• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to secondary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Home
  • Subscribe
  • Your Membership
    • Edit Your Profile
  • Services
    • Advertising
    • Case studies
    • Design
    • Email marketing
    • Lead generation
    • Magazine
    • Press releases
    • Publishing
    • Sponsored posts
    • Webcasting
    • Webinars
    • White papers
    • Writing
  • Shop
    • My Account
    • Cart
  • About
    • Contact
    • Privacy
    • Terms of use
  • Events

Robotics & Automation News

Market trends and business perspectives

  • News
  • Features
  • Video
  • Webinars
  • White papers
  • Press releases
  • Featured companies
    • AMD Xilinx
    • BlueBotics
    • Elite Robot
    • RGo Robotics
    • SICK Sensor Intelligence
    • Vicor Power
Grouleff image

Opinion: Robots are what we make them

February 15, 2019 by David Edwards

By Malene Grouleff

At a Belgian factory, the following sign stands next to a gigantic industrial robot: “This machine has no brain. Use your own.”

People are people. Robots are just robots.

When we say that we have a mission to raise awareness of new robot inventions, we encounter a wide range of different ideas about what robots actually are and what they are capable of. Until just a few years ago, robots were mostly found in the realm of science fiction or on the assembly lines of the automobile industry. 

Since then, technology and innovations have taken quantum leaps, and we are increasingly surrounded by robots, algorithms, and automated solutions in our everyday lives. Driverless vehicles and drones, automated vacuum cleaners, lawnmowers and window washers, parking robots, chatbots, and much, much more.

These developments require consideration and reflection on our part – a nuanced ethical debate about the role we want robots to play in our world, now and in the future.

We can choose to view technologies as useful tools that help perform necessary and arduous tasks while sparing our well-being – a kind of slave that takes care of chores that are unhealthy for the human body and spirit.

But we can also examine how the ever-expanding capabilities of new technologies can be utilised to address some of the biggest challenges faced by society. Take labour shortages, for example. Within the past six months, four out of ten Danish companies have been unable to fill posted vacancies. That’s the highest this figure has been in ten years.

Growing companies such as Trelleborg Sealing Solutions in Elsinore are encouraging their personnel to identify tasks that robots and cobots (collaborating robots) can take over, and now more than 50 cobot arms from the Danish company Universal Robots are working side by side with employees.

One of the reasons that things are going so well for this company is that the robots are now handling the monotonous duties, freeing up time for employees to perform more demanding and creative tasks at the workplace.

We must consider how we want to use robots in our society. Therefore, it was a pleasure to hear a recent talk at Aarhus Art Building by Aimee van Wynsberghe, chair of the organisation Responsible Robots. The aim of Responsible Robots is to ensure a future with responsible use of robots and artificial intelligence, both in terms of manufacture and use.

In the view of Aimee van Wynsberghe, it is up to the people behind the robots to drive technological development in an ethically proper direction. She suggests that we consider and discuss the consequences of new technologies in advance – in terms of ethics, security, privacy, and so on – rather than waiting to think about it until after the robots are up and running.

For example, how do we feel about robot vacuum cleaners that send information to Google about areas of your home with space for a certain type of furniture, so that you can be deluged with ads? Or what about sex toys that send private information about the frequency of use? Aimee van Wynsberghe points out that the robots did not just decide to report this information. Somebody designed them to do so.

At Grouleff Communications, we’re delighted when robots take over dangerous, dirty, boring and unappealing jobs – palletising or metal polishing, for example. We’re delighted when Inkeri Karjalainen is photographed standing next to the robot Inkeri II, who helps her dip designer mugs in glaze at a factory in northern Finland, now that her arms are worn down after performing this task for many years.

And we’re delighted when flexible mobile robots from Mobile Industrial Robots can be seen rolling through the corridors of Denmark’s nursing homes and hospitals so that staff do not have to spend time transporting goods, waste and medicine – giving them more time to attend to patients and residents.

Or when highly sensitive “robot hands” from the Danish company OnRobot pack organic herbs at nurseries on the Danish island of Funen, sparing employees from the back strain of bending and lifting, and when a new robot from Flow Robotics takes over “hand-pipetting”, a task that has worn down the hands and wrists of many lab technicians over the years.

We’re also delighted when small green robots from Intelligent Marking mark football pitches in 20 Danish municipalities, giving local football club volunteers more time to spend with the children.

Or when exoskeletons give sick and disabled people new capabilities and opportunities. And when the robot Robert helps with the rehabilitation of bed-bound patients, preventing the complications that can arise from being confined to a lying position for extended periods.

