Robots have been a part of science fiction for decades. We see them in movies and TV shows with varying levels of intelligence and capabilities. However, the day when these machines become an everyday reality is fast approaching. It might be hard to envision how they will change our lives, but the benefits are huge. Here are three reasons why autonomous robots will change the world.
Faster, cheaper product production
One of the largest benefits of autonomous robots is the time and money they will save us. For example, a robot can lay three times as many bricks in an hour than a human. This enables more product to be produced faster and cheaper.Additionally, there are no wages to pay. Robots don’t need breaks or vacations – providing us more time to live our lives and allowing us to spend more time with our loved ones. In fact, some organizations like Amazon, have gone so far as to create whole factories based around autonomous robots. Take a look at the video below showing this super factory in action.
Reducing unemployment
When we look back on the Industrial Revolution and subsequent mass migration to the cities, we see that it ushered in a new era of wealth and prosperity. Machines replaced manual labor, which eliminated an entire class of people from the workforce. As robots become more functional and intelligent, they will replace human workers in roles where they cannot compete. This will not just be manual laborers either—they will be taking on positions in sales, marketing, and customer service. Although this can be thought of as quite grim, many scholars are predicting humans will still have a critical role to play in the incoming robot revolution. Perhaps more than it appears. Just as we saw in the video of Amazon’s warehouse, human beings will be needed to help steer the ship when working with their robot colleagues. Positions dependent on human versality will only create new avenues of employment. In fact, a recent publication by Statistics Canada has shown that firms who utilized robots averaged 15% higher employment than before utilizing these electronic companions.
The result: unemployment will be reduced, and productivity will skyrocket.
Environmental benefits
Speaking of benefits, environmental benefits might be one of the most important. One major benefit is that robots will reduce the amount of energy used in manufacturing. Factories can produce more with less energy and without human error.
Robots also won’t need breaks or commutes, which will help cut down on pollution and greenhouse gases. They can self-monitor to minimize emission loss while working. They can self-monitor to minimize emission loss while working. This is accomplished by monitoring power consumption and incorporated safety sensors that help reduce the amount of energy needed to operate. The batteries necessary to power these robots can be charged through sustainable sources like solar and wind, as these energy sectors continue to grow into the next decade.
These are only a few of the ways autonomous robots are changing the world of tomorrow. With such a fast pace of advancement and new technologies emerging each day, it’s easy to see how much benefit these machines can provide mankind as we step forward into the next generation of autonomous hardware.
Image credits: Lutz Krüger, Bruno, Tiger Lily, Andrea
