Industrial Robots and Their Role in Addressing Global Development Challenges

“Up to 800 million global workers will lose their jobs by 2030 and be replaced by robotic automation”. There is a major difference occur between the past and present in the world as humans strive for the betterment of living and the future. In the present, innovations have inserted themselves to play a role in nearly every step of the human lives since the launch of the first industrial robots in 1961. This robotic automation is gaining popularity and attention from many people around the world and is still affecting the industrial world. An industrial robot is an innovation that introduces the use of robotic systems as part of industrial production, especially those who are interested in mass production. Robots also have the potential to affect the growth of the economy and improve human behavior. Although the creation of robots, similar to other inventions, inevitably affects humans, the creators and everyone in the world must understand the benefits that robots can provide. This article will explain the evolution of industrial robots and why they are beneficial to the whole picture of human society.

The establishment of robotic automation occurred in 1964 by George Devol who is a designer or fellow engineer, and Joseph Engelberger who is the father of robotics from American mechanical engineering entrepreneur from Columbia University (Joseph Engelberger Business 2015). The two inventors first met in a cocktail party where they had fascinated conversation about Devol’s innovation in which similar to the development of robots. Devol and Engelberger eventually introduced a first prototype robot arm called Unimate by following the belief that comes from the Hippocratic Oath of doing no harm, which caused the robot arms to do tasks that harmful to humans. There are many functions that the robot arms operate such as painting, packing, assembly, and many others. The implementation of robotic arms in the factory was first only limited in the United States; however, after an exhibition for Japanese executives in 1966 and the successful implementation for General Motors Company, since then this invention gained major attention from people around the world. The robotic arms were rather developed to have a variety of functions for production such as automobiles or electrical appliances. It is undeniable that robotic arms cause a significant change for many industries since it can produce at the speed that never before achieved. Besides, as the world needs effective and efficient machines that assist the industry to produce products for constantly growing demand customers, robotic arms become the most appropriate answer (RobotWorx, 2018). For example, according to Yamazaki (2018), one of the Japanese companies has installed two robotic arms to stack rice balls in a box, shake powder, pepper, and cheese on pasta. Most robots are made from different types of materials, including metals and plastics. Each robot consists of three main parts: a controller or a brain-controlled by a computer, the mechanical parts that permit the robot to move, and the sensors that allow the robot to get rid of the tasks.

To begin with, one of the most significant benefits that industrial robots provided is that it is more saving than human workers. In the present time, robots can replace human workplaces. According to Carlisle (2017), robotics use labor costs much lower than labor costs in China and other low-cost regions. Moreover, robot labor costs will be cheaper than workers when calculated based on the cost of robot installation, including tools and engineering with labor costs less than $5 per hour. Many companies will use robotic automation options to reduce labor costs because they do not need to spend their money on unnecessary things such as the medical and environment of workers. Moreover, some types of work may be harmful to workers. For instance, factories cutting materials such as metal and wood can be dangerous for workers because they may be hurt by sharp items. Therefore, the number of industrial robots users was increasing every year. Industrial robots automate return on investment (ROI), improve the environment and safety of laborers.

Another positive impact of industrial robots is that it is a higher quality of productivity for the market. According to Nizri (2017), company owners can produce more quality and reliable products for consumers because robots make fewer mistakes than humans and can create more products than human labor. Moreover, the robot can produce more because they have the ability to work with a constant speed, and they can work all day and night without a break in a short period of time. However, industrial robots will have more time to create products than employees because they don't need to breathe or eat. .In fact, creating a new industry of more than 1.4 million robots in factories around the world in 2019 (IFR, 2016). Also, when we perceive that employers do not need to worry about the work environment as much as humans because robots are innovations built on machines.

From 2009 to 2020 the number of industrial robots has steadily increased in the future. The International Federation of Robotics predicts that in 2018 more than 1.2 million industrial robots will be installed throughout the world (Kassner, 2017). The drawbacks of this innovation will not only affect the people but also the country’s economy. According to the research institute ABI, the percentage of industrial robot population will increase to 300 percent in the next 10 years (Savio, 2018). Conversely, some types of people are affected by the ability to produce robots because they can replace humans in many types of work. Therefore, many workers are unemployed and the global economy may have overall problems. Furthermore, it can cause inequality or making a difference gap between the poor and the rich because some people especially the poor do not have adequate money to purchase automatic robots that are too expensive for them. While this argument may be true in some cases, other people believe that it is not true. Many people believe that industrial can cause unemployment, but it is not true because an industrial can create a lot of jobs such as software development. According to Quillin (2019), the software is an important part of developing a robot. If the developer does not have an effective quality, people will not have a good quality of technology. Not only robots but also other technologies such as computers, mobile phones, especially the Internet. In the modern era, The Internet has become part of human lives so, people always use the Internet to do everything that they want. Consequently, the robot is a good opportunity to create jobs for unemployment.

To sum up, Industrial robots play an important role in addressing current and future global development challenges. Besides, technology has a positive effect on humans through the development of technology that is popular and used around the world. Many company owners can save on production costs by using robots because they can work faster and with better quality than humans. Moreover, the quality of the product, created by the robot industry will be higher.