Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vM7m11hkEWAWhile the democratization of robots is making them more and more present in our daily lives, most people still have mixed feelings about the future. Many apocalyptic movies have depicted a future where robots are either exterminating human
Robots are needed
I believe that we need robots for Assistance: "To help those that are not able to do things because of physical disabalities and to help the elderly"
I believe that we need robots for companions: "Too many times I have seen elderly people or even disabled people who have no one or the family they do have does not care."
As our lives become more complicated with juggling work,family,outside activities etc… We need the additional help with our daily lives. From something as simple as a reminder to do something to even more complex jobs such as cooking dinner and sweeping/mopping the floor.
Even for those of us who are not disabled or elderly but maybe live alone it is nice to have something to talk to that will talk back and provide an answer.
In factories robots are needed to do jobs that require precision that we as people are unable to do in a repeatative action.
Each new revolution in humans history there has been those that are affraid of what is to come in fear that jobs will be taken and that what products they sell will become extinct. We are in the Robot Revolution and we should not fear it, we should be there to help in grow and to make it better as it will make our lives better and open up new opportunities that we did not have before.
Great topic, thanks JP for posting it.
I remember seeing something
I remember seeing something on Nova about how humans integrate tools and use them. One of the points of the show is that humans basically integrate tools into their body plan. So, someone who is using a hammer actually sees that tool as a physical part of their body when using it. The person doesn’t think about how it is 14" longer etc, but uses “muscle memory” to automatically make the correction. We also very quickly are able to integrate new tools and use them. Basically, we as humans are hard wired to use tools and to adapt quickly to new tools that we make or pick up along the way. Even our dreams are used to help us consolidate and hardwire physical skills into our brains. If you learn a new physical skill, then take a nap, you will be better at the skill than before you went to sleep. Kind of cool…
I think robots are tools that we will and already do seamlessly integrate into our lives. I lived through the 1990s and seeing how people quickly adopted computers, then tablets, then cell phones to get information was interesting to watch. Now, we hardly even think about how we access the internet and its vast array of information. The only time we notice it is when it isn’t available.
Robots will be just another tool we rely on to do stuff for us. Unconsciously, we will rely on and not think very much about all the things they do for us until for some reason they don’t.
The question of whether this reliance is good or bad will be debated just as much as whether the internet was good or bad for our society. Robots (and the internet) will continue to be tools we use every day and don’t even think about what they do for us every day. And it will be both, good and bad and depending on who is arguing a bit more of whichever your subjective bent makes you lean toward.
I want to believe it is mostly to the good.
I believe that the coming revolution will only be tempered by what we can imagine. I see a better world with better health care, cheaper and better food production, a grid powered by mostly renewable energies that can only be managed by computers, a safer world where noone drives, smart houses that are warm only when you are there, etc. I can’t wait to get there.
Great opinions!
Thanks guys for sharing your thoughts!
Glad to read we all share this vision of a better future thanks to robotics.
As I said in the video, it’s quite hard to see beyond the event horizon as AI & Robots can disrupt society so much that we can’t yet conceive the future they could bring us.
Whatever it is, I can’t wait to experience it.
re: Need Bots
I think economics and risk management (and associated fears) are probably at the core of everything.
When we have self-driving trucks, the price of delivering goods will come down. When we have software that handles smart contracts (like Ethereum), the price of moving money, trade, buying insurance, land, whatever, will go down. A lot less people and middlemen will be involved too.
I have seen a prominent speaker speak passionately about elderly and other care, saying that this is the very last thing we should outsource to robots, arguing that it is perhaps the only thing thatr the robots are not capable of doing…actually empathizing, caring, love, etc. It caused me to take pause of my visions of a robotic future. I really liked “Robot and Frank” and the potential for robots for the elderly, but get the speaker’s point.
If we are not spending our time driving, working, selling insurance, flipping burgers, waging war, etc., perhaps we can find time to do something we are uniquely qualified to do…loving. Then again, that might require looking up from our phones and Facebook, talking, and listening more.
There is the “I want robots to do things around the house” argument. There is a counter argument though…a lot of people eat way too much of the wrong things, not enough of the right things, and move way too little. Perhaps this (and drug monopolies) are why we have the most expensive and in many ways lacking health care distribution systems here in the U.S. Do we need another tool to move even less around the home? I know a lot of people who are slowly killing themselves and their children. I doubt the economics will support robots in the home for quite some time, unless they are spying and monetizing their data. I will pass on that. I think we all need to pass until we get some type of unhackable tech (blockchain maybe?) for personal info, one that the gov’t is excluded from.
