| Robots are used extensively for industrial purposes | | | | human tasks and yet now, numerous industries rely on |
| and people are wondering if these innovations will truly | | | | robotics systems on most of their operations. Daily Life |
| ever be accessible to the public. Service robots | | | | There are a lot of robotics systems being developed |
| actually date back to the 1960s when Unimation, a | | | | to help people in their daily lives. One of the primary |
| robotics company was established. Even with such a | | | | concerns for robotics companies is how to bring down |
| long history, there seems to be a lack of service | | | | expenses so that service robots can be made readily |
| robots that are geared specifically to the consumer | | | | available to the consumer market. These companies |
| market. While there are challenges that face the | | | | are also making sure the products they develop are |
| service robot industry, experts believe that it won't be | | | | designed to be compatible with existing equipment in |
| too far before we see robots in our daily lives. | | | | the home. Service robots are being developed so that |
| Challenges There are two major issues that service | | | | they are able to "communicate" with devices such as |
| robotics faces today and these are costs and | | | | computers and other electronic equipment. Besides this |
| automation innovations. In order for service robotics to | | | | having an impact on the performance of the robots, it |
| effectively penetrate the consumer market, it is | | | | all boils down to costs. It would simply be costly to |
| important for these robots to be affordable. There has | | | | purchase supplementary devices just to get the robots |
| actually been some degree of success on this point | | | | to function in home and service environments. Service |
| with the Roomba. The Roomba is an automated | | | | Robots in Other Areas There are actually many |
| vacuum cleaner that cleans homes on its own. As long | | | | service robots currently in use today. In health care |
| as its sensors detect dirt, it will keep moving around to | | | | alone, advancements in elderly care involve the |
| clean. Perhaps a bigger issue is the automation of | | | | creation of robots that can accomplish care giving |
| service robots. The reasoning is, people will most likely | | | | functions such as giving patients baths. Automatic pill |
| purchase service robots if they perform tasks as | | | | dispensing is also utilized in some pharmacies and |
| efficiently as humans do, and with little supervision or | | | | hospitals. Some are stand-alone booths that can take |
| none at all. Robotics developers therefore need to | | | | orders and fill up prescriptions accordingly. Service |
| design robots that are near-human in capacity and | | | | robots are also used in pharmaceutical stores, albeit on |
| currently, there isn't a system that is capable of doing | | | | a "smaller" scale. Robots are utilized to help |
| that. Even the most sophisticated robotics system | | | | pharmacists dispense drugs - the pharmacist inputs the |
| requires some human intervention at some point. Still, | | | | data into a computer and the robot automatically fills |
| many are optimistic about the future prospects of | | | | the prescription. The pharmacist is then free to do |
| service robots. After all, a few years ago, nobody | | | | other things while the robot is busy dispensing. |
| ever really believed that robots would take over | | | | |