So if I am to understand you right, Ann, it is the less developed countries that will suffer worker displacement more than developed countries? That is a shame, I guess, which also may send those workers over to the U.S. to work illegally and be exploited, as another commenter pointed out.
Good point, Ann. The French are within their rights to be that way about food, but there is no excuse for the service. Then again, I sometimes don't mind how I'm treated by the wait staff if the food is deiicious and I don't have to tip them. Put robots in a Michelin star restaurant and I think I would be fine! But service is so tied to the restaurant industry itself, especially in the U.S., which is why I think an idea like that--or robots in most restaurants in general except fast-food chains--wouldn't fly.
Actually, I said "not me"--call me crazy, but I like French waiters, snooty and all. I think the French have several things to be legitimately snooty about, and one of them is food. But bad service? That's something else.
I've always suspected that they think I'm not good enough to be walking into a French restaurant, Ann. A robot might not be friendlier, but at least it wouldn't assume I'm Homer Simpson.
The problem with a lot of job displacement discussions/analyses/studies is that they don't take into account the kind of new jobs created and the kind of old jobs that become no longer available to lesser-skilled people. The relationship between the skill level of the labor force and the kind of jobs available to it is not as balanced as many such studies would make one think. But that discussion takes a lot more than a few sentences.
Regarding robots, the Freedonia study I reported on here
bluntly and matter-of-factly stated that (I quote myself here): "Because of higher labor costs, robots are being used to replace human workers in existing applications in developed countries. But in developing countries, they're more often deployed to carry out difficult and dangerous tasks that people can't do." As one might imagine, this is not a popular sentiment in the robotics industry.
Interesting statistic, Chuck! Not sure if research into robot-human displacement has gotten far enough that we would know yet, but would be good to research that. I think it may be a bit of time before we see the full effect of robots in the workforce.
I agree with Chuck, Ann--another funny and French-related comment! I know exactly what you mean...and it's the same with some staff members here in Portugal when it comes to service oriented jobs. A friendly, attentive robot would be far better than someone who audibly sighs and rolls their eyes when you need service because it takes you away from whatever phone call they were on or magazine they were reading.
For 3D printing to make the jump from rapid prototyping to manufacturing, engineers will need to find easier ways to move products from their CAD screens to their printers.
Gigabit and PoE are two networking technologies moving ahead in tandem as industrial users power remote Ethernet devices such as IP security cameras at 1,000 Mbps over existing CAT5 cable.
New versions of BASF's Ecovio line are both compostable and designed for either injection molding or thermoforming. These combinations are becoming more common for the single-use bioplastics used in food service and food packaging applications, but are still not widely available.
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For industrial control applications, or even a simple assembly line, that machine can go almost 24/7 without a break. But what happens when the task is a little more complex? That’s where the “smart” machine would come in. The smart machine is one that has some simple (or complex in some cases) processing capability to be able to adapt to changing conditions. Such machines are suited for a host of applications, including automotive, aerospace, defense, medical, computers and electronics, telecommunications, consumer goods, and so on. This radio show will show what’s possible with smart machines, and what tradeoffs need to be made to implement such a solution.
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