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The Past Present and Future of Robotics 1

The Past Present and Future of Robotics

Grant C. Caskey

Professor Gabrielle Turgeon

UNC Charlotte


Abstract

This report is about the history of robotics and artificial intelligence (AI). The report

provides information on some of the industries using robotics and AI, and some of the interesting

technology being developed and used in those industries. The report also talks about the impact

robotics and AI are having on society and jobs. Finally, the report provides an idea of the types

of skills and background needed to get a job in the field of robotics and AI.


Introduction

The discipline that will be discussed is the field of robotics and artificial intelligence, and

how these two technologies have evolved over the years. Robotics is the design and development

of robots. Artificial intelligence is software that simulates human activities. A career in robotics

and AI requires a strong technical background and good social skills. The technical skills needed

to be successful in the field of robotics requires a degree in computer engineering, but also a very

strong understanding of other types of engineering like mechanical, systems, and programming.

Since robotics is designed to replace human functions and involves a lot of human interaction,

good social skills are also needed to understand the impact that robotics has on people.

Robotics and AI are impacting a lot of different industries. For example, robotics is now

being used to help treat cancer and perform medical procedures. In the military, robots are being

used to search for and destroy bombs. Robots and AI are also being used in the automotive

industry to make better cars. It is being used in homes with the iRobot to vacuum floors.

Robotics and AI are even being used in banks to automate basic functions that were previously

done by people.

Robotics can speed-up processes, make them more cost-effective, and improve the

quality of peoples’ lives. Smarter and better robotics are being designed that will be able to do

almost anything. Robotics and AI also have some people a bit scared because these technologies

are designed to automate things that people do, so there is a concern that robotics will potentially

eliminate jobs. Robotics and AI have rapidly evolved over the years and are having a major

impact on society and jobs.

Robotics has been influencing society and jobs for thousands of years dating back to the

ancient Greeks. However, the ancient Greeks did not use software to run their robots, they used


basic physics. According to the book, The Robotics Primer by Maja Matarić, “since both the art

of building automated systems and the science of studying how they work date back to ancient

times, control theory can be said to have originated with the ancient Greeks, if not before”

(Mataric, 2007, p.7). Artificial intelligence was created in 1956 at a meeting at Dartmouth

University. According to Mataric, “the important outcome of the Dartmouth conference was that

as the field of AI was being funded and shaped, it had a strong influence on robotics, or at least

on the branch we can call AI-inspired robotics” (Mataric, 2007.p.14). After this meeting, robotics

really began to take shape with the development of industrial robotics for the automotive

industry. Since the 1960s, robots have been a major part of automation in automobile assembly

plants. Based on an article written by Jason Nowak of Bastian Solutions, he says, “Industrial

robots have been associated with the automotive industry ever since their inception over 50 years

ago. Back in 1962, Unimation’s UNIMATE was installed in General Motors’s New Jersey plant,

making it the very first industrial robot to ever be used by a major manufacturer” (Nowak, 2015,

p.1). The automotive industry was really the driver of robotics in the United States and continues

even today. In 2013, almost 70,000 new robots were acquired by the automotive industry. In

Nowak’s article he states, “The United States now ranks 3rd globally in robotic density in the

automotive industry” (Nowak, 2015, p.3). Today, robotics is used in almost every part of

building a new car from welding, painting, and assembly to even test driving and crash tests. As

the demand for new, better, and cheaper cars increase, so will the demand for robotics.

Another industry that is being dramatically changed by robotics and AI is healthcare. There

are many different uses of robotics in the medical field including: nanorobots, tele-presence,

surgical assistants, and rehabilitation. Nanorobots are very small DNA robots designed to destroy

tumors that develop in people. In an article by Joe Caspermeyer, he explains that “nanomedicine


is a new branch of medicine that seeks to combine the promise of nanotechnology to open up

entirely new avenues for treatments, such as making minuscule, molecule-sized nanoparticles to

diagnose and treat difficult diseases, especially cancer” (Caspermeyer, 2018, p.8). Tele-presence

robotics (Figure 1) is the use of interactive mobile robots that allows medical specialists to work

remotely and still be able to interact with patients and other doctors through the use of

specialized cameras, scanning devices, navigational tools, and custom treatment codes. These

robots are being used in small and rural hospitals. Another form of tele-presence robotics is

something called surgical assistants. These are remote controlled robots that allow surgeons to

perform surgical procedures from a remote location that could be thousands of miles away.

