Who will manage the robots?
eWeek | at | by Mike
Mobile robots could become businesses' newest recruits in the not-too-distant future, raising questions about who will ultimately manage these machines.
The industry for mobile robotsmachines that can interact with their environment and navigate on their own versus fixed-function botsis emerging from university labs into the mainstream. Many robots are still rudimentary and expensive to manufacture. And companies that make the bots often admit they are still searching for an audience.
However, given that the latest mobile robots can perform jobs that are dangerous, difficult or even tedious for humanssuch as cleaning sewer pipesthe number of bots in use is expected to increase steadily over the next five to 10 years, robotics industry executives told eWEEK during the RoboBusiness Conference & Expo June 20-21 here.