Will robots take away people's jobs?

There is a theory that robots will take our jobs, but is that true?

Since the COVID-2020 pandemic hit us in XNUMX, the way we work in factories has changed dramatically. The concept of "contactless" has become the norm in manufacturing sites, and to create such an environment, automation using robots has been actively considered. Even small and medium-sized enterprises that were reluctant to invest in equipment before the COVID-XNUMX pandemic have been forced to adopt a positive attitude. And this trend continues even now that the pandemic has subsided.

Robots work 24 hours a day, without meals or breaks. Looking at this, it's natural to think, "That's not possible," or "Our jobs will soon be eliminated."

It is true that as automation advances with the introduction of robots, the number of tasks that do not need to be done by humans will increase, but it is a bit short-sighted to think that this means that robots will take away jobs.

Robots perform tasks that humans are not good at,
People can focus on the work they need to do.

What was the purpose of the robots that are used in manufacturing in the first place?

Looking back at the history of industrial robots, they were first developed in the United States about 70 years ago. The industrial robot that was developed was named "Unimate," which implies a "workmate with general-purpose capabilities."
As the name suggests, industrial robots are not developed to take jobs away from people, but to work alongside them.
In fact, the emergence of industrial robots led to the subsequent birth of collaborative robots, further evolving the concept of collaboration with humans.

Even before the advent of industrial robots, there had been many concerns throughout history that new technology would take away people's jobs. A typical example of this is the Luddite movement, in which British textile workers who were threatened with losing their jobs during the early Industrial Revolution went around destroying machines and factories.
However, as history has since shown, even if certain jobs have disappeared due to technological innovation, improvements in labor productivity have led to higher income levels, and new jobs have been created as companies and industries have emerged that stimulated new demand, resulting in an increase in overall employment.

To put it simply, robots may take over jobs that humans are not good at, but they will never be able to replace the jobs that humans should be doing. The history of technological evolution proves this.

Going a step further, it is no exaggeration to say that by having robots take over physically demanding and dangerous work, human safety and security are guaranteed, and a positive environment is being created in which people can work like humans.

The same is true of the relationship between humans and robots in the transportation process.

The AMR "MiR" is a robot designed to work in collaboration with humans during transportation tasks.

AMRs are people-friendly robots, as they were developed with the assumption that they would work collaboratively with humans.

For example, when a part needs to be transported from point A to point B, if a robot detects a person on the route, it will avoid contact with the person or stop until the person is gone. This is a big difference from AGVs, which run on a set route with guidelines set up.

Among them, AMR "MiR" boasts particular advantages when it comes to working with people.

Let's take a look at the performance of the AMR "MiR," for which we are a sales agent, from the perspective of collaboration with people.

Features of MiR Safety and auxiliary functions that comply with ISO3691-4, the safety standard for automated guided vehicles

Emergency stop button is equipped as standard on the main unit

A total of four emergency stop buttons are provided at the front and rear on both sides so that they can be accessed from any position in the event of an emergency.

Equipped with two safety laser scanners diagonally

Detects surrounding obstacles 200mm above the floor in a 360° plane
Since there are no blind spots, it can handle sudden approaches or sudden sudden jumps out.

The robot is equipped with two 2D cameras on the front

Horizontal field of view: 120[deg] Detects obstacles up to 1,700mm in height
By using the camera to detect obstacles higher than the detection range of the safety laser scanner, the vehicle can grasp the surrounding situation in more detail and travel safely.

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Equipped with 8 infrared proximity sensors

Follow up on areas that cannot be sensed by scanners or 3D cameras

Equipped with 8 signal lights

Equipped with 4 on each corner for a total of 2 to display the status of MiR
The direction of travel is clear at a glance, allowing for smoother operation in collaborative spaces.

Demonstration video of obstacle avoidance by MiR250

The top of the screen shows the actual behavior, and the bottom is the display on the management software. Using the above-mentioned devices, the robot detects the surrounding environment and autonomously decides to avoid or stop depending on the situation.

Summary

There are a certain number of people with physical disabilities at factory and warehouse transport sites due to heavy work. A future where these people are freed from physical pain and can shine in new jobs. This can only be realized if AMR (autonomous transport robots) can take over their work. Our goal is for robot technology to evolve further and for the whole society to shine.