Are robots hurting job growth?
January 13, 2013 5:00 PM CBS 60 Minutes Report
Must see video: Technological advances, especially robotics, are revolutionizing the workplace, but not necessarily creating jobs. Steve Kroft reports.
FTAV video: the robot employment threat
Cardiff Garcia | Jan 30
Must see video in link…
Must see this series…
Middle-class jobs cut in recession feared gone for good, lost to technology
A world without work: As robots, computers get smarter, will humans have anything left to do?
Max Nisen | Jan. 28, 2013
The Associated Press has a three-part series on one of the biggest questions business and society will face in coming years. Are we prepared for a world where 50 to 75 percent of workers are unemployed? It seems like a ridiculous question, but it’s something economists and technologists say we seriously need to think about. It’s just math. Rice University computer science professor Moshe Vardi says that in 25 years “driving [done] by people will look quaint; it will look like a horse and buggy.” So there go many of the approximately 4 million driving jobs out there. Same for sanitation, and those are just a couple examples of how physical jobs will be replaced.
60 Minutes Robotics Segment Stirs Controversy
01/16/13 — “There are two sides to every story; the truth inevitably resides somewhere in between.”—ancient proverb There is no question that rapidly advancing robot and AI technology are enabling companies to bring back work previously done overseas, especially in China. At the same time, they are eliminating the need for human…
Arizona Daily Star-Jan 27, 2013
On paper, the Great Recession has been over for several years. But to many workers displaced by the economy’s sudden contraction in late 2008 and 2009, it still feels like an uphill battle. Jobs in construction have yet to rebound. Many government agencies and schools still employ far fewer than they did four years ago. And many jobs in middle management are being added back on a contract or part-time basis. The numbers are startling. According to The Associated Press, half of the 7.5 million jobs lost during the Great Recession were in industries that pay middle-class wages, ranging from $38,000 to $68,000. But only 2 percent of the 3.5 million jobs gained since the recession ended in June 2009 are in midpay industries. Nearly 70 percent are in low-pay industries, 29 percent in industries that pay well. The result is what economists call the “hollowing out” of the middle-class workforce, and it is far from over. They predict the loss of millions more jobs as technology becomes even more sophisticated and reaches deeper into our lives.
MeCam Is a $50 Camera-Equipped Autonomous Nano Quadrotor, Supposedly
Evan Ackerman / Mon, January 28, 2013
At first glance, MeCam looks like it belongs in a research lab. It’s a palm-sized quadrotor packing enough sensors to make it capable of autonomous flight, as well as a camera that can stream video to your smartphone. It can follow you around all by itself, shooting video of your life (or anything else you tell it to), and supposedly, it’ll be available as soon as 2014 for as little as $50.
Parrot Adds GPS and Partial Autonomy to AR Drone, Shows Off SenseFly UAV
Erico Guizzo / Wed, January 16, 2013
We’re huge fans of the AR Drone, not just because it’s dirt cheap and a huge amount of fun, and also not just because it’s actually being used for serious research, but because we love how Parrot just keeps on making it better year after year. At CES last week, they showed us a bunch of upgrades along the path to autonomy, along with their newest toy: a camera equipped eBee UAV from SenseFly.
By Spencer Ackerman, 01.10.13
Make that seven U.S. drone strikes in Pakistan during the first 10 days of 2013. But the recent uptick in drone strikes hasn’t yet coincided with a resurgence in Pakistani outrage that marred Washington’s relationship with Islamabad in 2012. At least five people are dead in a drone strike near Mir Ali, in North Waziristan, launched on Thursday. That makes seven drone strikes in Pakistan since 2013 began, with an estimated death toll, according to Danger Room’s tally, of at least 40 people. (One of the strikes on Tuesday killed a “key al-Qaida commander” named Sheikh Yasin al-Kuwaiti, the Long War Journal reports.) By contrast, in 2012, the U.S. launched 43 drone strikes in Pakistan, with an average pause of between 7 and 8 days between them. Even beyond the drones, Thursday was a violent day in Pakistan: A pair of bombings in Baluchistan left at least 32 people dead and more than 100 wounded.
Bluefin Robotics Completes Custom Knifefish Design for Naval Research Laboratory
01/31/13 — Renowned underwater-robotics manufacturer, Bluefin Robotics, has announced it will produce a variation of its Knifefish UUV (unmanned underwater vehicle) for the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL). The Knifefish model is a specialized Bluefin-21 UUV, and will be developed for the Surface Mine Countermeasure Unmanned Underwater Vehicle program. Bluefin is under subcontract (#N00173-10-C-6008) withGeneral Dynamics (News – Alert) Advanced Information Systems, and will leverage and deliver the finished system to the NRL within the next few months. Bluefin just completed the preliminary design review of the Knifefish model earlier this month, and is positive about the outcome. “We are pleased that we are able to easily adapt the…
The students at Washington State University (WSU) have finished building a self-operated robotic submarine that has been entered into the 16th annual International RoboSub Competition in San Diego. The yearly competition is hosted by both the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International and the U.S. Office of Naval Research.
