Robotics seems to be the hot new topic at the moment, everywhere i turn i keep hearing about robotics, machine learning and RPA – Robotic Process Automation. So i was on the look out for something simple and straightforward to introduce me to the topic, and i came across the following 2 PwC infographics on robotics. Before you start thinking of the Terminator Doomsday scenario, consider getting to grips with a little robotics history and the reasons why folks are talking robotics.
1. Robotics Timeline:
This is pretty cool as it explains the various robotics developments, including:
- 1921 – The origin of the term Robot
- 1941 – The Three Laws of Robotics – a robot must
- Not injure a human
- Obey orders
- Protect its own existence
- 1950 – Turings Test is published
- 1985 – The phrase Virtual Reality is devised
- 1990 – The term Augmented Reality is born
- 1997 – Deep Blue beats Gary Kasparov at chess
- 2006 – IBM introduce Watson
- 2011 – Siri is born
- 2016 – Uber starts testing driverless cars in the US
2. Robotics in the Workplace:
14 reasons why we’re talking about Robotics:
- Robots are no longer confined to structured environments
- Robots are able to work with humans
- Robots can learn
- Robots are able to perform multiple tasks
- Robots are increasingly able to handle more complex tasks
- Robots are able to move and interact in various ways
- Robots can automate business processes
- Robots can increase efficiency, quality and repeat processes
- Robots can free up humans for other work
- Robots can help fill gaps where there are labour or skill shortages
- Robotics is a topic that is not very well understood
- Robots sparks fears about job losses and robots taking over the world
- Robots are bringing about new safety, monitoring, reporting and regulatory requirements
- Robots development, installation and management costs can be expensive for some