Do we need robots? Yes. Do we need software? Yes. Are both coming? Yes. As much as I love robotics, I am having trouble seeing past the pre-cursor, the software revolution that is upon us and the huge structural and economic changes it will wreak, to see the robotic revolution that lies beyond.
I mentioned risk management and fear and it deserves some discussion. As a society, how will those that work manage the fear of losing their jobs? How will we manage liability with driverless cars? How will we manage fear of terrorism? Will we allow gov’t and corps into every aspect of our lives? How will we manage money? Will we use nationalism and other isms to create fears that prevent new technologies (and currencies) from replacing old ones. Will we attempt to regulate / control everything for the benefit of people we don’t know. or institutions we may or may not trust? It is worth noting that there is another strategy of risk management, and a rational one much of the time, is to simply bear or ignore a risk. Sometimes the cure is worse than the disease. I think this is the case with terrorism and some other fears in our political discourse. More people will be killed by lack of healthcare, drunk driving, or the opioid epidemic than by terrorism…if I take out the terrorism that we ourselves are inflicting.
All of this will play out in the next decade, and the robotic revolution will be laid upon whatever foundations are laid during that time.
One man’s opinion.
I agree and disagree with
I agree and disagree with you Martin.
I worked in the industry for many years where we would design assistive devices to help the elderly and the disabled. I got to see first hand how the disabled are treated. I saw that while they wanted very much to be able to do the same things you and I take for granite they could not without assistive devices. My idea/thought is not of a robot that will kiss your booboo or pet your head but one that will help you do the laundry or remind you of taking you medicne or get you a glass of water. Some of the simple thing we don’t even think about. I do agree that a robot that tries to show emotion or love is not right and borders on playing god. I too watch Robot and Frank and while it was a little far fetched, a robot that helps you steal it was interesting.
A few years ago a put together a piece of software to help a elderly gentleman that lives a few house up from me. The software started as just a reminder. It would remind him of what medication he needed to take and at what time each day. This help him out quite a bit as he has lapses in memory and from day to day is a challenge. What I also noticed was that while he has family he was lucky if they would come over and see him once a month and at that it for maybe an hour. It is sad to see someone that was a veryproductive part of society to all of a sudden be cast aside like they no longer matter. So I then found out from him which TV shows he enjoyed watching and when they were on and set the software up to remind him 10 and 5 minutes before hand what channel and what show. This idea worked out great and he I have not heard him say I missed watching NCIS did you watch it what happened. I thought for a while what else would help this gentleman out or make is day better and bring a smile to him. I then revamped the software and added voice recognition. I used phrases so that it did not have to understand everything he said one a phrase. The first test was adding the jokes. I added over 3,000 jokes into it and when he would say “Tell a Joke” it would randomly tell him a joke and once again it was a hit and he now is asking for more jokes to be added. My next version will use full voice recognition that he will have to train but will then allow him to carry on a simple conversation.
My project does not show emotion or compasion but still gives the end user something that they did not have before.
Martin when you say “It caused me to take pause of my visions of a robotic future” dont let your dreams die, you can make anything happen it just takes time and you may have to think outside of the box.
re: Jeff
I commend you on your work.
I raised some questions in my post (mostly from the prominent professor lady whose name I can’t remember) but as far as my opinion goes, I agree with you. I took pause from thinking bots were the solution…but only a pause. My dad is entering that phase of life, and anything or anyone that can help is appreciated. People and tech play a roll in the solution to a very big problem.
Ironically, in my dad’s case at 85, the thing he probably wants most is more reliable wifi in all parts of his house and less error-prone apps and devices. He has always had a deep connection with his remote controls and his iPad, why would a robot not be the next logical step in adding value and happiness in the form of utility? If bots can help then why not, as long as loved ones don’t see the tech as replacements for their own help as well. Robots need to learn to show some emotions (much like people do when strangers tell a story), but it is easy to fall into the uncanny valley in a hurry. I wonder how a bot should handle a situation of a person on their death bed and relatives can’t get there in time…I suppose the bot can relay messages to loved ones “Tell my wife I love her.”. Makes me sad and deeply emotional to imagine that situation. Despite that, the bot would be an extremely valuable tool in that moment, and might be the only reason help or family could even have a chance at getting there in time.
It gave me joy to hear what you have been doing to help your neighbor. It also made me realize the missed opportunities of some of my own work running on phones with voice control / jokes. I wish I had chosen to do some good as you have.
Regards,
Martin
Thank you much for your
Thank you much for your compliments they are appreciated.
It is never too late to do what you want for your father.