Robot-manufactured cells for the photovoltaic industry
Posted: 01/30/2013 During the manufacture of solar cells, wafers go through a variety of wet chemical processes….
The Next Manufacturing Boom Will Be Ours
1/26/13, Barron’s
As the only industrialized superpower not decimated by World War II, the United States once made nearly 40% of the planet’s goods. These days, that number has shrunk to 18%. We make American Girl dolls in China, Levi’s jeans in Mexico, and enough movies in Vancouver to nickname it Hollywood North. After decades of outsourcing, however, the U.S. is quietly enjoying a manufacturing revival, and companies like Apple (ticker: AAPL), Caterpillar (CAT), Ford Motor (F), General Electric (GE), and Whirlpool (WHR) are making more of their goods on American soil again. It isn’t just U.S. companies that are drawn to our cheap energy, weak dollar, and stagnant wages. Samsung Electronics (005930.Korea) plans a $4 billion semiconductor plant in Texas, Airbus SAS is building a factory in Alabama, and Toyota (TM) wants to export minivans made in Indiana to Asia. The Rust Belt owes its new shine to many factors, including rising wages and industrial-land costs in Asia. But none is bigger than the U.S. energy boom. Thanks to a head start in extracting oil and gas from shales, North America now produces far more natural gas than any other continent. Unlike oil, gas isn’t easily transported across oceans, and a result is some of the world’s cheapest energy within our reach: Natural gas here costs $3.55 per million British thermal units, versus roughly $12 in Europe and $16 in Japan. Cheap energy not only reduces our trade deficit and our addiction to Middle East oil, it also makes our factories more competitive globally — a boon for a country that had gone from exporting American goods to exporting American jobs.
CRIENGLISH.com-Jan 30, 2013
From keyboards to electronic home appliances, the manufacturing industry in the Zhujiang River delta area used to be a driving force in the beginning of China’s …
Innovative machine for filling and packaging ice cream from Staubli
01/30/2013
Presentation plays a crucial role in the industrial production of ice cream. Even in large size containers, the product needs to look like a handmade delicacy. The brand new Robot Filler succeeds in doing this perfectly, as the pilot use of the machine in Bangkok demonstrates. Based in Edertal near Kassel, Big Drum Engineering GmbH specialises in the manufacture of equipment for the filling and packaging of ice cream. Its innovative machines make it possible to produce a wide variety of ice creams (with the exception of those on a stick) quickly and economically. Big Drum machines have a production capacity of up to 50,000 tubs per hour.
ABC30.com-Jan 28, 2013
FRESNO, California (KFSN) — We’ve all seen those sign spinners on major streets like Blackstone in Fresno and all across the state showing off sales or …
Orbiting robot gas station gets closer to reality
Jan 25, 2013, 4:22 PM | By Tim Hornyak
Canadian robot Dextre completes a test on the ISS to refuel a mock satellite, a step toward reducing space junk.
Hi-Tech Library Employs Book Retrieving Robot
01/24/13 — We all have memories of our favorite librarian. Perhaps it was an older woman or gentleman who helped us with a big research project in high school or college. Or maybe we remember the young, fun librarians who nurtured our reading habits as little kids, recommending picture books and leading us in craft projects. But children of tomorrow may remember their first librarian as a collection of metal and electronics. North Carolina State University has deployed a robot in its James B. Hunt Library. The building houses a collection of over 1.5 million books stored in more than 18,000 bins.…
RP-VITA Approved for Hospital Use, SUGV Approved for Disruptor Use
Evan Ackerman / Mon, January 21, 2013
A week or so ago, the FDA (who I guess is somehow in charge of robots in hospitals) has decided that they’re cool with robots like the RP-VITA telepresence platform wandering around on their own without having a nervous human in tow with one finger poised over an e-stop button. In other words, RP-VITA has been officially pronounced to be no more likely than anything else you’d find in a hospital hallway to somehow injure people. We’ll share a few of iRobot’s thoughts on the announcement, but first, we have a video of an iRobot 310 SUGV blowing up a bunch of stuff with a disruptor, because that’s marginally more exciting.