Surgical assistants have been most commonly used for prostate surgery. According to an article

written by Bernadette Keefe, M.D. for the Mayo Clinic Center for Innovation, she says, “the

advantages of robotic surgery include a more controllable and thus potentially safer environment

for both the patient and the physician, increased precision of surgical manipulation, improved

vision due to magnification, and better ergonomics for the operator” (Keefe, 2016, p. 43). The

main disadvantage of using surgical assistants is the amount of training required to operate the

robot, but as with any technology, the more it gets used the easier it becomes. This is also an

opportunity for new jobs by training people to use this technology. There are also robotic devices

being tested to give anesthesia, but at this point the adoption of these devices has been pretty

slow with only four in use across the country. One of the more interesting uses of robotics in

healthcare is for rehabilitation. Robotic suits and exoskeletons have been built to help people

recover faster after a bad accident or surgery. They have also been used to help some patients

walk again. Robotics is also being used to help care for the elderly in nursing homes. This is

where having strong social skills becomes important because the engineers building the robots


have to understand how the robots will interact with patients. The use of robots can be scary for

some people like the elderly, so it is important to make them friendly and non-threatening. The

other challenge with caring for the elderly is that the jobs are relatively low paying so it is hard

to find people that want those jobs. The use of robotics in the medical field is helping to improve

the quality of medical treatment and saving lives.

Figure 1: Tele-presence robots

The military is another industry that is being impacted by robotics and AI. When most

people think about robotics in the military, they automatically think about the use of unmanned

drones, like the Predator, for taking pictures and dropping bombs. However, there are a number

of other interesting uses of robotics in the military, including: the removal of bombs and mines,

firefighting, transporting injured soldiers, and even armed guards. One of the most common uses

of military robots is looking for and destroying explosive devices. A robot called the Small

Unmanned Ground Vehicle, or SUGV, is a remote controlled mobile robot. The SUGV is used to

remove the explosive and take it to a safe place to be disarmed. Another use of robotics in the

military is for fighting fires on naval ships. A fire is one of the most dangerous things that can


happen on a ship, so putting fires out quickly is critical to the safety of the crew. According to an

article by Sharon Weinberger of the BBC, she says, “Already under development, for example, is

a military humanoid robot that will fight fires on ships. The innocuously named Shipboard

Autonomous Firefighting Robot, or Saffir, actually looks suspiciously much like a skinless

version of the Terminator, though its mission is much more peaceful” (Weinberger, 2014, p.5).

The Saffir (Figure 2) will be able to go into areas on a ship like the engine room where it is too

hot and dangerous for crew to enter to put out a fire. There are similar robots being designed to

rescue injured soldiers from the battlefield and take them to a safe area for medical treatment.

Figure 2: Saffir Firefighting Robot

Methods

For my primary research, I interviewed Dr. Arun Ravindran, a Professor in the

Engineering department. Dr. Ravindran teaches my Computer Engineering Programming course.

He has a PhD in Electrical Engineering from Ohio State University. He started out focusing on

the hardware development side, but moved into cloud computing, software, and systems to help


expand his overall knowledge. I interviewed Dr. Ravindran because of his background and

experience with multiple engineering disciplines that are all key to the development of robotics

and AI.

I also attended a seminar on April 4th, at UNC Charlotte called Engineering and Artificial

Intelligence at NVIDIA. The seminar was about the history and trends of engineering and

artificial intelligence. NVIDIA is mainly known for their graphics cards for the gaming industry,

but at this event the NVIDA representative said that Artificial Intelligence is the next big thing.

The representative talked about how low skill jobs will be threatened and that people will have to

learn to work with AI. He said that there will be a strong job market for engineers with a

background in AI. There were also discussions about how the number of start-up companies has

increased by a factor of two in just the past two years. Another big point that was discussed was

the development of self-driving cars. Today, self-driving cars are at a level of one or two on a

scale of five levels. When self-driving cars hit level five they will not even come with a steering

wheel and will be completely controlled by AI. The seminar helped to validate some of the other

research that I conducted around the impact that robotics and AI are having on jobs.

Results

When looking at how technology has changed over the years, it is easy to see how robotics

and AI have been part of that change. More and more companies and industries are turning to

robotics and AI to save time, save money, save lives, improve service, and improve the quality of

peoples’ lives. It is clear that robotics and AI are impacting jobs, but most of the impact is

positive. Some lower level, low skilled jobs are being eliminated, but new higher skilled, higher

paying technical jobs are also being created. In the article by Alan Fitzpatrick, he states, “There

are two schools of thought regarding the coming impact of robots on workers: there are those


who warn they will destroy jobs and those who hope new technology will boost the productivity

of workers without replacing them” (Fitzpatrick, 2016, p.1). In the example of the automotive

and manufacturing industries, Professor Ravindran said that it was difficult for these industries to

recruit people to perform manual, repetitive, boring jobs at reasonable wages, so robotics has

been used to eliminate those positions while improving productivity. He said that higher paying,

more specialized jobs were being created to operate and repair the robots.

