Steven Speilberg played with our imagination when one of his blockbusters: "AI Artificial Intelligence," starring Haley Joel Osment and Jude Law, hit the theaters and made us sympathize with a robot kid David.
In the movie, David wants nothing more than to be loved by his human mother more than anything else. David’s adventure took us to the world of robots and how they fight to survive in a world where they were merely looked upon as an accessory. The movie ends with David experiencing a few moments of emotional encounter with his mother after being found by some intelligent lifeforms who restored her so that David can finally have that experience where he feels he has finally loved.
Of course, it is all fiction, but the question would be, what have robots to do with humanity? Are they a prospect for us to improve our technology in general? If they are, what will the priority key areas be we need to look up at? Let us start.
People’s acceptance and hesitations with robots
Growing up, I have seen movies that feature robots, both as a protagonist and an antagonist. I was wondering if I could have mine one day and just be cool about it because I have always thought during that time and until today that robots are cool. I also asked others about their opinion about having to live with robots, and unlike me, they are not enthusiastic about having to live with one. I can understand their sentiments because, like me, they saw also movies that feature robots, but only this time, they have witnessed how the Terminator wipes everyone it considers a threat.
Here is a thing, my fascination and some people’s fear and hesitation about robots are based on what we saw in movies. Hollywood is just exciting in portraying emotions on particular topics most of the time, and the curious thing is it becomes what people believe in.
But if we have to base it on reality? Will those observations we made true; those movies would substantiate those things we perceive as facts? We have observed how robotics, autonomous systems, and AI have leapfrogged in advancements in our time.
If we must compare robotics ten years ago from robotics at this present time, we can say it has vast improvements by leaps and bounds. We need to understand, robots are designed to make most of our repetitive tasks to be easier and more convenient.
As we move towards greater heights in modernization, many people show concerns regarding some issues. One of those is every time we make something phenomenal: it would often lead to creating a new set of problems that were not there before. For example, there is a growing concern that we may become too dependent on robots, that we may become overly attached to them, and without them, we will be helpless.
At first, I was not entertaining that thought, but when I saw some of my friends becoming too dependent on their mobile phones for almost anything, then I began to share some of their worries.
The Covid-19 pandemic has brought most economies down to their knees. The restaurant and manufacturing industries were hit badly. Almost every industry was devastated because a significant part of the human workforce was infected. It is hard to imagine how business owners are trying to stay afloat and fight the effects of the pandemic: sad to say, some businesses decided to cease their operation, get buried in debt, and leave thousands or even millions of people displaced and jobless.
While those, who decided to stay fighting, were forced to lay almost half of their workforce, some workers decided to stay home because of restrictions and fear. It was such an economic horror and turmoil.
Robots to the rescue
LeoTronics’ Leohelper is an autonomous service robot capable of complementing the human workforce is a solution for business owners to continue to operate despite manpower issues and difficulties. It is designed to provide everyone perform the best service to the clients by taking repetitive and low-skilled tasks. For example, a Leohelper can help serve food and carry dishes and utensils up to 100 kilograms back to the station.
While the government is implementing strict protocols to ensure that the spread of the virus would be manageable, the Leohelper is working to ensure that restaurant and other business establishments continue their operation despite facing manpower issues.
The best part is you don’t have to spend weeks or a month training a Leohelper; you just must plug it, make a few customizations, and in a flick of a finger, you will go having a staff, doing things very efficiently. It’s a productive solution for a lingering staffing problem.
Are there other areas where robots and human relationships need improvement?
Every relationship, as they say, is a constant improvement and adjustment. Take it for example, if two organic individuals would have to continually adjust and make improvements to ensure everything sails smoothly, expect it to be true also for a metallic humanoid their human counterpart.
The technology, no matter: how perfect it may seem, needs constant evaluation because the longer it works, the more mistakes you will find. There would always be an area where we can make a much better point of interaction.
We can make robots improve their response time. An easier interface, that even a non-techie would have an easy time configuring their robots to customize their specific needs. A lighter and more agile model would be a much better option if our technology would allow it. We can only wish to have these improvements present in our lifetime.
I would love to see robots that will take our children to school or take the whole family to the zoo without fear that they may do some funny things that will jeopardize our safety. I know it’s a little remote right now, but I’m sure one day it will happen.
Everyone has wishful thinking, how about you, what’s yours?