60 SERVO 03.2016
Before delving into the many types of robots on the market these
days, I would like to take a look at
how the robot industry has changed
in the past 45 to 60 years to actually
develop truly useful robots.
The illustration in Figure 1 from
the humanprogress.org site shows a
typical common product that has
been around for over 60 years: the
color television. The TVs back in the
mid 1950s used a heavy round glass
cathode ray tube (CRT), that was
hand wired and soldered
using large electronic
components.
By the mid 2010s, TVs
had long discarded the
‘crude’ glass CRTs for flat
screen LCD technology, and
the ‘sets’ were assembled
entirely by robots.
As you can see, it took
an average person 508
hours of work/ pay to
purchase the $1,000 TV,
whereas the less expensive
(and far better) TV of today
takes only 7. 8 hours of a
purchaser’s labor to buy the
product.
Robots Around Us
Friedman’s reply in the first
paragraph certainly made me think
about the growing use of robots, not
only in industry, but also in our
homes, hospitals, and even
battlefields. I remember some of the
early robot installations where a few
of the early purchasers seemed to be
installing robots in their factories not
to improve production, but to show
their competitors that they were
keeping up with the latest technology.
It was the same with the earliest
computers.
Most computer purchasers
installed the perfect machine for their
needs after a lengthy study of how
they would use them to increase
productivity and profits. A few others
proudly showed visitors a mainframe
humming away in the back room
while the purchasing, payroll, and
other departments cranked out figures
on manual calculators.
Sharp entrepreneurs
are always looking at all
sorts of applications,
looking to see how the use
of a robot could improve
things. The would-be
inventors might be asking
themselves, “A person is
having difficulty doing this
particular task. Could a
robot do the job better?”
“Could the job be made
easier?” “Would replacing
the human with a robot
make the job safer?” “Can
a robot do the job faster
and better?” “Can a small
mobile robot vacuum cleaner
by Tom Carroll g{xÇ Now a n d
TWCarroll@aol.com
Robots — What Good are They?
I just finished reading a very interesting book by Martin Ford entitled, ‘Rise of the
Robots, Technology and the Threat of a Jobless Future.’ In the introduction of his book,
he speaks of Nobel laureate economist, Milton Friedman who was visiting a worksite
where a new canal was being constructed in an Asian country. I have heard several
different versions of this story over the years. Friedman was shocked to see that —
instead of modern tractors and earthmovers — the workers were using shovels to move
the earth. He asked why there were so few machines. The government bureaucrat who
was escorting Milton around explained, “You don’t understand. This is a jobs program.”
Friedman’s reply became famous when he retorted, “Oh, I thought you were trying to
build a canal. If it is jobs you want, then you should give these workers spoons, not
shovels.”
Figure 1. 2013 wages to purchase a TV vs. 1954 wages.
