Facts & Fiction of Automation & Robots
Automation and robotics are frequent themes in popular science fiction media. Combined the two are often depicted as the great destroyer of jobs and freedom. Supposedly mankind will create machines and before long they will replace or exterminate us all just like Skynet of Terminator fame. Are we really just counting down the days until our robot overlords emerge, or is this whole trope perhaps a bit overblown?
For the purposes of this article, I'll address two different types of robotics work - automated machines built for a singular and often repetitive purpose, and machines with an intelligent and often adaptive design. Industrial automation helps companies provide safer and more productive work environments. Implementation of significant automation also reduces the number of humans who would otherwise be doing that work. Automation accomplishes all of these and minimizes human error, reduces fatalities, and saves money in operations costs. Robotic technology is changing the way we work and manufacture.
Advanced automation reduces the time it takes to manufacture - reducing the necessity of human workers. Automated assembly and production lines are representative of this type of industrial automation. The automotive industry uses robots that can produce automotive vehicles and parts with a high degree of accuracy and consistency while meeting or exceeding industry safety standards. Amazon uses a robot called Kiva to fulfill warehouse orders - roughly four times faster than the previous system. This is what gets unions hot under the collar. Films and literature sometimes feature a future where a robotic workforce have replaced human workers. The workers revolt, after taking umbrage to the collective corporate chasing of the almighty buck. It makes for great pulpy fiction, but has little basis in reality...yet.
We already experience automation in various forms. Some of these include mechanical, electrical, electronic, or computer automation. Perhaps you've noticed a problem with your credit card. You call the help line and discover it's an automated line - to get to a real person you must jump through the hoops of trying to answer your questions via touch-tone telephone or speaking into the handset. While frustrating, it does solve some easy problems (balance check, etc) without involving another human.
The other side of the fictional coin are dreams of a utopian future where humans are happier, healthier, and now have more free time to pursue the things dearest to them. A cursory glance at the news can confirm that this is sadly not the case. Despite that, the marriage of robotics and medicine has made great strides toward improving human health. Healthcare technology is home to some of the most exciting robotics advancements - like nanobots.
Nanorobotics is an emerging field based around the creation of tiny robots that can be programmed for various applications, in this case nanomedicine. In theory, these tiny robots can be introduced to the body to detect cancer, deliver medicine to in the body, or even destroy viruses. They're frequently depicted in entertainment as capable of repairing tissue and cell damage at an astounding rate. The reality of this may not be far off when the concept is completed.
What else can robotics do for the field of medicine? Robot-assisted surgery. Johns Hopkins' resource on Robotic Cardiac Surgery indicates that this technology can be used to:
Repair or replace stiff or leaky heart valves to improve their function
Correct atrial fibrillation, a common type of arrhythmia
Remove a tumor in the heart
Treat congenital heart conditions
Under the supervision of trained physicians and surgeons, robots are able to operate in conditions where the risk of error is too great for human hands. The finely calibrated machinery can operate less invasively using smaller incisions, and this allows for a faster recovery period. Living healthier for longer doesn't sound so menacing, does it?
If you can ignore the sensationalism surrounding the technology of automation and robotics, you'll see that a lot of good come from both. This technology will continue to be developed and provide ways for professionals of all stripes to accomplish their duties more efficiently.
David Kirby is a screenwriter and columnist. You can find more of his work at McCauley's Columns.
