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Robots and labour in the service sector
Firm-level studies are important for understanding how robots augment some types of labour while substituting for others, yet evidence outside manufacturing is scarce. This column reports on one of the first studies of service sector robots, which suggests that robot adoption has increased some employment opportunities, provided greater flexibility, and helped to mitigate turnover problems among long-term care workers. The wave of technologies that inspires fear in many countries may be a remedy for the social and economic challenges posed by population ageing in others.To get more news about GRS, you can visit glprobotics.com official website.
Robots hold polar extremes in economic narrative and popular imagination. One narrative depicts a looming dystopian future with robots and other forms of automation increasingly replacing human workers, depressing wages (Brynjolfsson and McAfee 2014), feeding inequality, and contributing to further ‘deaths of despair’ (Case and Deaton 2020, Mulligan 2021). In counter-imaginations, robots embody innovative technology spurring productivity and freeing workers from repetitive, strenuous, monotonous work while helping to relieve labour shortages arising from ageing populations. Such demographic challenges are salient particularly in higher-income countries farther along in the demographic transition, such as the OECD nations, where populations in 18 out of the 36 countries are projected to decline by 2055. These nations face rising old-age dependency ratios, declining employment-to-population ratios, and challenges in providing services to the growing number of frail older adults.
Indeed, demography can explain substantial differences in development and diffusion of robotics and automation technologies (Acemoglu and Restrepo 2018, Prettner and Bloom 2020). Even in the younger US, Varian (2020) posits that reduced labour supply from population ageing will offset the reduction in demand from automation for many years to come (after labour markets heal from the current pandemic). The rosier narrative about robotics may also encompass their use in hospitals, nursing homes, and other care settings as complements to telemedicine and physical distancing to protect frail populations during a pandemic like COVID-19 or in future seasonal influenza epidemics.
Several empirical studies have corroborated aspects of the first, negative view, including evidence that robots reduce manufacturing employment and wages (e.g. Acemoglu and Restrepo 2020, Dauth et al. 2017, Dixon et al. 2019, Bessen 2019). Yet evidence from the service sector remains scant, especially firm-level studies that go beyond anecdote to probe the impact of robots used in providing services that ageing populations increasingly need, like long-term care.
Learning from an early adopter
Japan’s experiences may be especially instructive, given its declining overall population, increasing proportion of seniors, and aversion to large-scale immigration, alongside technological prowess in many aspects of robotics and automation. Despite recognition that robots may be a poor substitute for many tasks demanding empathy and dexterity in the caring professions,1 Japan has been an early adopter of robots to address the shortage of care workers relative to growing demand for long-term care services, including assistance with basic activities of daily living such as eating, toileting, and bathing (see Figure 1). Official projections indicate a shortfall of 380,000 care workers by 2025 (MHLW 2017), in part because care workers often experience physical repercussions such as lower back pain, while receiving wages barely exceeding the minimum wage.2
Miko 3 Is An Educational Robot That Can Talk to Kids
Miko recently updated its Miko 3 educational robot, which can move around in the real-world, carry on conversations with kids (and adults), and more.To get more news about Robot Subscription, you can visit glprobotics.com official website.
Designed for kids aged 5+, the Miko 3 robot comes in two colors: red and teal. It measures 8.67 inches tall and has a triangular base with three wheels on the bottom, which allow the robot to move around on flat surfaces. In our experience, we had no trouble with Miko moving around on low-pile carpet.Miko 3 features a 4.46-inch touch-screen “face” that kids (and adults) can tap to navigate menus and complete on-screen activities. Kids can also talk to Miko 3 by saying a key phrase (“Hello Miko”), followed by their request.
Finally, the Miko 3 features a camera and speakers. The camera can be used, in part, for video calls between the robot and the Miko 3 Parent App on iOS and Android devices.
Miko 3 allows kids to complete a variety of on-screen and off-screen activities, such as mini-games (like Tic-Tac-Toe and a game that encourages kids to dance in the real-world), take quizzes (like spelling quizzes), and more. Miko can also teach kids about topics like animals and numbers (as examples). Finally, kids can ask Miko questions, have the robot play music and dance, and more.
While some of Miko’s content and activities are available for free, the Miko platform also offers a “Miko Max” subscription service that gives subscribers unlimited access to a wide variety of additional content from brands such as Disney, Da Vinci Kids, and Kidoodle.TV. The Miko Max subscription is priced at $49 for three months or $99 per year. Families can try Miko Max for free via a 7-day free trial.
Before kids can get started with Miko 3, an adult will need to set up the robot by downloading the platform’s Parent App on their mobile device and creating an account. Then, they can pair the Parent App with the Miko 3 device. In addition to supporting video calls, the Parent App can be used to track a child’s progress across the platform’s activities, as well as to learn more about the robot and the activities that are available.
