Future
Robots will increase economic growth and productivity and create new career opportunities for many people worldwide. However, there are still warnings out there about massive job losses, forecasting losses of 20 million manufacturing jobs by 2030, or how 30% of all jobs could be automated by 2030. By 2030, up to 20 million manufacturing jobs globally will be replaced by artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning and robots. This trend is likely to continue, as robots can perform tasks more efficiently and reliably than humans.
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History
The first industrial robots were developed by George Devol, American inventor, and founder of the first robotics company in history: Unimation. In 1954, what is considered the first industrial robot was developed in the USA: a hydraulic arm called Unimate, used to lift heavy loads, which was sold to General Motors. Academia also made much progress in the creation of new robots. In 1958 at the Stanford Research Institute, Charles Rosen led a research team developing a robot called "Shakey." Shakey was far more advanced than the original Unimate, designed for specialized, industrial applications. Shakey could wheel around the room, observe the scene with his television "eyes," move across unfamiliar surroundings, and to a certain degree, respond to his environment. He was given his name because of his wobbly and clattering movements.