Investing in Robot Technology
May 30th, 2007 | By Penny Sleuth Contributor | Category: International, TechnologySouth Korea is often underestimated. Its Hyundai automobiles are nipping at the heels of Honda and other Japanese giants, offering comparable quality with better prices and better warranties.
On the high-tech front, in just five years, the nation managed to extend broadband Internet access to 72% of its households. It made infrastructure investments to support this.
Even more remarkable, it has assisted poor families in acquiring computers, offered widespread subsidize training, and became the first country on Earth to offer broadband access to every primary, junior and high school.
South Koreans get to use technologies years before they’re offered in the United States. Microsoft and Motorola test products here before introducing them in the United States.
Approximately 17 million of the 48 million people living in South Korea have joined Cyworld, a Web-based service that connects everyone via home pages. This reportedly has changed how people discuss things, form opinions and act.
So, when South Korea announces a high-tech project — even an audacious one — it pays to listen.
Now, reports the New York Times, the country has marshaled “an army of scientists and business leaders to make robots full members of society.”
The vision is quite robust, even breathtaking. The intent is that by the end of this year a new kind of robot will enter mass production and sweep through the society into common use.
These robots will serve as ideal nannies to help overworked parents. They will teach children English and perhaps other subjects. They will entertain the kids by singing and dancing and perhaps even play games with them.
Though not discussed in the article, clearly such robots could begin to take the place of teachers for certain purposes. Eventually, as their sophistication grows, they could serve as ideal tutors. They would be ever-patient, tailoring both content and their style of teaching to the needs of the specific student.
The Koreans envision that these robots will have broader uses. For example, for people visiting retail establishments they could answer routine questions, thereby taking the place of greeters such as those employed at Wal-Mart.
They could also take the place of security guards for routine inspections and monitoring of facilities.
The plan is that robots will be in every South Korean household not later than 2020. This project has brought together 30 South Korean companies and approximately 1,000 scientists from universities and research institutes. It is a serious undertaking.
Some see a more aggressive schedule as possible. “My personal goal is to put a robot in every home by 2010,” said Oh Sang Rok, manager of the Ministry of Information and Communication’s intelligent service robot project.
Other countries also have robotics development programs. However, South Korea has focused on consumer market robots that will derive much of their knowledge and capability from being part of a network — a network that will be enhanced by South Korea’s imminent success at making itself the world’s first nation with universal mobile high-speed Internet access.
This is a perfect example of converging technologies, something I’ve been preaching for over a year will largely drive the future.
Prototype robots have already been tested in 64 households and several post offices. In October, a second phase of testing will involve 650 households and 20 public places.
Yujin Robot is confident that it can put these networked, low-cost consumer service robots on the market starting this year. Currently, it offers small, $500 robots that replace vacuum cleaners and brooms. They’ve been quite successful.
Kim Mun Sang, director of the Center for Intelligent Robotics, commented that “…eventually robots could change how we live in a way we can’t predict right now… No one ever thought the PC and the Internet would transform our society the way they have.”
He’s right. The social consequences of all this are impossible to predict. However, we can be certain that the ripple effects of such a revolution will go far beyond those anticipated by the South Korean planning authorities, and far beyond the country’s shores.
Successful mass production of such remarkable appliances will surely lead to their widespread adoption and deployment in all other industrialized nations. If South Korea becomes the world leader in robotics manufacturing, as now seems possible, it will assure that country a competitive future for years to come.
There is, however, a larger question… As robots prove capable of performing an ever-greater range of tasks with competency equal to or greater than humans, a growing percentage of the population will become not just unemployed but unemployable unless they can rapidly learn new skills.
This will have profound social consequences. I cannot express them better than Dr. Marshall Brain, founder of the popular website and book How Stuff Works.
Brain has written two free e-books on this subject, the entertaining “Manna” and the slightly more serious “Robotic Nation.” They are available for reading or printing on his websites, http://marshallbrain.com/manna1.htm and http://marshallbrain.com/robotic-nation.htm.
I strongly recommend you read them and think about them. Meanwhile, I’ll be thinking about what kinds of tiny companies are poised to make a fortune from these seismic social changes.
To your profitable future,
Jonathan Kolber
May 30, 2007
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