In a world where futuristic developments roll out on the regular, ROBO-STOX takes the time to find the need to know robotics news - so you don't have to. Here are the highlights from the week of Feb. 21-27 in the world of robotics and automation:
MUST SEE VIDEO OF THE WEEK: Hate building Ikea furniture? Check out the impressive multiple functions of this “Ikea-bot.” It’s an MIT experiment that focuses on using the capabilities of robotics to assemble furniture. The institute has also created gardening robots and baking bots to prove their sophisticated possibilities.
THE AGE OF AUTOMATION: An impressive new market report was released in regards to a forecasting of “Advanced Industrial Robots to Power the New Wave of Productivity.” According to Robotics Business Review, the global installation rate of robotics is expected to grow at a compound rate of 10 percent annually for the next decade. Not only that, by 2025 it is projected that 20 percent of taskes will be automated.
RETHINKING ROBOTICS: It’s no secret that robotics will soon revolutionize the world of manufacturing. By decreasing costs and time while increasing efficiency and productivity, the shift is inevitable. A thoughtful piece on this advancement of technology was published on Forbes by Jim Lawton, who works at Rethink Robotics - the brains behind Baxter. Lawton touches on the incredible impacts of automation on manufacturing and why people should start to look at these advancements as a positive rather than a negative.
GET AUTOMATED: Want a sneak peak into the world of automation and the developments to come this year? The A3 Automate Show 2015 is rapidly approaching. From March 23-26 in Chicago, the show will take place representing a major portion of the industry. It’s free to all registrants, but start planning your trip soon. The Automate Show has doubleD in size just since last year, undoubtedly due to the growing global presence and demand for automation.
ROBOT MOVIESTARS: For decades, “robots” have played character roles that range from the animated WALL-E to the Terminator, allowing for both fear and emotional attachments to be formed in the two hour time span. This Wall Street Journal article covers the upcoming movie releases that have a casted friendly robots as the main characters.
The piece does a great job at recapping robo-actors from over the years. “Chappie” comes out March 6, staring a robot who learns humanity better than humans, followed by “Ex Machina” a month later, about a man in search of a “female” AI’s consciousness - both very sci-fi films.