You’ve Heard Of Robots; What Are Cobots
Read Kathleen Walch’s article in Forbes about collaborate robots, also called cobots, and how companies are using these robots in a variety of ways.
Czech writer Karel Čapek first coined the term ‘Robot’ in his 1920 play R.U.R. about a dystopian future in which artificial, manufactured “roboti” act human-like and perform tasks in servitude to their human masters, only to later form a rebellion that leads to the extension of the human race. Many of the visions and dreams about what intelligent machines can be and the fears associated with them are in this way related to the origin of the term Robot. Originally envisioned as physical, hardware things, the term robot is used in a wide array of manners to deal with any sort of software or hardware-based automation, whether intelligent or not.
Physical robots are highly desired in many industries, especially to perform tasks often referred to as the four “D’s”: Dirty, Dangerous, Dear ( or Expensive), and Dull (or Demeaning). These robots operate every day in manufacturing, warehouse, health care, and other situations to perform the tasks that would otherwise be performed by humans with not always positive outcomes. However, to make industrial robots work in a reliable way without causing physical harm to humans, they often must be separated from physical human contact. This means operating in entirely human-free zones or within cages that prevent accidental human contact. Or, if they are roaming about in the free world, they are constrained in their strength and capability so that they can’t inflict harm.
Read the full article in Forbes here.
