" robots and their potential for future deployment (especially the idea of replacing humans on the front lines).
The Breaking Defense website has a fascinating story on American Army soldiers now training with (and against) robots as part of their basic training regimen.

It's something to think about what the future of warfare will look like with the almost full integration of robotics. The world seems to have had a glimpse of it with the "drone wars" over Afghanistan and Iraq; in the future, is there a world where nations clash without actual humans involved? How does that affect diplomacy and politics? There don't seem to be any easy answers.

Helping With the Staff Shortage

Robots are helping with the massive personnel shortages everywhere! Here's a sampling of some of their efforts:

From TechCrunch, a big merger in the robotic exoskeleton world.
Gizmodo profiles the high-flying world of skyscraper window-washing robots
The Verge looks at the robot that may be cleaning your office one day
FastCompany has a very cool look at "the farm of the future," including "poop sensors

How have you seen robots impacting the supply and delivery chain for your daily life? Are you expecting to see robotics solve some of the pandemic-related problems that have popped up over the last year and a half?

High-Tech Dining Solutions

Of course, robots are also helping out in the food service industry. There were plenty of articles detailing their helpfulness in November, including:

From PRNewswire, the partnership between Serve Robotics and Uber for robotic delivery
Canada's robot that busses tables, from WoodTV
Sally the Robot helping out with "good hospital food," from The Takeout
Accolades for a Japanese robot cafe, from QZ.com

Those are only a sample of the big developments. Have you seen any robotics coming to your dining areas? If not, do you expect it soon?

Big Robotic Developments in the Medical Industry

Finally, robots are certainly helping the medical industry. Here are some of the big stories:

From the Jerusalem Post: a robot performed a mastectomy all on its own.
The Guardian profiles how hospital robots are helping save lives
Robotics are also helping to detect cancer causes in this one county, per The Republic

It's astonishing to see just how far robotics have come in everyday medicine. How long do you think it will be before we see more robots in the hospital than human doctors?

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 "assistance." What do we mean by that? Well, it looks as though the trending news in the robotics field for November 2021 focuses on one big thing: conflict. Technology is always a part of human conflict. The gun replaced the sword. The tank rolled over the gun. Airpower took out the tank. Now, it looks as though robotics technology may serve as the next (and final?) frontier in warfare. For all of the advancements for peace that come along with robotics, it's important to remember that advancements for conflict and war come right along with it there in lockstep.

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, enjoy the ride and enjoy every second of it. 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 November? Comment below and we might feature it in our next issue!

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