Robots a Huge Asset to Laboratory Automation, Pharmaceutical Manufacturing and Drug Discovery
01/10/13 — Tasks in the life sciences, pharmaceutical and biomedical industries have always been complex and time-consuming. With the advent of new diseases and medical disorders, these undertakings will only grow in complexity. Due to their speed and precision, robotics are called upon to meet the ever-increasing scope and range of chores in…
Pint-Sized Service Robot on Wheels Massages as it Roams
01/24/13 — WheeMe is a massage robot that moves gently on your body to provide the most realistic massaging experience. It was developed by the Israeli company, DreamBots, and recently shown off at CES 2013. This palm-sized massage robot has two arm sticks on its top to sense the edges of the body. It also includes a tilt sensor technology to automatically avoid falling off while rolling over your body. The roughness of the wheels and a rotor finger will provide a really enjoyable sense of physical pressure. WheeMe robot weighs only 330 grams (with batteries) and measures 128 x 9.6 x 8.0 mm. It moves at a speed of 4 cm/sec, and available in two different colors such as red and blue.…
Engineering Teams Develop Robotic Snowplows for Winter Carnival
01/29/13 — With the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) now featuring pool and gutter cleaners, robotic vacuums and lawnmowers, what’s next? How about a robotic snowplow? Ohio University’s “monocular autonomously controlled snowplow” might soon see a variant of itself parked in the Las Vegas Convention Center at a future CES. Are you listening John Deere? TwinCities.com (Pioneer Press): The snowplow is small, but built like a tank. Weighing in at 600 pounds, Ohio University’s “monocular autonomously controlled snowplow” (also known as M.A.C.S.) features four-wheel drive, a laser guidance system and the ability to clear snow without a human operator. The team from Ohio…
Automating the ‘Last Mile of Finance’
December 6, 2012, 12:01am
How software may help companies improve their financial close and reporting cycles.
There is a brief period at the end of each financial quarter when the pressure is on accounting and finance teams to close company books quickly, while producing accurate results. During this window, employees engage in a frenetic, deadline-driven process known as the “Last Mile of Finance.” It involves consolidating data from various systems and ledgers, reconciling high-risk accounts, recording adjustments, and creating numerous financial statements for investors, internal stakeholders, and regulators—all while trying to avoid errors and bottlenecks that might lead to inaccurate data and missed deadlines. “Traditionally, most of the activities that take place during the Last Mile are manual and spreadsheet driven,” says Kyle Cheney, a partner with Deloitte & Touche LLP who specializes in Last Mile of Finance automation and improvement. “The tasks are labor-intensive and time-consuming, which increases the likelihood that mistakes will be made.” Cheney says that leading companies are starting to implement financial close software that automates many Last Mile activities.
Gizmag-by Jason Falconer-Jan 29, 2013
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration may have recently approved iRobot’s telepresence robot RP-VITA for use in hospitals, but as far as medical robots are concerned Japan and Korea remain ahead of the curve. The latest in a line of nurse droids is the KIRO-M5, a compact transportation robot that can carry supplies, sterilize and deodorize the air, and alert nurses when the elderly patients need their diapers changed.
Our Cats Test the LRII Robotic Litter Box: A Paws-On Review
Amanda Davis / Tue, January 22, 2013
It’s no surprise that the home shared by an engineer and a tech journalist is filled with gadgets. We already own a robot, a Roomba, which vacuums our floors every day. So it wasn’t a shock to me when my boyfriend showed up with another robotic helper for our home. It’s called the Litter Robot II, an automatic self-cleaning litter box. The machine is a big black orb with a hole in the middle. It looks like the Death Star.
Toyota’s Semi-Autonomous Car Will Keep You Safe
Erico Guizzo / Tue, January 08, 2013
At a CES press conference yesterday, Toyota presented its semi-autonomous Lexus Advanced Active Safety Research Vehicle, a car designed to take over from you when an accident is imminent to keep you in one piece.
Adept Introduces Lynx Autonomous Mobile Platform
Evan Ackerman / Wed, January 23, 2013
This is Lynx, a brand new (and very slick) little mobile robot from Adept. It was officially introduced at the Automate show in Chicago this week, and it’s designed to move stuff from one place to another without you having to worry much about what people or things may be in between.
CMU to Develop Commercial Mining Robots
Posted 12 Jan 2013 at 17:03 UTC by steve
According to a CMU news release, CMU’s Robotics Institute has entered a five year agreement with Anglo American PLC to develop autonomous robots for a variety of mining tasks including mapping and inspection.