You raise yet another interesting point in the evolution of robots. How does ONE handle the death of a human. Notice the pun of “ONE” from Bicentenial Man another great movie. I would think that a bot would have to have a way of monitoring a humans vital sign so they would know that death has occured. My dad is not far behind yours (5 Years) and have begun working on a piece for him as well. What I have done differently as there is more of a emotional connection is to use some of the one liners that my dad would say and add in some of the phrases my mom uses to give a bit of a chuckle to him. My plan is to have it finished soon. My dad also has an attraction to J.Lo as he even named is dog Jenny. So I have take a image of J.Lo and animated it so it appears as if she is talking to my dad. At the current moment the software is called Eve and recognizes all spoken words only from me as I have trained it. The version my dad will get will have key phrases it will recognize.
Jeff
Jeffro, highest accolades for your work!
Jeffro, I must compliment you for taking the initiative to help your neighbor, even though there wasn’t anything “in it for you”. It was a selfless act which I’m sure was greatly appreciated.
One issue that you have to keep in mind when developing products, and / or services for the senior citizen, is that while many have tried to keep up to some extent with technology, others are completely oblivious to it. My mother is a prime example, she turns 90 in October and although she is still in fairly good health, lives alone, and even still drives, she has never used things we take for granted. She has never used an ATM card, never sent a text, and until recently, had never used a computer for anything but playing games.
I have introduced her to Skype, Facebook, and email by making it super simple for her and putting just a few shortcuts on her desktop so she can go there with a simple click. She gets so excited when we Skype that she was able to do it, she still doesn’t have a clue what the Internet is but she thinks it’s a miracle.
Technology vs Humans
Back in the late 70’s - early 80’s, I worked at a hospital in Dayton Ohio. The hospital had been using students & volunteers to deliver mail, charts, and supplies all over the hospital. Someone got the bright idea that this was not very efficient so they purchased a system called Ralleypost, (sp?), manufactured by Diebold Corp. The system consisted of a large number of self contained robots with locked orange fiberglass boxes attached that would travel throughout the hospital on a track picking up & delivering the same items the volunteers used to.
When the install was completed, all the local news media was there to document the hospital administrators & Diebold execs expousing the virtues of this 21st century solution to a rather mundane problem. The news crews had hardly left the building before the problems started.
The first problem was that the hospital had been built over an underground river and the building would settle so much so that in a span of 24 hours, sections of track had to be realigned as they would be off by an inch. Then they realized that many of the items they needed to move, wouldn’t fit in the baskets. Then the maintenence problems began, burned up motors, bad batteries, and a host of other problems. One of the “features” of these robots was bumper switches on the front & back so that if they bumped into anything, a Sonoalert would start beeping loudly. Imagine if you will, a traffic jam of 15 or 20 of these robots backed up, all beeping loudly in a hospital? The hospital soon realized that the millions they spent buying the system, plus what they were paying all us technicians to try to keep it running had been a huge mistake and they went back to “the old way” after just a couple years.
I’m not telling this story to deter technological solutions to real world problems, I’m just trying to show that you have to fully understand the problem and anticipate all sorts of complications before you even start the design process.
Quite interesting using
Quite interesting using tracks. Then again during that time period we did not have some of the technology we have today for obsticle avoidance and guidance. I am originally from Ohio so I am very familiar with Dayton area. It also sounds like they did not do enough pre planning and the result of it all was evident. Thank you for the compliments on the project, just to let you know the software is still running and the gentleman is still using it. I have ran out of places to get jokes from as he has requested some new jokes.
Do I know you?
Jeffro, Do I know you from the early days of T.R.C.Y? You seem very familiar and when you said you were from Ohio I was even more convinced.
This is Gary Croll
I have no clue as to what
I have no clue as to what T.R.C.Y is, so you got me there. My home town was in Lorain county (Northern Ohio) I had several friends from the Dayton area and also did a lot of work with that area’s local AMBUCS chapters while working at the main office.
T.R.C.Y.
T.R.C.Y. is The Robotics Club of Yahoo and back in the 90’s was the largest robotics club in the world. We even produced & sold our own robot kit.
Sorry you’re not the same Jeff, I would have liked to reconnect.
Sorry I could tell you a
Sorry I could tell you a story and sell you on a song and dance but will leave that for some other time.
We need robot actors - so we can turn them off when they get political.
We could use more robots on Mars, forget sending humans for a while. Just get a sample return mission and save a few bucks and advance robot tech.
Robots could replace astronauts - they are just trained monkeys anyway.
I would really like to see a unicycle riding juggling and tap dancing robot. That would really tickle me - or even a robot to tickle me.
