A look at the current state of industrial and service robotics, a century after the Czech play “R.U.R.” introduced the word “robot” to the English language
A century after playwright Karel Čapek coined the word ‘robot,’ we finally have the technology … Tweets: @markmuro1 , @mims , @markmuro1 , @mims , @erikbryn , @wsjtech , @mims , @mims , and @helengreiner Tweets: Mark Muro / @markmuro1 : My additional point in @mims good story is that automation's reach is expanding—both now because of the recession, but on a longer-term basis because better applications are spreading into the the huge service sector @chrismeserole @CICPIndiana @JamesBessen @darrwest https://twitter.com/... Christopher Mims / @mims : We are entering the century of robots, and here's the data to back that up 🤖 This year or next, the number of industrial (i.e. manufacturing) robots sold per year will be eclipsed by the number of “service robots” sold per year. (thread) https://www.wsj.com/... Mark Muro / @markmuro1 : The other aspect of what I was saying is that the greatest future inroads of “automation” will be in the service sector, which encompasses 86% of the economy. Millions more ppl will encounter automation in offices than did in factories @mims @hgetson @arjenvanberkum @DKThomp https://twitter.com/... Christopher Mims / @mims : Movies and sci-fi told us robots were going to take over. They did! Just not in the way we expected. They took over economically. https://www.wsj.com/... Erik Brynjolfsson / @erikbryn : “As their ranks swell, and as they take on more tasks in more places, robots are, in their own way, taking over.” — @mims #Robots #AI @DigEconLab @StanfordHAI HT: @mattbeane @MarkMuro1 https://twitter.com/... @wsjtech : Today's smart, wirelessly connected robots have the potential to sideline vastly more workers than industrial-manufacturing models built to perform repetitive tasks, writes @mims https://www.wsj.com/... Christopher Mims / @mims : About 400 million industrial (manufacturing) robots are sold every year. That is A LOT of very expensive robots. Think the big kind that assemble cars. We basically wouldn't have an automotive industry without them. https://www.wsj.com/... https://twitter.com/... Christopher Mims / @mims : By 2023, the world will be buying more than a half million robots to wage wars, disinfect hospitals, automate warehouses, etc. And these robots are smart. They have sensors, some have onboard AI, and they can work alongside us, not just for us. https://www.wsj.com/... https://twitter.com/... Helen Greiner / @helengreiner : 100 years after the word ‘robot’ entered the English language, autonomous devices are taking over, writes @mims—but not always in the ways sci-fi writers have imagined. https://www.wsj.com/...