In the case of the healthcare industry, Professor Ravindran said that the use of robotics and

AI are becoming very popular because of the aging population, rising medical costs, and the

shortage of labor. According to a February 2017 report by Barton Associates, there will be a

shortage of 90,000 physicians to support patient demand by 2020, and this number will increase

to 130,000 by 2025 (Figure 3). Professor Ravindran said that caring for the elderly is another

area where it is difficult to recruit people to perform unpleasant jobs at low salaries. Robotics can

help address this issue by performing jobs that people do not want to do like helping patients out

of their beds, bathing, giving medicine, and feeding. Robotics and AI will help deliver better

healthcare at a cheaper cost.

Figure 3: Physician Shortage by Barton Associates


As for the military and other high-risk industries, jobs are not being eliminated, instead

lives are being saved. Professor Ravindran said that robotics is having a big impact on positions

that put humans in danger such as the military, firefighting, waste disposal, and many others. In

an article by Sharon Weinberger of the BBC she says, “The idea was that in the middle of a

firefight it would be better to send in a robot to rescue a person rather than another soldier who

might get hurt” (Weinberger, 2014, p.5). The military’s use of robotics and AI has been focused

on saving the lives of soldiers and citizens.

In the Engineering and Artificial Intelligence seminar, the guest speaker did say that some

low skill jobs would be threatened by robotics and AI; however, newer higher skilled, better

paying jobs would be created. Those people that might initially lose their jobs because of

technology can go back to school to get technical training to help build new robots, operate them,

repair them, or provide training to others. In addition, a lot of jobs that robotics and AI are being

designed for are jobs that are unsafe for people to perform or jobs that people do not want

because they cannot get paid enough money to do them. The only jobs that will be negatively

affected by robotics are jobs that people do not really want. Robotics and AI are actually creating

new and exciting job opportunities for those people willing to change.

Conclusion

There has been rapid growth in the field of robotics and artificial intelligence and an

increasing demand for these technologies. The growth in robotics and AI is really no different

than any other technology like computers or mobile phones, but for some reason when people

hear the word robotics they get concerned. Maybe it is because automation, computers, and

mobile phones have changed people’s lives so much. Technology is not going away. It will only


grow and change at a faster pace. People need to be open to new technologies and understand

that most technology is designed to improve things, not to make them worse. The opportunities

for job growth and new technology developments in robotics and AI are unlimited, which is why

a degree in computer engineering is a good major to pursue. In the interview with Professor

Ravindran, he said that the best jobs will go to people who have a strong technical background in

multiple engineering disciplines and have strong social skills. There are a lot of great job

opportunities for students with a computer engineering degree because they have to know all of

the key disciplines of hardware, systems, and software, which are all important in robotics and

AI.


References

Caspermeyer, J. (2018, February 12). Cancer-fighting Nanorobots Seek and Destroy Tumors.

Retrieved from https://asunow.asu.edu/20180212-discoveries-cancer-fighting-nanorobots-

seek-and-destroy-tumors

Fitzpatrick, A. (2016, March 31). Will Robots in the Workplace Destroy Our Future?

Retrieved from time.com/4277517/grappling-with-the-right-role-for-robots-at-work/

Huckins, J. (2017, March 23). The Physician Shortage Is Not Going Away

Retrieved from https://www.bartonassociates.com/blog/physician-shortage-2017/

Keefe, B. (2016, May 6). Robots/Robotics in Healthcare. Retrieved from

https://blog.centerforinnovation.mayo.edu/2016/05/06/robotsrobotics-in-healthcare/

Mataric, M. (2007). The Robotics Primer. Cambridge, Massachusetts: The MIT Press.

Nowak, J. (2015, September 17). Industrial Robotics in the Automotive Industry. Retrieved from

https://www.bastiansolutions.com/blog/index.php/2015/09/17/industrial-robotics-

automotive

Weinberger, S. (2014, November 18). Next Generation Military Robots Have Minds of Their

Own. Retrieved from https://www.bbc.com/future/story/20120928-battle-bots-think-for-

themselves

https://www.bbc.com/future/story/20120928-battle-bots-think-for-

https://www.bastiansolutions.com/blog/index.php/2015/09/17/industrial-robotics-

https://asunow.asu.edu/20180212-discoveries-cancer-fighting-nanorobots-


Annotated Bibliography

The article titled “Electronic System and Software Architecture of Modular Reconfigurable

Robot Module OMNIMO” is about a robot known as OMNIMO that can be controlled by four

different layers of software. The article also gives specifics on the hardware and protocols that

were used. The authors of the article are A. Kilic and S. Kapucu. They are a part of the

Mechanical Engineering Department and Gaziantep University, making it a scholarly source.

The audience of this article is for people interested in the development of a modular

reconfigurable robot and how it was designed. The study used for this article was also funded by

the University of Gaziantep. This article might be useful to me for when I talk about the

advancements in robotics today and what technology is being used to design today’s robots. I

might also be able to use the information on software architecture in my programming section

and in my development in AI section of my paper.

