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OP-ED JULY 22, 2022 | The Indian Eye 15

THE ERA OF ROBOTS

HAS ARRIVED ALREADY

The relationship between humans and robots is now changing,
as robots move out of the factories and into social life

SADHNA SHANKER

recent news item spoke about
how Indian factories are rap-
A idly adopting the use of robots
in manufacturing. About fifteen years
ago less than a hundred robots were
made for industry in India, howev-
er now that figure stands at nearly
6000 annually. This is a hall mark of
the fourth industrial revolution or Picture courtsey : rawpixel.com
industry 4.0 that is characterized by
ongoing automation of traditional devices – they have transformed into homes. During the pandemic ‘Mitra’ researchers, automation almost al-
manufacturing and industrial practic- agile, mobile, autonomous machines a robot made by a start up in Ben- ways creates more jobs. Most of us
es, using modern smart technology, that can do everything from driving galuru was used in many hospitals in above fifty would remember book-
robotics and the internet of things. cars to helping create better planned India to help in taking vital readings ing a trunk call to another city years
The word “robot” was coined in cities. of patients and help in consultations. ago. Telephone exchanges employed
1920 by the Czech playwright Karel The era of robotics has arrived, They are also used in rehabilitation many people. But the telecom ex-
Capek in his play “R.U.R.” (“Ros- driven primarily by the rapid innova- to help patients exercise, and mea- plosion has created far more jobs as
sum’s Universal Robots”). Science tions in technology of smart phones. sure their improvements. connectivity and automation have
fiction picked it up, and for most The smart phone brought fast wire- Driverless cars, drones that help transformed communication. A Yale
people robots conjure up images of less communication, nano computer in managing traffic in emergencies, University study that looked at Jap-
ferocious human like machines that chips, and cheap sensors and camer- in warehouses, agriculture and even anese manufacturing between 1978
are looking to conquer the Earth. as. Apart from bringing the world in in war – robots are everywhere. The and 2017 found that an increase of
However, in reality historically ro- our palm, this technology has trans- current conflict between Russia and one robot unit per 1,000 workers
bots have been inelegant mechanical formed robotics. The leaps in ma- Ukraine has seen the dawn of war boosted a company’s employment by
devices assisting in factories. chine learning ensure that robots are from a distance being fought virtu- 2.2%.
The relationship between hu- able to make better decisions about ally by remote control, automated How things transform in the
mans and robots is now changing, their surroundings. systems, and artificial intelligence. coming era of industry 4.0 and new
as robots move out of the factories These advances are going to The Indian government notified a age robots is difficult to predict.
and into social life. Many of us would change the way we live. Robots are Drone traffic management policy in However, employers will have to in-
have seen clips on our phones of box not going to work for us; they are October 2021. Robots are used for vest in lifelong learning, and upskill-
like robots trundling along pave- going to increasingly work with us. the mundane, dull, repetitive and ing of employees. On the other hand,
ments making deliveries of food and Apart from surgeries, robots are in- dangerous jobs – freeing up people we will have to learn to coexist with
medicine during COVID. Robotic creasingly being used to complement for the more important jobs. the robots that we will interact with
surgery is being done extensively in the work of care of the ill and the One of the biggest fears is about on nearly a daily basis.
Indian hospitals. elderly. Cleaning, moving materi- job loss on account of the advent of Sadhna Shanker is a writer
Robots are no more mechanical als, and even entertaining in old age robots. As is pointed out by many based in New Delhi, India

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