Robotics is most often discussed in terms of productivity, efficiency, and cost reduction. Factory automation, warehouse robots, and autonomous vehicles dominate the conversation.
Yet a quieter strand of innovation is focused elsewhere:
- on helping people live more independently;
- protecting fragile ecosystems; and
- responding to crises where human access is limited or dangerous.
This feature looks at a selection of startups and emerging technologies applying robotics to social and environmental challenges. The aim is not to romanticise the field, but to show how practical machines are being designed to solve problems that markets and policy alone have struggled to address. [Read more…] about Robotics for good: Startups tackling social and environmental challenges