Riding the tide of revolutions in tech, especially when it comes to computation and design, robotics has gone through many definition changes. In the early days, a robot would be termed as a machine that simplifies a human task down to the minimum. Now a robot is interpreted as a humanoid that is capable of motion or social interaction.
Robotics is an agent that adds to nearly every trade. Visualization, contrary to what is observed in other applications, actually empowers Robotics, with an exalted status. Introductions to HRI (Human-Robot Interaction) interfaces can be made easier with a virtual environment, enabling realistic training and use. With these elements alongside Artificial Intelligence (AI), acting as a steroid booster to the robotics market, the realization of an advanced future comes closer to reality.
As robotics spreads out of its predominant territories, a lot of research and testing is required before people are remotely comfortable with their existence. Moving from isolated and controlled environments to unpredictable, densely populated ones require immense prototyping and trials. With every industry and trade having to adapt, how can those in the visualization segment keep up?
With developments in AI and with new revelations in computing power, the ability to control various contraptions to incredibly minute precision has led to the presence of robots in our homes, as inconspicuous as pieces of furniture. The Roomba represents the first wave of robots that are now part of our homes. What it has managed to achieve to the vacuuming choir is leaps above what the washing machine has done to laundry.
Let’s take an example of the public sector in India, neglected yet crucial work carried about is manual scavenging – the cleaning and unclogging of sewage drains. A person is required to jump into sewage, swim through to find the clog and manually unclog it with either a rod or their hands. A robotics company based out of Kochin has built a robot to autonomously traverse the waters and unclog the drain and then navigate itself out of the hole. With the countless number of deaths from diving into sewage which is never even noticed, the realization of this product is profound.
Robotics, in its aspirational capability, may not be fully achieved yet, but the social and industrial impact it creates is tremendous already. There is the talk of acclimatization to a ‘robotic invasion’ which is impending, but with constant adaptation to advancing tech, societal integration of human-robot interactions should be one that the masses look forward to.
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Video Credits: Channel I’M