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I’ve been in the robotics industry professionally for a while now and have seen robotics evolve from a super niche industry to an industry exponentially growing its acceptable and visibility. Robots are no longer merely science fiction or fantasy; robots are in businesses and homes. While many people look forward to the day that robots take care of most manual labor like mowing the lawn, vacuuming the floors, and delivering their packages, some people still throw their hands in the air profusely objecting to the thought of robots “in their backyard” because they haven’t experienced the value that robotics first hand, and fear the unknown or change.
It’s time to bust the top 10 myths people use to object to robots. (In no particular order, except for the first one because that’s the biggest one.)
#1: Robots Will Take Our Jobs
The perception of robots taking over jobs is greatly exaggerated. Those who hadn’t lost jobs overestimated the threat by about double, and those who had lost jobs overestimated by about three times. Blaming robots is an easy out and way to cope with being laid off. The threat of robots taking over jobs has probably been exaggerated by headlines sensationalizing a bleak future for employment.
Humans have been concerned about being displaced by automated work processes since the early 1800s, and the truth is that technology inevitably disrupts how work is done. Coopers, wooden teeth carvers, leech collectors, knocker uppers, and hundreds of archaic roles are no longer necessary jobs. As technology solves problems or augments human capabilities, there are always new challenges to tackle that require new industries and jobs.
Organizations are merging humans and robots in ways that increase the value of labor performed by humans and make it much safer to work. Many of the robots we build here at SuperDroid Robots are used to get humans out of harm’s way including in steel mills, manufacturing facilities, nuclear facilities, abandoned mines, and inspecting crawlspaces under houses.
The craziest part of the myth that robots are replacing humans’ jobs is the opposite is true. As robot use in Japan, Brazil, India, and China grew, unemployment fell. (source)
Additional resources:
- Why Robots Will Not Take Over Human Jobs (forbes.com)
- Robots won’t take away our jobs. They will make work safer and more efficient (opinion) | CNN Business
- Are Robots Taking Over a Majority of Human Jobs? Here’s What Research Says | Tech Times
#2. The ROI of Robotics Takes Too Long
The speed at which you can get a return on your investment (ROI) in robotics depends entirely on multiple factors:
- Specific use case – what are you using robots to solve?
- Expectations – what are you expecting robots to do and do you understand the limitations of the technology?
- Your intentionality, planning, and preparation ahead of robot implementation
Slow is smooth and smooth is fast. The better you understand the problem you’re trying to solve, the better you’ll understand which specific tool will solve it right. After that, preparation and planning for implementation will ensure smooth deployment and a faster ROI turnaround.
Also, look at the entire picture. Does a $30,000 robot save you $10,000 on workers’ compensation insurance because you’ve moved a worker out of harm’s way? Probably. You also increase that person’s attendance and job satisfaction, thus reducing your employee turnover — all factors that provide more ROI.
#3. Robots Aren’t Ready for The Jobs We Need Them To Do
Whether it’s doing our house chores, driving us to our appointments, or retrieving, welding, and sorting millimeter titanium joints, robots receive a lot of criticism for not being more technologically advanced than they already are.
Science fiction continues to play an active part in inspiring human imagination to what is possible. However, sometimes as a result of not measuring up to expectations, people call for everyone to give up on using robots altogether. No single robot will do everything, much like a human can not be good at everything and tools have a primary purpose. I don’t want a farmer with a jackhammer doing heart surgery.
Let’s be fair and realize robots are tools and see what jobs they can perform now, what functions they perform in other industries can be used in your industry, and what may be available in the near future. The first automobiles did not have air conditioning or seat belts and early computers didn’t have a graphical interface, mouse, or trackpad.
Robots have reached a point in development where they have a vital part to play in creating efficiencies, doing dangerous jobs, or doing jobs that cannot be filled by humans. It is a constantly evolving technology that will only continue to get better the more people use them.
#4. We Can’t Afford Robots. Robots are Only for Huge Companies with Lots of Capital.
It is quite true that when new “bleeding-edge” technology first is introduced, the cost to implement can be cost-prohibitive to any but the most tech-forward companies with big problems to solve and big budgets to solve them with. With robotics, this was the case a decade or more ago, much like utilizing a computer in the 1970s or 1980s. Now, nearly every home has a computer (or 4) and they’re quite reliable and affordable.
