The Future of Robots and Robotics

Robotics as a term refers to the process of designing and manufacturing robots according to the changing needs of the industry. Fields like engineering, computer science, and artificial intelligence mostly contribute to this industry’s base. However, this term’s concept has come through many changes. Nowadays, it is easily relatable to Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML), and other touch-based technologies.

Scope of studying robotics

Here’s the broader picture of the scope of studying robotics:

1. Improved Innovation

Robotics in the future would be interdisciplinary, meaning they could be applied to any field of knowledge. These being backed up with bulk sources of knowledge and information, can further improve the growth of other technologies by being employed in those fields. Equipped with computerized vision and natural language processing, these can easily understand your requirements, respond to them, and produce the required output in a usable time, all within a matter of minutes. 

This problem-solving skill and innovation would put these robots in high demand in every field. With the interconnectivity of this technology, the time taken to resolve issues faced in the medical, technological, financial, or any other sector would be less than earlier. Hence, studying robotics gives me a chance to be a part of innovative technology too.

2. Assured Assistance

There is a misconception that robots will replace many jobs, which is wrong. Robots come of great help as assistants, especially (cobots- collaborative robots). Robotics as a subject deals a lot with resolving mundane tasks, handling repetitive jobs with less pressure, auditing, and fraud detection. Each of these jobs is handled with half the time taken by humans. As a result, learning the subject could also enhance the time taken for task completion.

3. Better Job Opportunities

Learning robotics will be an add-on to your career journey, expanding the spectrum of opportunities in front of you. Though robots replace human jobs, the maintenance of robots is something that should be done manually. This is indeed one of the highest-paying and demanding careers that would run the field for the coming decades. On the whole, the scope of studying robotics lowers the pressure put on the employees and allows them to invest their time in other research and developmental activities.

Predicting the Future of Robotics

Being an expansive technology that is likely to conquer every field, here are some predictions about robotics that might come true in the future:

Benefits of Robotics

Here are some of the advantages of robots:

1. Work in hazardous environments

Unlike humans, the risks at robotics are trained to work under hazardous atmospheres with zero risks. This also means that the organization doesn’t have to pay any compensation for the physical loss or injuries, and instead settle for a smaller repair cost.

2. Cost-effectiveness

Robots are unpaid employees who can get your work done in a matter of hours without stress, reference material, or payments. You also need not spend any extra money on their paid leaves, medical insurance, or reimbursements. Isn’t that a wise thing to do?

3. Better productivity

Unlike humans who get bored at repetitive tasks, robots can work on the tasks, no matter how mundane they are. They also tackle the issues faced during work within half the time and resume work.

4. Quality assurance

Robots are better than humans when it comes to qualitative work. With them, the quantity and quality of work are always top-notch. Therefore, there is no question of redoing or the clients being unsatisfied with the quality of work.

Disadvantages of Robotics

While introducing robotics is something interesting as an add-on technology, there are some limitations in the technology as well.

1. Job and Opportunity Loss

Though not completely true, robots may take away a major part of the job roles of employees in an organization. Hypothetically taking a situation where an organization compares the task efficiency of a human and robots, and finds the latter more proficient, then humans may be replaced. However, the accuracy could be better here. Hence, the scope for opportunities is one of the major concerns.

2. High Investment Costs

While investing in robots is a surplus to your company, the question that remains is- will there be consistent or equal returns expected. Moreover, with the robots in action completing the tasks before the given timeframe, an equally faster result or returns of investments are expected. One of the financial benefits that reduces the investment costs is that there will be a repayment schedule available which allows you to pay only for the duration that you’ve used the robots. The input-to-output ratio and the total expenses for the number of robots need to be added precisely while calculating the expenditure to reduce the cost of investment.

3. Soaring maintenance costs

Most of the time, the maintenance cost of robots are more exorbitant than the purchase cost. This calls for the need of a person employed to maintain them. Consequently, the salary of the person employed is way higher and sometimes, is found unaffordable by the organization. Even if you hire an employee onboard, there needs to be a guarantee taken beforehand on their skillset and performance. Instead, it is better to connect with an automation company that can assure you with long-term assistance.

How to start a career in robotics?

The best way to start a career in robotics is to start with a bachelor’s degree which makes you an eligible candidate.  Your bachelor’s degree could be in any of the following subjects- Electrical/electronics engineering, Mechanical engineering, Computer science, Mathematics, Design and technology, or Computing and programming. However, it is considerably good if you could get a degree in the latter as it counts more. Though skills matter in a career, the base also counts equally.

What are the impacts of Robots in the Future?

The future impact of robots in future is that they will be assisting in every small aspect of life, which can also be considered as a form of assistance. This means that we could take up more work and increase our productivity without making it a strenuous part of our job.

Also, learning to interact with the robots, understanding their working style, and their effectiveness at work could show a positive impact on our work patterns leading to an increase in productivity. The best part is that this addition would also remove some of the obsolete technologies and replace them with something finer and better. Rather than losing their jobs, most employees would also be able to learn and become a part of the technological revolution that they thought they’d never be able to. 

In the longer run, experienced employees with maintenance and training knowledge in robotics could earn more over the years.

Are robots likely to replace humans?

With robotics and the impact of AI compiled in many fields, there would be a rise in sensory technology development. They would also replace mundane tasks in warehouses, restaurants, and at clothing retailers, allowing employees to destress. From being caretakers at home, to manufacturing jobs, robots would become a hands-on support. But no, they wouldn’t ever be a complete replacement for humans. Hence, studying robotics would be an added advantage which would be more of a ‘train the trainer’ role, as you must understand that robots are a human-made technology that might come with errors.

To Conclude

The scope of studying robotics is wide and creates room for many job opportunities that would be in high demand in the future. Also, this is one field that is well-paid and recognized with the advent of artificial intelligence. Therefore, it is ideal to keep up with robotics, learn deeply about the technology, and grab the most demanding jobs.

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