Even before the invention of driverless cars or robots capable of human interaction, movies and books exploded with science fiction worlds. From H. G. Well’s 20 000 Leagues Under the Sea to Marvel’s superheroes, and even Disney’s Wall-E, there have been countless imaginations of mad-genius science concepts. They once seemed only possible in books and movies. Nowadays, with the fields of artificial intelligence/AI and robotics advancing at such rapid rates, what impacts will this have for society?
We’ve probably all heard of the fear of robots taking over jobs and leaving us rising rates of unemployment. Is it possible that one day, we will live side by side with or depending on robots? Or indeed, will society one day be taken over by an evil artificial intelligence? I personally think the day we are controlled by a villainous steering wheel (I think it was the steering wheel? It’s been a while since I watched Wall-E) is still far away. But I do believe that robotics and AI will have increasing prevalence in humanity’s everyday life. In fact, reading about the following inventions shows they already have!
Yumi Pre-analytical Lab Cell robot by ABB robotics – 2020
This robot has flexible robotic arms designed for laboratory assistance (i.e. helping with experiments). Using a camera to locate parts, it can delicately handle tubes, dishes for cell culture, liquids, and other lab materials. What’s more, the robot can also help with more complex lab tasks, such as microbiological cell/bacteria culturing.
Autonomous Bike – 2019
Developed by researchers at Beijing, China’s Tsinghua University, this bike moves without a rider! It runs on a special type of hybrid computer chip called Tianjic, which runs the AI neural networks behind the bike. The bike can not only balance and steer itself (even around obstacles!), but it also responds to voice command! How cool!
Remote controlled robot – 2020
COVID solutions.
Anthouse Pet Companion Robot – 2017
Remember all those videos of cats riding Roomba robots? Now there’s a robot that allows you to play with your pet remotely through an app (although it looks to be geared more towards dogs). It allows you to dispense treats, talk to your pet, record videos, and play fetch among others.
Koda9 Robotic Dog – 2021
For those of you who don’t have pets, robotic dogs are actually on the market. Of course, powered by AI, it can interact socially as a family companion or serve as a seeing-eye or guard dog. Although, in my opinion, it doesn’t come with the same amount of cuteness or fluffiness of real pets….
Samsung Home Assistant Robot – 2021
Samsung’s Bot Handy kind of reminds me of those service robots in Wall-E. Operating on advanced AI, it can pick up laundry, load the dishwasher, set the table, pour drinks, and just generally recognize and manipulate objects.
If you’re interested in some other Samsung AI robots, check out the link above!
These technologies are huge achievements. Some of the things I once thought sounded far-fetched and extreme, like implantable tech, are actually a reality today. (If you’re interested in implantable tech, check out these links about Neuralink! Website, Monkey playing a video game with Neuralink implant)
So what do you think? While these innovations are huge achievements for technology, what implications do they have for us? I think of what happened to the sedentary, incapable humans in Wall-E (please forgive the numerous Wall-E references) and wonder if these kinds of robotics inventions are ultimately beneficial or not. As the AI & robotics revolution takes the world by storm, will AI & robots one day lead a revolution against the human race?
