Dexterity holding back rise of the robots ... for now

Woodside Petroleum's chief technology officer believes robots with comparable human dexterity skills are still five to 10 years away. Shaun Gregory told the Resources Technology Showcase that the limited dexterity offered by current robotics technologies suggested there was little immediate danger of humans losing physical skills. "We may lose those physical skills (but) when you look at the robots we are using, certainly not in the very near term," Mr Gregory said. While existing robots had a clasp that enabled them to perform some simple tasks, it was "nowhere near as dexterous as a human hand". Woodside has embraced robotics, advanced sensor design and deployment, artificial intelligence, data science and visualisation, even collaborating with NASA, as a means of reducing costs and improving the efficiency and safety of its oil and gas operations.