The Atlantic-Jan 30, 2013
The robot (pronounced as “razor”) is an excavator device, designed to extract (yes) water, (yes) ice, and (yes) fuel from the soil of the moon. And from the soil of …
…of the week thinking about the issue, with no less than two robot-themed postings. But it’s his last one which presents the…that one paragraph explains today’s reality perfectly. So, robot and technology power is reducing the natural employment rate… Izabella Kaminska
Robots and Automation: Bringing Jobs Back to the United States
Robots get a bad reputation for taking away jobs in the United States. However, here is how industrial robots not only keep jobs in the U.S. but also increase them! Robots And Automation Bring Jobs Back To The U.S.
IFR CEO Round Table Discussion at the Automate in Chicago: Robots create Jobs!
The 4th IFR CEO Round Table discussion on 22 January 2013 at the Automate in Chicago focused on the impact of industrial robots on employment. The discussion also touched on other issues such as human-machine interaction, the need for a more educated workforce and the breakthrough of service robots.
Robot Makers Spread Global Gospel of Automation
Posted: 01/24/2013
CHICAGO — The robot equipment industry has one word for the alarmist articles and television news programs that predict a robot is about to steal your job: Fiddlesticks!
Automation Industry Association Criticizes 60 Minutes Segment ‘March of the Machines’
Posted: 01/14/2013
(Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA) – The Association for Advancing Automation (A3), the global advocate for the automation industry, is disappointed in how 60 Minutes portrayed the industry in Sunday night’s “March of the Machines” segment. “While the 60 Minutes depiction of how technological advances in automation and robotics are revolutionizing the workplace was spot on, their focus on how implementation of these automation technologies eliminates jobs could not be more wrong,” said Jeff Burnstein, President of A3, a trade group representing some 650 companies from 32 countries involved in robotics, vision, and motion control technologies. “We provided 60 Minutes producers several examples of innovative American companies who have used automation to become stronger global competitors, saving and creating more jobs while producing higher quality and lower cost products, rather than closing up shop or sending jobs overseas. They unfortunately chose not to include these companies in their segment. With respect to MIT Professors Brynjolfsson and McAfee who gave their viewpoint in the piece, they are missing the bigger picture.” To see the real story in action, A3 is urging people to attend Automate 2013, the industry’s premier trade show which is held in Chicago, Illinois next week. (January 21-24, 2013; McCormick Place; www.automate2013.com) With over 8,000 attendees from around the world, Automate showcases the full spectrum of automation technologies and solutions that are being utilized in many different industries. For free admission to the show, register at www.automate2013.com. Several Automate speakers will address how robots are saving and creating jobs.
Big 4 Robotic Stocks Outperform Dow Jones
Posted 01/03/13 at 01:09 PM
… All the projections suggested that industrial robot stocks would perform well this year (and for the foreseeable future), and they did.
… KUKA’s stock did particular well on expectations that their extensive movement into the Chinese marketplace (with new offices and factories in China) would yield significant rewards.
January 4, 2013 – This remarkably articulate robot hand was supposedly built by Lego enthusiast ‘Barman’ using two Mindstorms NXT control units, six motors, and some utterly brilliant engineering.
January 2, 2013 – Sometimes inventions, even the important ones, aren’t pretty. Case in point: this vomiting robot. It could help us understand, and then battle, an illness that no one’s found a cure for in 40 years.
January 23, 2013 – To build and supply a lunar base, astronauts will need heavy-duty space trucks for transporting gear. There’s just one problem: no roads. That’s why NASA engineers designed the rover they call ATHLETE (All-Terrain Hex-Limbed Extra-Terrestrial Explorer)-to handle any terrain, whether dusty, rocky,…
January 10, 2013 – One of the clear automotive technology trends at CES this year is cars that drive themselves. From Audi to Lexus to Ford, the world’s largest car companies are beginning to follow Google’s lead in an effort to produce cars smart enough to drive themselves.
January 17, 2013 – Researchers at Michigan State University have upgraded their autonomous swimming robo-fish named Grace—short for Gliding Robot ACE—with the ability to passively glide through the water, potentially letting it swim forever on a single charge. Right now it’s designed for research, but…
January 4, 2013 – iRobot’s updated Mirra 530 pool-cleaning robot promises to make it even easier to tidy up your cement pond come summer. Designed to replace the company’s Verro 500 model, the Mirra features a set of large wheels instead of treads to better hug the ground and walls of a pool, as well as a more…
DARPA Robots Learning How To Bring Satellites Back From the Dead
Evan Ackerman / Thu, January 24, 2013
It’s ever so hard to not write about DARPA when it keeps doing so much cool stuff. Today, we’ve got an update on the Phoenix program, which aims to create a new network of communications satellites by sending up robots to harvest body parts from old communications satellites. Insert space zombie joke here.*
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