Monday, April 8, 2013

Assignment 3: New Co-workers

1. Hugo Avila
Rethink Robotics intruded their industrial robot Baxter in September 2012. Baxter is being advertised as having common sense. “Baxter is an adaptive manufacturing robot. It contains cameras, sensors and sophisticated software that enable it to “see” objects, “feel” forces and “understand” tasks. The result is a robot that automatically adapts to changing environments—it knows what you mean and does what you expect.” Baxter differs from other robots since it is considerably cheaper than usual industrial robots at $22,000. It can also be programmed by simply guiding its “hand” and taught its task. It offers various attachments that are adapted to various tasks such as a vacuum cup gripper or an electric parallel gripper. 

This robot is able to replace humans in the industrial field since itcan handle more human like behaviors. It can learn and adapt to its environment allowing it to work through tasks that are not on a rigid schedule such as packing boxes. It works without human supervision once it is programmed and it can be reprogrammed to work on a different task very quickly. It is also safe for humans to work alongside this robot since it includes a safety system that senses humans around it.

Baxter can prove to be more effective than humans considering it is more accurate, only needs instruction once, is very versatile, and is relatively cheaper than other robots and human salaries. It can handle jobs that can be taught by simply showing it how or it can do more complicated and accurate jobs by creating tasks with the included Software Development Kit.

Source:
http://www.rethinkrobotics.com/index.php/products/
http://qz.com/53710/robots-are-eating-manufacturing-jobs/


2. Soonyeon Kim

Robo-waiter

Robots have started replacing humans in the service industry. In the short term the drive to the singularity will make humans almost obsolete in the workplace. 
A new restaurant in the northern Chinese city of Harbin employs 20 robots as waiters and cooks, media reports said the robots look different, have 10 types of facial expressions and can say basic welcoming sentences to customers. Also each robot has a motion sensor that tells them to stop when someone is in its path so customers can reach for dishes they want." The robots can work continuously for five hours after a two-hour charge, 
The traditional hotpot eatery is staffed by more than a dozen automated servers, the distant and brightly colored relations of Star Wars’ golden droid C-3PO. The robots whir around the room on little bicycles carrying meat and veggies to be dipped by restaurant-goers into bubbling broth. Customers do not need to call servers and shout, weep or make obscene gestures to get their
They cost $3,217 each, and have the intelligence of a child of 3 or 4. The robots can cook, serve food, provide menus and serve beverages. The machines are programmed to add a specific amount of salt and oil to dishes, as well as to keep frying temperatures at certain levels.
Some people can say robot waiters can have better service attitude than humans because humans can be temperamental or impatient, but the robot waiters don’t feel tired, they just keep working and moving round and round the restaurant all night. That can be true, but there's no human touch, concerns, and cares. Also little flirts people say in daily life.
Labor is always the highest overhead cost for any business, BUT the corporations will have a HUGE distinct advantage by eliminating at least half of their labor costs. They will be able to offer a MUCH cheaper product if half of their labor costs are eliminated by robots.

Sources :
http://newsfeed.time.com/2010/12/22/china’s-robot-waiters-no-tipping-necessary/#ixzz2PmQeqnPV
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/gallery/2013/jan/12/robot-restaurant-in-pictures#/?picture=402271124&index=7
http://www.slashfood.com/2010/12/22/robots-replace-waiters-in-china/#ixzz2Pp4JAbdz


3. Bo Ram Oh

Window washing robot, Windoro

Windoro is a window washing robot which can clean the windows of the houses as well as the offices and show windows of shops. It is designed to help you make your windows sparkly clean whenever you want. Researchers at the Pohang Institute of Intelligent Robotics (PIRO) in South Korea have developed a robot to target the high-rise buildings offices which are really hard to clean the windows. This robot uses the magnet for attaching and being stable on the windows. It consists of two modules which are a detergent spray and microfiber spinning pads.

If you attach this robot on the window and press the button, it will automatically wipe the glass. Also, according to the information on website, the magnetic force of this robot is controlled by the magnetic sensor that makes it possible to clean a wide range of thickness varying form 5~15mm or 16~28mm. It consists of two modules that fit excellently on opposite sides of the window and hold each other using permanent magnets. After finishing, the users will let them know with the beep sound when the robot returns to initial starting point. For emergency, the robot will remain tightly attached to the window whether or not the power has been turned off.

Windoro can replace the deskilled laborers, especially the cleaners who work in the skyscrapers. We can see people who clean the windows of high-rise buildings or skyscrapers. It seems little bit thrilling and actually, this job is really dangerous for the workers who are on the top of the buildings. If the wires which hold the cleaners to stay are broken, this will cause the huge accidents. According to the manufacturer, Windoro robot almost reached the same high level of efficiency as person directly clean the windows. If it becomes more bigger and doing working job –spraying the detergent and wiping the windows- at the same time, that would be more efficient and faster to clean the huge windows. With this robot, people don’t have to clean the high-rise building on their own in the near future. Absolutely, there are limitations on this robot, but it is still going on developing the robots to be more suitable for cleaning the huge windows.

