[Wōdnes-dæg] (Korean) Robots on the Rise

{The robotic Maria from Metropolis. Image from Dear Rich: Nolo's Intellectual Property Blog}

Introduction
Robots in the Workforce
Robots in South Korea
Closing
References

Introduction

According to an article in the Korea IT Times South Korea is really pushing to become a major player in the field of robotics.

And why not? More and more robots are entering the workforce in various ways: "lights-out" factories that can operate for up to thirty days without any human intervention (and so the lights and air conditioning are turned off); surgeons operating on patients hundreds or thousands of miles away via robotic arms; teacher and health care robots; as cleaners and cooks.¹

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Robots in the Workforce

The transition into a much more robotic society seems inevitable. Granted, the article is from April 2011, but Rodney Brooks - a professor emeritus at MIT - robots will make the American economy more efficient and competitive.² He bases these point on the facts that robot labor can be quicker, and a robotic manufacturing base on American soil will cut out the cost of bringing in goods from China and elsewhere.²

Plus, increasing the presence of robots in manufacturing might make the overseas production of Apple, and Sony products much more ethically palatable to those who care about such things. A fact that Foxconn seems well aware of, since they plan to employ 1 million robots by 2014.³

However, though Brooks and Bill Gates have said that the robot revolution is happening in a way similar to the computer revolution (slow and specialized, marching towards quick and ubiquitous), Brooks said in 2011 that the robots of the near future will have an eight year old's social skills, a six year old's dexterity, a four year old's language skills and a two year old's object recognition² - not exactly as dexterous or quick witted as a T-1000 or a Bending Unit 22.

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Robots in South Korea

Still, the ambition and drive of countries like South Korea when it comes to robotics makes it seem like advanced robots are not so far off.

After all, Korean society's "pali-pali" mentality is indeed evident in plans to spend 322 million US dollars between 2012 and 2016 to turn the city of Daegu into a "robot city and hub to the nation’s robot industry."¹ Perhaps, in some way, this push for robotics is meant to complement the global spread of its culture.

As wind turbines crop up in more and more places, and with robots apparently well on the way to becoming everyday fixtures, one question that comes to mind: Does this mean we're going to be getting flying cars soon?

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Closing

Check back here on Friday for the hunt for the good in The Darkest Hour

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References

1. Ji-Hye, Shin. "KIRIA Robotics - The Future is Here." Korea IT Times 24 April 2012.

2. Young, Grace. "Are Workforce Robots the Next Big Thing? Rodney Brooks Gives a Definite Yes." MIT Entrepreneurship Review 12 April 2011.

3. Schroeder, Stan. "Foxconn To Replace Some of Its Workforce With 1 Million Robots." Mashable Business 1 August 2011.

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