B1 - Group C - Cristian Almendariz

[1] Robotics

The article As population grows, so do robotic aids by John Markoff published in The New York Times is really interesting because it reveals a side of robotics that not all people think about.  Prior to reading this post, I have not heard about the employment of robotics on aging people.  I initially though that robotics research would be primarily focused in other areas such as industrial, automotive, first emergency response, services, militarism, and others.  As the title of this article reveals robotics is being developed for the aid of older people.  As it talks about, in following decades and centuries the older population will be significantly growing in size and scientist are trying to develop robots and drones that will help them and make their lives easier.  There are millions of dollars being invested in this area like for example: University of Illinois robotics received $1.5 million to develop drones to perform simple household tasks.  Dr. Hovakimyan believes that these drones will have a great potential of providing elder care. Mr. Tower rolling robot prototype is expected to someday be able to provide companion, aid, and perform some shores for older people.  Ms. Klinger states that by elders being connected to relatives and friends through Internet connected services it reduces their feeling of loneliness and counteracts their cognitive decline.  The examples provided in this article give us an idea of how technology is already aiding elders and how it will improve in the following decades [1].

[2] Artificial Intelligence

The article How to teach machines to see published in Kurzweil accelerating intelligence website is really interesting and is once again showing how fast artificial intelligence is evolving.  This article discusses how program SegNet developed by the University of Cambridge is learning to “see”.  As it explains this technology can determine the actual location of where the image was taken from.  This program is more accurate than actual GPS navigations systems in being able to determine a location and can even be used in locations where the GPS does not work.  This technology is a huge step in artificial intelligence because it allows machines to have “eyes” and have a sense of location by their own. This type of technology has a great potential in being used in a broad number of scenarios for example: In robotics allowing them to have eyes and be able to know exactly where they are located.  In the car industry can used for driverless cars and collision warning systems.  In the military can be used in drones and robots they use.  This program is a big step forward in being able to create humanized artificial intelligent robots who can think and act by them selves. These robots have the potential to be able to replace tasks that are either too dangerous or not desired by humans.  Additionally this kind of technology and robots can be used for the assistance of elders. 

[3] 3D Printing

The article Gravity-defying 3D printer to print bridge over water in Amsterdam by Michelle Starr published in CNET is quite revealing.  It talks about a multi-axis robotic 3D-printer developed by 3D-priting company based in Amsterdam.  This 3D-printer is able to create structure in the air and now the company wants to build a bridge over a body of water inside the city.  If this project is a success, it is a huge step for 3D-printers because it enables their use in civil infrastructure construction.  With this technology we are opening the doors of creating magnificent structures that previously would have being impossible or too costly to construct.  Furthermore, if this technology is actually used in construction it will minimize the demand for human labor and the time of construction.  Additionally, as seen in the past this technology will become more and more accessible to people.  Architects and engineers will be able to design, put it in the printer software and get their desired structures build in really fast.  It has to be mentioned that in the future, there will be further technological advances in 3D printers allowing them to be able to build anything with any material.

Future/Conclusion

            All these articles show the advances in Robotics, Artificial Intelligence, and 3D printing are amazing and they can only get better in the future.  If technological development keeps following this path, construction industry as well as other sectors will be significantly changed forever.  In construction with Artificial Intelligence, robots, and 3D Printers human labor will be significantly minimized.  As labor force is reduced and this technology becomes more accessible, construction will become cheaper and faster.  Unfortunately, if the minimization of labor force is not managed correctly by the government unemployment might become a major concern.  Governments must either divert this labor force in other directions or encourage and facilitate them to get University Education in order to get other jobs.

Responses

Alexis,

Your post went into a lot of detail and had many examples of how the industry of 3D Printing is already revolutionizing the industry in many areas.  In the beginning 3D printing was only limited to be able to produce small objects with certain materials.  Furthermore, before 3D printers could only be used for certain specific tasks for example: printing some small part for a disposable camera (we did this in Freshmen Design).  Now, 3D printing can be used in a various applications in many scales and can employ more materials.  Moreover, 3D printers are becoming more accessible for both industries and individuals to purchase them.  Yet 3D printers still need to be developed quite a lot and they have an immense potential in further revolutionizing many industries.  They have the potential to have ability of allowing us to be able to materialize anything or imagination designs.  As you said 3D printing is also becoming big in civil infrastructure construction.  It has a great potential of minimizing required labor force and time of construction.  Additionally, as this technology becomes more accessible it can lower the price of construction as well.  Do you think there are any down sides to the use of 3D printers in civil infrastructure construction?

William,

I think you made a really interesting point by mentioning how Artificial Intelligence can become dangerous in the future.  As you mentioned, Artificial intelligence will keep evolving up to the point were they are able to surpass human intelligence and as you mentioned this is really scary.  There are several Hollywood movies, which explore this possibility for example IRobot.  In this movie, Robots try to take over the world and slave humans.  Although this might seem as fiction for now, I think that it is quite possible if we do not control the evolution and development of Artificial Intelligence.  I think that Artificial intelligence can become really dangerous if it is not taken seriously.  Additionally, I will like to say that there is a negative side to employing both AI and 3D printing on construction.  As you mentioned, this technology will minimize the labor force required and the time of construction.  But, I think that we have to consider all the unemployment it might bring with it.  I think that this unemployment should be addressed properly by either redirecting the labor force to other fields of work, or allowing them to get University Education in order to access superior jobs. 

Faisal,

I completely agree with you that Artificial intelligence, Robotics, and 3D printing will bring the next Industrial Revolution.  When this technology was just emerging, it was really expensive and its applications were severely limited.  I am sure that this industrial revolution will happen really soon and as we have seen there has been significant advancement in these technologies.  As you mentioned, they have a significant potential to be applied in construction and other industries but there are some down sides with it.  For example, lets consider UPS.  We know that UPS employs a lot of workers to organize, transport, and distribute correspondence worldwide.  In the future, the labor work will be minimized if not eradicated because robots and machines will be in charged of these tasks.  Although this might be highly beneficial for companies and corporations they will have a negative effect on the workers.  What do you think will happen to all these people who loose their jobs? Do you think that these companies or the government will do something to help these people? For this reason, I think that the employment of these technologies should start to be regulated and controlled before is too late.    

References

[1] http://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/08/science/as-aging-population-grows-so-do-robotic-health-aides.html?partner=rss&emc=rss&_r=1

[2] http://www.kurzweilai.net/how-to-teach-machines-to-see

[3] http://www.cnet.com/news/gravity-defying-3d-printer-to-print-bridge-over-water-in-amsterdam/