As technology is increasingly adopted and improved, increasing production and better design choices bring costs down to a level that is more accessible to more customers. Robotics made this shift in the last 5 years. Now, middle-market and small businesses can take advantage of widespread adoption and capitalize on the general prevalence of knowledge surrounding best practices to make the most out of the investment.
Even small investments into robots can have measurable impacts in increasing productivity and safety. We have hundreds of clients that are “one-man shops” and that one person utilizes our robots almost every day.
If you’re not at least looking into robotics now, you’ll soon have less money to invest as your business will become a dinosaur in a few years.
#5. Real Robots Look Like Humans, Like Data from Star Trek
Many people get hung up on examples of robots they’ve seen in movies and television shows like Data from Star Trek, C3PO in Star Wars, or Rosey from The Jetsons, that “real robots” most have a humanoid figure. While humanoid robots are possible and have a function in the workspace, they do not represent all robots.
While there is an incredible diversity of robot types, ranging from humanoid to software, a robot is a general term for any machine that is designed and programmed to carry out a series of complex actions automatically. Robots can be autonomous or manually (remote) controlled. They can roll, walk, see, pinch, move, transport, cut, heat, suck, or do any operation that it was designed for. A small disc-shaped vacuum in your home is no less a robot than our humanoid robot dubbed “Rocky”.
#6. I Don’t Have the Ph.D. in IT Needed to Operate a Robot
Building robots is hard. Building complicated autonomous robots is really hard. Fortunately, you don’t have to build robots, just use them and that should be fairly simple.
The whole point of designing better products is to make them more usable. A common example of this is taking telecommunications, which is massively complicated, and making them accessible to the customer through a touchscreen device.
Robots, like your smartphone and your car, are designed to be easy to operate. Fortunately, for more complicated tasks, a variety of services exist to help customers onboard and optimize robot integration into business operations.
#7. We’ll Spend All of Our Time Fixing or Tweaking Robots
Robots are a tool like anything else. As the technology advances, design choices continue to improve its reliability. Like automatic windows on cars, there was a period of skepticism where people did not want to be early adopters until it had been proven to be reliable. Robots have been operating non-stop for various industries for years and have proven themselves up to the task.
Even so, it’s a fact of life that machines do break sometimes. The only question that matters, then, is whether the value the machine brings outweighs the cost of upkeep. If an assessment of a tool results in overall better efficiency, increased productivity, improved safety, and higher profit margin, then you almost have an obligation to use the tool. These benefits are the reasons why more and more industries are turning to robotics to execute their work.
#8. Robots are Too Dangerous to Work Alongside Humans.
Robots are tools and, like most industrial machines, have the potential to be dangerous to humans if used improperly, poorly maintained, or if the user lacks appropriate training. Safety is not a gadget, but rather a state of mind. To ensure the safety of robots in collaboration with humans, a culture of safe collaboration must be fostered.
Getting workers involved, and trained, with technologies at the earliest stages can double up with effective risk assessment and understanding of potential safety hazards. Safety and training can go hand-in-hand by ensuring each worker is trained to follow the safety protocol and avoid risks of on-site accidents and injuries—whatever their skill level.
Throwing new technology into unmodified environments without changing workflows can carry dangers no matter the technology. Not only can robots have a positive impact on the workplace, but they can also separate their human work colleagues from injurious tasks—but manufacturers must reskill their workforces accordingly.
#9. Robots are Creepy. We’ll Never Get Used to Having It Around.
Phil in shipping is creepy. But you got used to him. Or you didn’t. Either way, he’s good at shipping and you make it work.
#10. Robots Should Make Everything Easier. If a Robot Can’t Do Everything Human-Workers Do, Then Robots Are Useless.
We touched on this object in #3, and it bears repeating. Robots, more than any other tool designed, are designed for a specific purpose. You wouldn’t expect a hammer to make your coffee, so it is impractical to assume that since your robot isn’t fulling every problem you can conceive that it doesn’t suit a useful purpose.
First, understand the most important/painful problem you are trying to solve and whether a robot can solve that problem suitably. If other features are needed, it’s good practice to critically examine them to determine whether they are a “must have” or a “nice to have” type of feature.
Most robot manufacturers are overjoyed to receive user feedback for real problems their customers are having because this improves their robot’s value. However, it all starts with the end-user truly understanding what their biggest pain points are and what it’s worth compromising on to resolve the challenge.
Hopefully, I’ve helped you see the bigger picture and debunk these myths opposing robotics. Let me know if you hear other objections to considering robotics or if you have any comments or questions about the ones I’ve discussed.