We think that it is ideal to use robots and automation:

  • to make our working environments healthier;
  • to promote local production of goods;
  • to improve our productivity (and the value we generate) by collaborating with robots;
  • to reduce/compensate for human error;
  • to give people superpowers;
  • to solve bottleneck problems in the labour market;
  • to produce food for a growing global population;
  • to take measures to prevent climate change;
  • to provide greater self-reliance and freedom to disabled persons; and
  • to gain more free time.
malene grouleff
Malene Grouleff

About the author: Malene Grouleff is the founder of Grouleff Communications. She was a journalist with Danish Broadcasting Corporation and IDG. She also served as an associate professor at the DMJX.

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

Share this:

  • Print
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Reddit
  • Twitter
  • Tumblr
  • Pinterest
  • Skype
  • WhatsApp
  • Telegram
  • Pocket

You might also like…

Filed Under: Features Tagged With: grouleff communications, robots

Join the Robotics & Automation News community

Primary Sidebar

Latest articles

  • Global autonomous cars market size to reach $16 billion by 2030
  • Volvo invests in Waabi to strengthen autonomous trucking offering
  • Hacking Robots: The 5 Threats You Need to Know About
  • AMD launches Kria ecosystem program to help developers bring automation solutions to market faster
  • Manufactured in the metaverse: Mercedes-Benz designs virtual factories with Nvidia Omniverse
  • Foxconn plans to build autonomous vehicles on Nvidia computing platform
  • Geek+ provides 82 robots to C-StoreMaster’s new $20 million distribution warehouse in Huntsville, Alabama
  • Flexiv launches ‘revolutionary’ force-controlled parallel robot
  • The Core Concepts of Successful Online Stock Investing
  • UPS and Gap units partner to offer ‘unmatched automation and supply chain capabilities’ to apparel merchants

Most Read

  • Foxconn plans to build autonomous vehicles on Nvidia computing platform
    Foxconn plans to build autonomous vehicles on Nvidia computing platform
  • Manufactured in the metaverse: Mercedes-Benz designs virtual factories with Nvidia Omniverse
    Manufactured in the metaverse: Mercedes-Benz designs virtual factories with Nvidia Omniverse
  • Why is My Car Key Stuck in the Ignition?
    Why is My Car Key Stuck in the Ignition?
  • Top 20 electric vehicle charging station companies
    Top 20 electric vehicle charging station companies
  • Difference Between Three-Phase and Single-Phase Power
    Difference Between Three-Phase and Single-Phase Power
  • How to Know if Your iPhone is Being Tracked? Check This!
    How to Know if Your iPhone is Being Tracked? Check This!
  • Scientists have found more water in space than they ever knew possible
    Scientists have found more water in space than they ever knew possible
  • AMD launches Kria ecosystem program to help developers bring automation solutions to market faster
    AMD launches Kria ecosystem program to help developers bring automation solutions to market faster
  • Top 20 programmable logic controller manufacturers
    Top 20 programmable logic controller manufacturers
  • What You Need to Know About Fixing an Engine Misfire
    What You Need to Know About Fixing an Engine Misfire

Overused words

ai applications automated automation automotive autonomous business china companies company control customers data design development digital electric global industrial industry logistics machine manufacturing market mobile operations platform process production robot robotic robotics robots safety software solution solutions system systems technologies technology time vehicle vehicles warehouse

Secondary Sidebar

Latest news

  • Global autonomous cars market size to reach $16 billion by 2030
  • Volvo invests in Waabi to strengthen autonomous trucking offering
  • Hacking Robots: The 5 Threats You Need to Know About
  • AMD launches Kria ecosystem program to help developers bring automation solutions to market faster
  • Manufactured in the metaverse: Mercedes-Benz designs virtual factories with Nvidia Omniverse
  • Foxconn plans to build autonomous vehicles on Nvidia computing platform
  • Geek+ provides 82 robots to C-StoreMaster’s new $20 million distribution warehouse in Huntsville, Alabama
  • Flexiv launches ‘revolutionary’ force-controlled parallel robot
  • The Core Concepts of Successful Online Stock Investing
  • UPS and Gap units partner to offer ‘unmatched automation and supply chain capabilities’ to apparel merchants

Footer

We are…

Robotics and Automation News was established in May, 2015, and is now one of the most widely-read websites in its category.

Please consider supporting us by becoming a paying subscriber, or through advertising and sponsorships, or by purchasing products and services through our shop – or a combination of all of the above.

Thank you.

Independent

Archivists

February 2019
M T W T F S S
 123
45678910
11121314151617
18192021222324
25262728  
« Jan   Mar »

Complex

Old-skool

This website and its associated magazine, and weekly newsletter, are all produced by a small team of experienced journalists and media professionals.

If you have any suggestions or comments, feel free to contact us at any of the email addresses on our contact page.

We’d be happy to hear from you, and will always reply as soon as possible.

Future-facing

Free, fair and legal

We support the principles of net neutrality and equal opportunities.

Member of The Internet Defense League

Copyright © 2023 · News Pro on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in

We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies.
Do not sell my personal information.
Cookie SettingsAccept
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
CookieDurationDescription
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Advertisement
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
Others
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
SAVE & ACCEPT