ROBOT ERA #1 - My report from a European Competition of Robotics in Italy
During the last week, I spent a morning in Peccioli, PISA (Italy) where took place a European Competition of Robotics. Three teams participated, two of them from Germany and one is a joint-venture between Italy and UK.
How do you think would be if for some jobs robot replaces human?
Let me immediately put the focus of this post: THE USE OF ROBOT IN WELFARE TECHNOLOGY that it means TECHNOLOGICAL DEVICES AS SUPPORT FOR AGING.
Everyone of us (especially European) know which are the most common problems in our society... yes, apart vegans, those opposed to cannabis,those who don't know the crypto currencies... I'm kidding!
Increasing number of older people and the inability of public welfare policies to cope effectively to new demographic and social challenges are the frightening scene of our European countries.
Due of this there are several research groups in Europe that are working in order to design robots whose abilities are directed for helping older in simple home activities.
a robot, may be the first projected in the past
The previous question is still open and are growing the debates around!
a member of research group from Germany with their robot
members of another research group and their robot
I saw two robots working: a human voice recognized from the robot, suggests orders as go to the bookshelf or orange juice is on the kitchen table, and the robot moves following them. In the case of failure, or it remains stable, waiting a repetition of the command, or says I can’t reach the target.
As you imagine, there are obvious difficulties related to some more complex movements for the robots like walking backwards, turning around itself, and directing exactly the mechanical arm towards the object to bring, because of their cumbersome and not very agile form.
Robot can not totally takes the place of human, but in my own opinion, the real aim of this kind of technology must be the coexistence with people, and not their substitution.
It’s not a challenge among humans and robots!
All the photos are taken by me, with my Nikon camera.
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It looks fascinating, although it doesn't look as if those robots will make my nursing job obsolete any time soon.
As for caring for the elderly and the sick, while robots might one day be able to help significantly with the heavy lifting, I still think, unless we want a totally dehumanized world, the human factor is important psychologically. We all need hugs and smiles and other signs of affection once in a while.
I totally agree with you @evehuman, but I think that people who work for care have to avoid certain behaviors if they don't want be easily substituted.
Then, even if I think, like you, that the man factor is important psychologically, at the same time, I've spoken in some interviews with people whom said me that they hypothetically prefer to be "cured" by robot. Why? Because it would remove them from the embarrassment of old age, they would feel relieved of judgments and unnecessary comments, and so on.
As I said in the post, I think that in the future we'll think for an integration of robot in human activities.
You are right for some people it would feel less embarrassing to be care for by a robot. But for others it would be more important to not be alone and getting a some comforting words and a hug, having someone to talk to you or sing with you or read for you in an interactive way. Loneliness is very depressing for old people.
It's not that I'm afraid of losing my job. I'll be long retired before the robots developed enough and affordable enough to replace me, what I'm afraid of is further isolation of people from one another, further dehumanization of society and a time when only a fraction of the adult population will be employed and the rest will be starved to death.