Source :
http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-20017467-1.html
http://www.iwindoro.com/board/bbs/board.php?bo_table=eboard02_01&wr_id=1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=F5ANksAskG0
http://www.windorobots.com/en/windoro/

4. Heejoo Cheon
Restaurant Service Robot
This robot can serve customers in restaurant by providing not only manual labor but also emotional labor. This robot can greet customers in front of the door, check the number of people, check the membership card, search customer information, guide to the seat, and take order. While taking order, the robot can interact with customer emotionally by saying “excellent choice” or “what about other menu”. Also, the robot’s hands can be shaken up and down which can be used while expressing its emotion. The robot can provide water instantly from its water bottle. When the customer finished one’s meal, the robot can see the customer out.

All of these services can be possible because of five significant technologies: ①mobile robot platform with robust stability and high mobility in the service area, ②path recognition and planning via points in the service area, ③restaurant service integrated software system from registering guests to controlling robot, ④restaurant service by robot such as menu ordering and beverage service, and ⑤human recognition, tracking, and human’s intention recognition for situation assessment.

This robot was introduced by KAIST (Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology) through the research named ‘Restaurant Service Robot Platform’ (2006~2008). The research was financially supported by the Ministry of Education, Science Technology (MEST) and Korea Industrial Technology Foundation (KOTEF) through the Human Resource Training Project for Regional Innovation.

Even though this robot is in the development stage, it can replace a deskilled human laborer. Until now, emotional labor was considered as the labor that only human can provide. However, this ‘restaurant service robot’ shows that robots can replace not only manual labor but even emotional labor, which means entire replacement of human labor. This robot implies that all service occupations can be replaced by robots. From employee of restaurants to information desk can be filled with robots. Since robots don’t take wages, it is cheaper to use robots in a long term. Also, the robots never be depressed by their private affairs which means they can provide consistent quality of service. Since robots never get exhausted, the consistent quality of service can be intensified. In addition, the fact that robot has way better memories than human means using robots can be more effective to provide delicate service to customers.

Sources:
http://robot.kaist.ac.kr/?page_id=334
http://youtu.be/k5Dex8LQO9o

5. Yehyun Kang



When we go to San Francisco International aAirport (SFO), we can easily use Air tTrain, which is operated by an automated computer. SFO's Air trainAirTrain was built by Bombardier at a cost of $430 million,. also it operates 24 hours a day. It is and consists of two separate lines. Because of this Aautomated Air trainAirTrain, people can use it all day long very conveniently. Not only SFO's Air trainAirTrain is not the only one,; there are many automated trains in the world. This fully automated train system is called Automatic Train Operation (ATO). The earliest ATO system applied to a full line was Barcelona Metro line 2, which was built in 1961. Also, London's Docklands Light Railway, line 14 of the Paris Metro, and Hong Kong MTR, etc are built with the ATO system. The key principle of ATO are is that the train receives enabling signal from the signaling system to allow drivers to initiate to the next station, drives the train by an automated system, keep maintains the appropriate speed restrictions, and applyapplies programmable braking system to make the train can stop smoothly. Through this ATO system, it requires no ordinary train driver except the technician who checks to make sure that the system is operated correctly. Which This means that, this system is going to replace those of ordinary train drivers in the near future. Moreover, this is not only issue on in the train labor field, but it also affects drivers of cable cars, buses, and taxis, who are going to be replaced by up -to -date robotic technology in the future.

Sources:
http://www.railway-technology.com/features/feature127703
http://www.transporttech.mottmac.com/sampleprojects/ato/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AirTrain_(SFO)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Automatic_train_operation





6. Alice Wang


Robonaut R2 is a humanoid robotic development project initially held at NASA’s Johnson Space center in Houston, Texas in 2006. In 2007, General Motors expressed interest in the project and collaborated with NASA with additional assistance from Oceaneering Space Systems engineers. Though Robonaut 2 is still in need of some modifications and enhancement after its initial debut, NASA states that the Robonauts are essential to NASA’s future as they go beyond low earth orbit. R2 is a highly dexterous, compact, agile, and sensitive robot that embodies elastic joint technology, extended finger and thumb travel, and high resolution camera system. Once R2 is fully enhanced to its best dexterity and performance, it will be fully utilized by NASA and act as a suitable replacement of an astronaut. 

Station crew members will be able to operate R2 since there will be controllers on the ground. However, the robot does not need constant supervision since it is programmed to complete certain tasks with automatic periodic status checks. R2 is highly enhanced with 350 sensors and professors that enable it to perform tasks with great dexterity and strength. For example, astronauts onboard the space station usually have to check and monitor air velocity. However, this task requires the astronaut to measure airflow in microgravity at a steady motion without breathing, which is quite difficult. R2 can replace astronauts and manage this task more effectively because its physical functions well exceed that of a suited astronaut.

