ECR: How Humans Benefit from Robots Completing Simple Tasks (copy)

Are People Ready for Robots?

Say the word "robots," and many people think of unrealistic science-fiction movies or books about the future. But the future is here. Robots are becoming increasingly involved in people's lives. Some movies portray robots as thinking beings bent on taking over the world. The reality could not be more different. Robots help people in almost every aspect of life.

In some workplaces, robots and humans work together. A factory in the Netherlands that produces oil-burner parts is using cobot, or collaborative robot, technology. There, human workers use multiple robot arms in order to assemble gas nozzles for the oil burners. The robot arms allow the workers to assemble a far greater number of parts per hour than the workers could on their own.

Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh uses cobots in a different capacity. These cobots deliver paperwork to offices and guide visitors around the campus. The cobots do not look like people. They are basically tablet computers on wheeled stands. They roll from place to place and even take elevators to get to their destinations, but these cobots still require humans to push their buttons and give them commands.

Hotel EMC2 in Chicago features room-service cobots named Cleo and Leo. The front desk sends these three-foot-tall rolling robots to deliver needed items to delighted guests in the hotel. The cobots do not replace the human element at EMC2, because humans still give commands to the pair of delivery bots and oversee their actions.

Technology has advanced so far in recent years that robots can actually be wearable. For example, devices made of metal straps and tubes attach a wearable robot, or exoskeleton, to the person wearing it. Exoskeletons can make wearers look as if they walked out of a science-fiction movie. Exoskeletons may look unusual, but they are all about making the people who wear them stronger. When a warehouse worker using an exoskeleton bends to pick up a heavy object, motors in the exoskeleton engage to assist the worker in lifting the load. The worker performs the same motions as always. The help from the exoskeleton allows the worker to lift much heavier loads with less risk of injury.

The use of exoskeletons extends into the field of medicine. Some people who have paralysis or other conditions that impede their ability to move unaided use exoskeletons to help them with walking. Although exoskeletons are not yet widely used for this purpose, scientists and engineers see promising signs ahead.

Robots can be helpful in people's homes too. These small robots function and interact with people in a variety of ways. Home robots can be programmed to clean floors or do other minor tasks. Some robots can even speak and answer questions as they perform these tasks around the home. There is almost no limit to the services these pint-size robots can offer.

Most of the robots people use in their homes do not resemble living creatures. Robotics companies have discovered that robots that look too human or lifelike make people uncomfortable. Robotic pets are the exception. Many look like the real thing, even though they cannot give the same affection that live pets do. But these robots do offer some real benefits. Robotic cats and dogs can provide companionship for people living alone. And studies show that owning a robotic dog that looks and behaves like a real dog can ease feelings of anxiety and loneliness. Plus, owners of robotic pets do not have to walk their pets or clean up after them. Families with allergy issues or other barriers to pet ownership might just be adopting robot pets in the near future.

More and more, robots are joining humans at work and at home. These robots rely on human action to accomplish their tasks, and for some, that interaction is their whole reason for existence. The robots have arrived.