While automated factory workers and space explorers have been around for years, 2014 marked the first time robots began to enter households. Whether through drone delivery or new AI assistants, 2015 is set to change the way we live.
Over the last few years, tech giants like Google and Facebook have been buying up smaller AI companies. Last year alone, Google acquired the AI research startup DeepMind and the solar-powered drone manufacturer Titan Aerospace, leaving many wondering what they are working on. Given their industry, both companies are building more efficient systems to deliver goods and advertisements to our homes. The interest in such products is clearly seen by taking a look at JIBO’s Indiegogo page. This crowd sourced home assistant robot managed to raise 2.2 million dollars in its three month campaign.
Last year, the FDA made it legal to operate an exoskeleton. Before this momentous change, if robotic legs, arms and prosthetics malfunctioned or caused injury, American health care insurance could not cover injury costs, leaving them experimental products for use in rehabilitation. ReWalk’s exoskeleton is currently helping people with spinal cord injuries walk again and letting them own and operate it legally throughout the country.
Despite economic ramifications, robot factory workers and automated assistants will continue to take jobs. In a study conducted in December 2014, Oxford Researchers concluded that 45% of all jobs will be automated by 2033. Last year, the Chinese assembly robot Foxbots built the new line of iPhones, and SpaceX invested one billion dollars in creating an automated pilot for its rocket.
Robotics have been changing the processes by which biologists operate for years. This has enabled the development of countless procedures through which biologists and lab technicians can work faster and more accurately. The automation of the Synthetic Biology Pipeline, as enabled by Hudson Robotics laboratory automation, provides a robot-driven solution to the extraction of DNA plasmids from bacteria. The full automation of this process saves both time and effort in a laboratory environment.
You have probably already enjoyed a YouTube video taken by a GoPro attached to a drone. Drone flying became the hot hobby in 2014, and in 2015, we are going to see the crackdown. Last year, two drones crash landed in Yellowstone Park, leading to a nationwide ban of unmanned aircraft in all National Parks. A drone with an Albanian flag fluttering behind it lead to a mass riot at the 2014 World Cup. There was even a case where a drone attempting to deliver six pounds of controlled substances in Mexico crashed under the weight of its payload.
While advancements in robotics may have moved slowly in the past, powerful tools like crowdsourcing and the internet will help bring about change at a record pace. Companies can now sell their products directly to consumers. As they become more automated, their competitive edge will force others to do the same.