November 29, 2021 - I consider myself lucky to have been born at the time in history that I was. I have experienced parts of the “good old days” and currently into the computer age. Next, it would appear, will be the “robot age.” It seems that as it was with computers, robots are the next item that will be prominent in our homes.
I recall my very first experience with computers. While working for Allstate Insurance Company in Houston in 1962, they decided to install a computer in the office. I recall it to be one that occupied an entire room which was climatized. It involved “punch cards” and several women employees were required to perform the job of “key punch operators.” We employees had to be trained to completely change our method of working. At the end of each month, the programmers would print out a list of errors in the system. These computers found even the most minute error that we had made, then we were expected to correct them. I hated the end of each month.
Now it appears that as what happened with computers, the same will happen with robots. I see in our future that most every home will have a robot that will perform all kinds of tasks for us. There are already a few robots in use in homes, a small robot vacuum cleaner comes to mind.
What is the definition of a robot anyway? Well, I looked it up. A robot is a machine that is programmable by a computer that is capable of carrying out a complex series of actions automatically. Robots can be autonomous or semi-autonomous. They can range from humanoids to industrial robots, medical operating robots, patient assist robots, dog therapy robots, and collectively programmed swarm robots. Actually, there are just too many to list in this story. This would indicate that the robot has a foot-hold in our society, and as it was with computers, will some day be in most every home.
Stop and consider the following examples of robots in use today:
In 2008, Caterpillar developed a dump truck which can drive itself without any human operator. Many analysts believe that self-driving trucks may eventually revolutionize logistics. I am not sure I am comfortable with that. Suppose you are driving down the highway and are passed by a dump truck with no driver! Kind of scary, right?
A literate robot named Marge, has intelligence that comes from software. She can read newspapers, find and correct misspelled words, learn about banks, and understand that some restaurants are better places to eat than others.
Baxter is a new robot introduced in 2012 which learns by guidance. A worker can teach Baxter how to perform a task by moving its hands in the desired motion and having Baxter to memorize them. This means that Baxter needs no programming to operate. No software engineers are needed.
Prototype cooking robots have been developed and could be programmed for autonomous, dynamic, and adjustable preparation of meals. Now, this is one that might prove useful in many households. I wonder if my wife would welcome a robot like this, or if she would reject it as something invading her territory.
I don't think I will live long enough to actually own a personal robot that can perform many household tasks, as they seem to be slow to catch on with the general public. However, I felt the same way about a computer, on which I now type stories. So, one can never predict things like this. I think my wife feels like she is a robot now, and she can operate in the kitchen just like one, but don't tell her that, okay...!
