Do We Really Need Robots in Our Kitchens for Convenience?

I was unable to attend CES this year, and as such, I missed a bunch of robot stuff. LG showed off a mock restaurant with a robot cooking food and making pourover coffee. Samsung demoed a concept robot that was billed as an “extra set of hands” in the kitchen that could grab items, pour oil and even wield a knife. IRobot, maker of the Roomba vacuum announced it too was developing robotic arms to load dishes or carry food to the table. And of course, who could forget the robot that makes raclette melted cheese.

There are other companies out there looking to do much the same with robot arms. Sony has showed off its multitasking kitchen robot vision of the future before, and Moley has been touting this type of technology for years now.

Again, I wasn’t at CES, so I did not see these robots in action, but my inital response to robot arms swerving around a kitchen is why? Are these robotic ambitions the best way to gain greater convenience in the kitchen, or do they just make things more complicated?

Mobile Robotics to Drastically Change the Traditional Use of Automation and Robotics

Over the period of time we have strived to upgrade technologies in order to make our lifestyle more comfortable. We have introduced automation and robotics in order to reduce the manual labor required in manufacturing and production industries. Mobile robotics is one such application of robotics that develops movable robots around freely in a physical environment. These mobile robots are generally controlled with the help of software or by integrating sensors and relay circuits in the robots. These sensors can be used in identifying the surrounding environment of the robots and send information to the internal circuits. These circuits can then be programmed to give suitable responses with respect to the surrounding. These robots are a complex integration of physical robotics and artificial intelligence (AI) that helps the robots to freely navigate their surroundings. Mobile robots with the help of AI can now flawlessly work on any environment like air, underwater, or land and have gained absolute mobility even under extreme conditions. This has helped the production and manufacturing industries to reduce the human interaction at hazardous sites ensuring the safety of humans. Furthermore, the sensors in these mobile robots have significantly increased the perception ability and adapting to the environment accordingly.

Robots: Now coming to a workplace near you

"Digit" the robot can balance on one foot, navigate obstacles and fold itself to fit into the back of a car. One other thing — Digit can also use its arms to carry and deliver packages straight to your door, and even ask for help if a problem occurs along the way.No wonder that a big company like automaker Ford has purchased two of the robots to explore how the technology, developed by Agility Robotics and presented at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas this week, might be used in a warehouse setting and for delivering goods. Indeed, an increasingly sophisticated generation of robots is proving capable of doing a wide range of jobs, from bringing you toilet paper to flipping burgers and performing surgery.   Most experts say robots will increasingly complement flesh-and-blood workers by taking over certain tasks, rather than replacing them wholesale. Others fear that widespread automation will kill jobs. But what's clear is that robots are marching into the American workplace. Here are just a few of the jobs and industries experts say could be transformed along the way.

The hottest thing in robotics is an open source project you've never heard of

According to recent LinkedIn data, artificial intelligence (AI) jobs are up 74% while data science jobs are up 37% since 2015. Perhaps less visible, but emerging quickly in importance, are the robots increasingly powered by that data science. Small wonder, then, that the second-hottest job in LinkedIn's analysis is the robotics engineer, experiencing growth of 40% since 2015.

While the open source projects behind the rise of data science are reasonably well known (e.g., TensorFlow and Keras, among others), most people aren't aware that robotics is also heavily influenced by open source and, in particular, by the Robot Operating System (ROS). Given the importance of ROS to the swelling open source robotics community, it's worth learning a bit more about it.

The Robot Operating System was born at Stanford

ROS has been around for over 10 years and has tens of thousands of developers building packages for it. In fact, according to ABI Research, roughly 55% of the world's robots will include a ROS package by 2024.

Samsung’s knife-wielding robotic chef is all flash

Samsung’s knife-wielding robotic chef is all flash

Last year, we asked whether Samsung was getting serious about robotics. A year later, we’re not any closer to answering the question. This year’s presser played out roughly the same as last on the robotics front — all flash and little productizing to show for it.

Samsung’s approach to robotics thus far appears to be the model of many other big electronics companies. It’s flirtation with a technology that brings some sense of showmanship to the stage and booth. There’s no better example than Bot Chef. I got a preview of the tech in Samsung’s booth this week, pitched as “an extra set of hands in the kitchen.”

You can’t fault the technology for not being ready for prime time, at this point, of course. That’s not really the point yet. The question, however, is how serious Samsung is about bringing a pair of robot arms to kitchens across the globe to sauté tofu and liberally apply Sriracha. I would love to say “very,” and that the different demos were things the company was actively pursuing delivering on these products.

How Well Can People Work with Robots?

How Well Can People Work with Robots?

Critics say that this kind of human-machine cooperation has its problems. They say that keeping up with the pace of the new technology is hurting human workers’ health and morale.

Beth Gutelius studies urban economic development at the University of Illinois at Chicago. She has spoken with warehouse operators around the U.S.

She said human burnout is a problem in warehouses where robotics and artificial intelligence, or AI software are being used. She said that is because the robots add more work and increase the pressure on workers to speed up their performance.

Recently, reporters investigated injury rates at Amazon warehouses. They found that robotic warehouses reported more injuries than those without the machines.

Reporters with the Center for Investigative Reporting’s website Reveal studied records from 28 Amazon warehouses in 16 states. They found that the rate of serious injuries was more than two times the warehousing industry average.

Amazon, however, says that it is misleading to compare its rate with other companies. That is because the company says it has an “aggressive stance on recording injuries no matter how big or small.”

Airbus acquires MTM Robotics, which makes aircraft-building systems in Boeing’s backyard

Airbus acquires MTM Robotics, which makes aircraft-building systems in Boeing’s backyard

Airbus says it has acquired MTM Robotics, a Seattle-area company that provides automated systems for aerospace manufacturing, for an undisclosed sum.

MTM’s headquarters are in Mukilteo, Wash., just a few miles from Boeing’s Everett factory. But MTM has had a close connection to Boeing’s European archrival: For more than a decade, the company has provided light automated robotics systems for Airbus’ manufacturing facilities.

As an subsidiary of Virginia-based Airbus Americas Inc., MTM will retain its current leadership and 40-employee staff at the 10,000-square-foot Mukilteo facility, Airbus said today in a news release.

“We are pleased and excited to become a part of the Airbus family, and look forward to further integrating our products and approaches into the Airbus industrialization chain,” MTM founder Mike Woogerd said.

Since its inception in 2003, MTM, formerly known as Mobile Tool Management, has deployed more than 40 aerospace manufacturing systems — including machines, tools and software — throughout the United States, Europe, the Middle East and Asia. In addition to Airbus, its customers have included Boeing and Lockheed Martin.