They vacuum houses, point the way at airports and help surgeons operate. The robots are not coming, they are already there. In a new series of articles, NEMO Kennislink dives into the world of robotization. What does this mean for me? And for you? And for all of us? Ask your question and we will investigate.
If you can't find the way to the right gate at Schiphol, you will get help from robot Spencer. He maneuvers deftly through the crowd and helpfully shows you the way. At another airport in Japan, a robot belt makes staff as strong as a superhero, so that lifting heavy suitcases is no longer a thing.
We are seeing robots more and more. Sometimes as visible as Spencer but more often still disguised. At the beginning of next year, Amazon will open a supermarket in the American city of Seattle without checkouts and checkout staff, where the store itself pays you while you put the products in your bag:the first checkout-free shop. Actually it is a robot but it is hidden in the interior. Artificial intelligence and smart computers make it possible.
You can also buy robots yourself. As a vacuum cleaner or bed partner (for the lover with warm genitals). At the moment these are still gadgets, but the self-driving car, which the newspapers are full of, is actually a moving robot. You will soon encounter them on the road.
Robots even interfere with playing a game of table football in the cafe. Students in Switzerland recently built this smart table football player.
Are robots taking our jobs?
Robots are therefore increasingly becoming part of our lives. In the past, they were only hidden behind high walls to assemble cars, for example. Of course that still happens, but they can now also be found outside of it. More and more people are starting to speculate what the consequences will be. Will it make our lives more pleasant or will they ruin our happiness in life? Several research reports warn that robots are taking our jobs, others that they are the means of keeping healthcare affordable.
NEMO Kennislink is starting a study into what robots will mean for us. Not only to what is possible, but especially to what we want them to be able to do or not be able to do. Society, you and I, should have a say in where robots are and are not used.
In the past, scientists and engineers, and therefore society, have too often been surprised by the consequences of their inventions. Take the car. That is a fine piece of ingenuity, but the safety of motorists and other road users was hardly thought about in the beginning. It was only after many fatal accidents that we came up with crumple zones, seat belts, traffic lights and windshield wipers. That mistake should not be made again.
We go to places where the robots can already be found and where researchers are developing them. We are always curious what you, the readers, will notice. Where will they appear in the future, how will they deal with us and should we adapt to the gaze of our fellow human beings? In short, what do you notice about them and what would you like or not want? We visit airports, hospitals, warehouses and of course laboratories.
Tin Butler
We do not undertake this quest alone. For this we need the help of specialists, but especially from you. What questions do you have? Want to know why you still don't have an affordable tin butler at home? One that makes you coffee, gets the newspaper and massages you after a busy day? Or are you concerned that the robots will take your job? Do you want to be helped by a steel waiter in a restaurant? Where do you want to meet them and where not? What do you want a robot to do and not do? What is already possible and what may we never be able to leave to a robot? What do you want to know about the development of the robots?
Ask your questions below, in the comments, and we'll investigate them. We present them to scientists and look for the answers. We hope we can keep up with developments. This message was written by a journalist of flesh and blood. But I'm also curious about how long I'll be writing these kinds of pieces. Because those who didn't know yet:the robot journalist is on the rise. So maybe the next piece in this series was written by a tin colleague…
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