MAX FRISCH, Homo Faber: A
Report
Stop and pause for a moment… now imagine a world where no time is
wasted, where efficiency's boundary is a near-infinite horizon and where
people are able to focus on and think about problems that really matter. The truth is
that modern logistics is not far away from this reality! Robots are put in to
action to optimize operations, adding real and
measurable business value to companies across industries around the world.
But do robots really offer any business value through improved logistics? And if so,
why?
Lets delve deeper into the differences between mankind (the “traditional”
workforce) and robots in order to assess what might work best for this job.
Psychological theories and studies conclude that humans filter what
they perceive with a distinct bias formed through their previous experiences.
There is this great book called “The
Magical Number Seven, Plus or Minus Two” that basically deals with the
boundaries of human perception and memory. It is often interpreted to argue
that the number of objects an average human can hold in working memory at one
particular point in time is 7 ± 2. Let me elucidate this through a practical
example: Have a look around you (no matter where you currently are) and try to count
all red objects in your surrounding (actually do it). When you’ve got your
number, remember it. Now, without a single view, how many green objects have
you noticed?
Exactly!
As you probably noticed it is way harder to recall all green objects in
such a situation, because you primed to remember only the red objects, creating a biased experience. So I
believe that we can all agree on the fact that human perception and working
memory is at least to some extent limited. It is moreover not always given that,
even if a soundly “programmed” human perception filter is used, this perception
concludes in an accurate measurement. Humans sometimes make errors. It’s just
human (humans get also tired. And human make even more errors when they’re
tired).
This might
happen:
We already know that robots are synthesized by hard- and
software, containing all sorts of interconnected sensors. Hence, it should not be too hard
for us to understand that robots perceive and react a lot more accurately than humans. Robotic sensors are only limited by their specs, and their specs are programmed to eliminate human bias. They store the amount of data that is provided by the hard drive;
as much as it shall be. Although they are bounded to certain circumstances (perceiving
just a small part on which they are programmed for), they are capable
of doing a really great job at it. Just take a look at the following clips:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HTDgrUT0J0U
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yLRfsTPPAcU&list=PLF9121E5DF17AFA99
Amazons next big INNOVATION for its logistics: "Prime-Air" drone for 30-minute deliveries! Your future Amazon packages could be delivered by a flying robot. Isn´t that impressive?! Have a look at this short clip:
Innovative robotic logistics solutions are aslo applied in other business fields... for instance, in car park systems (video below):
However, machines and robots are also limited in thier capabilities. They lack capabilities including - for instance - the ability to synthesize qualitative information to one big picture, generate emotions, imagination or intuition. Hence, humans are more versatile in thier way of working, a fact that gives them an advantage; especially for conceptual and strategic thinking. A key robotics groth area and trend is Intelligent Assis Devices (IAD) - operators manipulate a robot as though it were a bionic extension of thier own limbs with increased capabilities. This is robotics technology - not replacement for humans or robots but rather a new class of ergonomic assist devices that help humans in a wide array of ways (e.g. power assist, motion guidance, ine tracking and process automation. This hybrid conjunction might apear as the most benificial solution with respect to effectivness, quality, risk and cost.
Innovative robotic logistics solutions are aslo applied in other business fields... for instance, in car park systems (video below):
However, machines and robots are also limited in thier capabilities. They lack capabilities including - for instance - the ability to synthesize qualitative information to one big picture, generate emotions, imagination or intuition. Hence, humans are more versatile in thier way of working, a fact that gives them an advantage; especially for conceptual and strategic thinking. A key robotics groth area and trend is Intelligent Assis Devices (IAD) - operators manipulate a robot as though it were a bionic extension of thier own limbs with increased capabilities. This is robotics technology - not replacement for humans or robots but rather a new class of ergonomic assist devices that help humans in a wide array of ways (e.g. power assist, motion guidance, ine tracking and process automation. This hybrid conjunction might apear as the most benificial solution with respect to effectivness, quality, risk and cost.
One of the core challenges is to realize a sound human-technology-interaction (HTI), that narrows down to the design of hard- and software of robots. This demands a huge amount of psychological, proccess and organisational studies and therefore a lot of research & development.
Stay tuned for the next episode!
- Kimon Georgiou
IMPRESSIVE !!!!
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