Ever wondered where the word ‘robot’ started? It was Czech writer Karel Čapek who first coined the term ‘Robot’ in his 1920 play R.U.R. about a dystopian future in which artificial, manufactured “roboti” act human-like and perform tasks in servitude to their human masters. It’s the story that started the classic robots-turn-against-humanity narrative that is as popular today as it was on its birth.
But today, we have what we call collaborative robots or simply ‘cobots.” Meant to operate in conjunction with, and in proximity, to humans to perform their tasks. Indeed, unlike their more isolated counterparts, cobots are intentionally built to physically interact with humans in a shared workspace and while this term may be new to you cobots aren’t new.
The idea of cobots arose when people started to realize the potential hazards of having humans and machine work together in such a proximity.
This is a great and innovative way towards mutual relationship that will benefit the advancement of both humans and machines.