In outer space, astronauts often encounter certain difficulties because of limited physical constraints. NASA has been building specialized tools to help astronauts complete task in outer space, but with R2, these kinds of specialized tools are already built-in in the robot. Thus, R2 will be a great addition to NASA in the future because it will not fatigue, it can withstand harsh natural conditions that humans find difficult to, and its physical appearance and attributes have been designated to fit to outer space conditions.

Source: http://robonaut.jsc.nasa.gov/default.asp





7. Kevin Xiao

The Japanese electronics and engineering giant Hitachi just launched its line of fully autonomous cars last month. The Robot for Personal Intelligent Transport System is developed to assist the elderly and the disabled people. These small vehicles can each accommodate only one passenger and are made to travel on footpaths instead of roads. While the general direction is provided by the GPS system, the 3D laser distance sensors and the stereo cameras allow the robot car to acquire and process the surrounding information to navigate around obstacles and pedestrians. Hitachi is also perfecting the technology for the next generation robot cars which allows them to make automatic deliveries.
Although current technology limits the robot car to short-distance low-speed travel, the ultimate idea behind the development of unmanned vehicle is to replace the set of occupations that are driving related. The Hitachi ROPITS definitely decreases demand for chauffeurs, taxi drivers, and bus drivers when the passengers are traveling within the crowded urban area. It is not hard to imagine that the more sophisticated version of this technology would have a bigger effect on eliminating low skilled labor in the transportation sector. In addition, the next generation ROPITS will be able to replace some labor in the delivery service sector as Hitachi improve the pick-up and drop-off function of the robot car.
The robot can be more effective in undertaking the job. Cab drivers have to work very late at night, and being tired behind the wheel would increase the rate of accidents. Because robots do not fatigue, using robot cars would decrease the danger of late night driving. Moreover, human drivers are prone to the influence of drugs, alcohols, and illnesses while robots are not. The employment of robot cars can greatly decrease accidents caused by driving under influence. Lastly, robot can process information much quicker than human does, and being able to react faster can also decrease the danger on the road. While human drivers might be distracted by a conversation or some news report playing on the radio, robots can accurately and quickly respond to stimulus such as a reckless jaywalking pedestrian.








8. Tiffany Sam


A robot technology that can replace deskilled human labor is the robot chef. The robot chef performs the duties of a chef in a restaurant including serving and preparing food. There are multiple developments being made in this area. One is “Chef Cui,” a robot invented by Cui Runguan from China.

This invention is not merely an automaton. The chef functions as a hybrid between the two robot phyla, partially having social roles when communicating with customers and service roles when making the food. While it does perform mechanical functions such as cutting and cooking, it firstly responds to the customer’s orders and requests. These orders act as the stimuli the robot responds to. Furthermore, during the cooking process, it must acquire and process information about the food it is cooking in order to move onto the next stages. For example, when cooking meat or pasta, a certain consistency must be reached that cannot always be determined by a set time due to other circumstances in the kitchen. The machine thus meets the criteria of being a robot.

This robotic technology not only can replace human labor, it can perform human tasks much more efficiently. The companies and restaurants that would use these robot chefs would save billions of dollars on hiring. Firstly, the robot is able to perform the basic responsibilities with better precision – Chef Cui is able to produce noodles faster and chop them more finely than human workers. Additionally, the work is extremely tedious. The robot chef will not get tired of the repetitive chore. Futhermore, the robots will not get tired and would be able to work more hours in a day than human chefs. Finally, the employers do not have to worry about workers joining unions or striking because they are just robots and will not argue over wages or hours.

Sources: http://www.ign.com/articles/2012/09/05/chef-robot-is-better-than-a-man





9. Wei-Ping Shih


While we have covered one type of robotic arms in class, I believe that the ones currently being developed by the Pentagon’s Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) have taken the definition of robotic arms to the next level and deserve to be mentioned as another set of new and promising robotic technology. These will very likely be able to replace “deskilled” human labor in many fields within the near future.

The reason why these DARPA robotic arms are more advanced and are likely to replace human labor is that it not only have a more general purpose function, but also that it is substantially cheaper than previous robotic arms. Also, they are so precise that it can handle tools to perform tasks that other robotic arms couldn’t.

Before, the robotic arms are made for single or a narrow set of purposes. However, these new robotic arms can be made to utilize man created tools – a controversial breakthrough because traditionally the ability to use tools are seemed to be one of mankind’s unique skills. These arms can be programmed with advanced sensors to achieve more than just simple repetitive tasks, such as searching for explosives in a bag. These arms will have the ability to detect certain

These DARPA robotic arms will function better than human labor because they are more precise and can handle repetitive tasks, such as the replacement of tires demonstrated that would otherwise require heavy human labor. In many cases, these robotic arms can be used in environments or tasks that are dangerous, such that the employers can worry less about the insurances of workers. Not to mention, these robotic arms will cost less than $3000 each, which is much more cost-effective than the robotic arms developed by other projects that are on average more than $10000.

Sources:

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