The article titled “A Python Framework for Programming Autonomous Robots Using a

Declarative Approach” is about producing high level code in a way that is simple and natural for

autonomous robots. The article also gives a comparison of PROFETA and other frameworks by

highlighting similarities and differences. This article has four authors. They are Loris Fichera,

Fabrizio Messina, Giuseppe Pappalardo, and Corrado Santoro. This article is also a peer-

reviewed and scholarly source. The audience of this article is for people interested in the Python

programming language and how it can be used in autonomous robots, and how well it works

compared to other frameworks. This article might be useful to me when talking about the

advances in computer programming language and how they are being used in robots. This article

will allow me to talk about some of the benefits of using different coding languages and


frameworks and how one framework could be used in one situation and a different framework

for a completely different situation.

The article titled “Cancer-Fighting Nanorobots Seek and Destroy Tumors” is about the

development of the first fully autonomous DNA robot that targets cancer. The article talks about

how these nano robots can seek out and starve out a tumor, as well as how this is a safe and

effective way to battle cancer. This article was found using google, but it is written by Joe

Caspermeyer and is posted on Arizona State’s webpage which leads me to believe that it is a

scholarly source. The audience of this article is people interested in the development of robots,

but also those interested in new and exciting treatments that are being designed to help fight

cancer. This article might be useful to me when I am talking about the current technology of

robotics and how they are being implemented today. This article would also allow me to show

the importance in the development of robotics. Robotics is a field that I have a high level of

interest in as I pursue a career in computer engineering.

The article titled “Will Robots in the Workplace Destroy Our Future?” is about the concern that

robots will take our jobs in the future, but the article also talks about how robots are used today

in the work force. The article gives several stats, including a stat that in 30-40 years 50% of the

jobs could disappear. This article Is written by Alex Fitzpatrick and was up on The New York

Times website. However, this website does not make it a scholarly source. The intended

audience of this article is for people who care about the future of their jobs as well as people

interested in how technology will shape our future. I might use this information in a section


where I talk about how robotics affects our lives today, but also the impact they will have on our

future and if people should be worried about losing their jobs to a machine.

The book, The Robotics Primer, has a chapter that is titled “What Is a Robot? Defining

Robotics.” This chapter is about what the word robot means and how changes in science and

technology have given us our present-day robots. The author also gives a little bit of information

about the history of robots and what exactly a robot is. This book is a scholarly source and the

author of this book is Maja Matarić. Maja Matarić earned her Ph.D. from the Massachusetts

Institute of Technology and is best known for her work on the coordination of robot teams and

navigation. The intended audience of this book is for those interested in robotics and

understanding the advancements in technology that have allowed for the development of

robotics. I will probably be using this source in my paper as Maja Matarić gives a lot of good

information in just one chapter, and with it being a book, I will be able to gather a lot of

information from it.

The article titled “Robots/Robotics in Healthcare” is about all of the new uses of robotics in the

healthcare field, including the use of tele-presence robots, surgical assistants, nanorobots, and

exoskeleton suits. The article talks about the pressure that the healthcare industry is under with

the growing shortage of doctors and the rising cost of healthcare, and who robotics will help

address these issues and concerns. This article is written by Bernadette Keefe, M.D. for the

Mayo Clinic Center for Innovation. Since the author is a doctor for a well-known medical center

I think this article is a scholarly source. The intended audience of this article is for people

interested in the impact that robotics is having on the healthcare industry, and how technology is


helping to improve medical treatments. This article will be a great source for me when I am

talking about the different industries that robotics is having an impact on.

The article titled “Next generation military robots have minds of their own” is about the

advancements of autonomous robots in the military. Autonomous robots are the use of unmanned

robots in the military. These robots are being designed to perform very dangerous tasks to help

save the lives of soldiers. This article is written by Sharon Weinberger for the BBC. The author

does not provide any information about their background or expertise, so I do not believe that

this article is a scholarly source. The intended audience of this article is for people interested in

how technology is being used in the military, beyond the use of drones, to help protect the lives

of soldiers. I found this article to be very interesting because I was not aware of all the different

uses of robotics in the military. I will probably use this article to show how robotics is impacting

so many different industries.

The article titled “Industrial Robotics in the Automotive Industry” discusses the history of

robotics in the automotive industry and how advancements in robotic technology has

significantly changed the automotive industry. The article mentions that the automotive industry

was the first industry to successfully use robotics back in the early 1960s. The article was written

by Jason Nowak. He does not provide any information about his background, so I do not believe

that the article is a scholarly source, but it is very informational. The intended audience of this

article is for those individuals interested in the history of robotics in the automotive industry, and

how new developments in robotics are changing the manufacturing process of new cars. I will


probably use this source in my paper because it gives a good history of the early use of robotics

in a specific industry. It is also another example of how robotics has impacted another industry.

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