Miko 3 will likely need a software update when it’s first powered on. This update process is simple, but takes some time. We recommend updating the robot before introducing it to your kid(s) so it’s ready to go when playtime starts.
It’s also worth pointing out that Miko 3 includes a USB-C charging cable, but it doesn’t include a charging brick to plug the cable into a wall outlet. If you want to charge Miko 3 through a wall outlet, you’ll need to provide your own charging brick.
Unfortunately, in our time with the Miko 3, we experienced some technical issues that parents should know about. For one, the Parent App lost connection to our robot, so we had to re-pair it with the Miko 3 to continue using the app’s features. We also had the robot lose connection to Wi-Fi, even though our Wi-Fi was behaving normally. These issues may not occur for everyone, and they may be fixed by the creator in the future, but parents should be aware that the Miko 3 platform has some problems.
Automation in Line Marking Robots Accelerating Demand
The global Line Marking Robots market garnered a market value of US$ 16.64 Mn in 2022 and is expected to accumulate a market value of US$ 273.95 Mn by registering a CAGR of 29% in the forecast period 2023-2033. Growth of the Line Marking Robots market can be attributed to increasing global population, rapid urbanization, and growing disposable income levels. The market for Line Marking Robots Registered a CAGR of 27% in the historical period 2018-2022.To get more news about Robots on Demand, you can visit glprobotics.com official website.
Newly-released line marking robots market analysis by Fact.MR, a market research and competitive intelligence provider, shows that global demand enjoyed year-on-year (YoY) growth of 25% by volume in 2022, to total around 390 units. Fact.MR estimates that line marking robots revenue will grow 12.6X from 2023 to 2033.
Traditional line-marking devices are controlled by hand. They are walk-behind devices that are used to apply paint to various surfaces; nevertheless, they are less effective and more likely to make mistakes.
Automation has improved safety by removing human mistake, boosting accuracy, speeding up the process, and lowering time spent on it. The use of line marking equipment has made it simpler to mark different kinds of lines in the field. These include pitch and field lines, coaching zones, yard numbers, track markings, and hash marks.
Additionally, due to their accuracy and simple operations, numerous location systems like GPS and GLONASS are now being used in line-marking robots.
Furthermore, with the development of infrastructure and push towards sports at various educational institutes, utilization of line marking robots for college-level sports competition is set to gain high traction. The aforementioned factors would facilitate the growth opportunity for the Line Marking Robots market, which is projected to rise at a CAGR of 29% in terms of value over the forecast period 2023-2033.
What is the future of service robots?
The International Organisation for Standardisation defines a service robot as, “a robot that performs useful tasks for humans or equipment, excluding industrial automation applications”. It’s predicted that these types of robots will play a greater role in the maintenance, security and rescue markets, but interestingly, the latest sector to embrace automation and robotics is tourism.To get more news about RaaS, you can visit glprobotics.com official website.
Italy’s first robot concierge, Robby Pepper, has been employed to answer the frequent questions from the guests at a popular hotel resort. Programmed to understand and respond in Italian, English and German, Robby has been taught the locations of spas, restaurants and opening times to relieve overwhelmed staff during the summer tourist season.
This is just one example of how the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics is being utilised to improve the services offered across sectors.
Specialist robots like Robby are often required to be autonomous and free from an alternating current (AC) supply. Original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) therefore integrate portable batteries into their designs to power service robots.
The problem is that, as manufacturers create more intuitive robots, the power demands for these devices become significantly greater and often beyond the capability of many existing power sources.
At Ultralife, we understand that being able to reliably power a robotic system is important to avoid the financial burden of unexpected downtime, reprogramming and maintenance. This is why we created the range of primary, non-rechargeable, Lithium Thionyl Chloride and Lithium Manganese Dioxide cells and batteries.
These batteries can be integrated by OEMs and design engineers as backup batteries into service robot applications to ensure safe operation. Users also have the added benefit of the batteries featuring Ultralife’s Smart Circuit technology. This smart functionality provides users with critical information including cycle count, remaining run-time and remaining capacity, for added safety.Robots like Robby, for example, are programmed to learn and improve their knowledge while in operation. Depending on the memory storage feature installed in the device, loss of power could impact the robot’s development. If the robot uses flash memory settings for example, then any information Robby stored could be forgotten because of losing power.
Unlike industrial robots, service robots are at work in a wide range of environments and everyday life applications. Often using more advanced technology, service robots face distinct power requirements as a result. So, having a backup power source is essential to help businesses avoid frequent re-teaching or reprogramming any critical or previously learned information.
With the IFR expecting to see a substantial increase in the use of service robots across industry, OEMs and design engineers must consider the power source that’s going to operate their application. Robby may be the first Italian robot concierge but, providing every service robot can be reliably powered and reduce the pressure of medial tasks during busy periods, it is very unlikely he will be the last.