DUBAI: Robots can act as an interface between a doctor and a patient wherein they can carry out diagnostic and treatment processes, reducing the human contact and risk of transmission of infection during the coronavirus pandemic, an expert in the field of Robotics has said. Bartlomiej Stanczyk, Robotics Engineer with ACCREA Engineering in Germany, was speaking during an e-discussion on the the topic- Using Artificial Intelligence to Tackle Epidemics: The COVID-19 Model. The event, organised by the Abu Dhabi-based TRENDS Research & Advisory, brought together leading experts from around the world who deliberated on the importance of artificial intelligence, machine learning, big data, and other technologies in the ongoing fight against the COVID-19 that has infected more than 3.8 million people and killed over 260,000 people across the world. Stanczyk said that robots could help doctors keep a safe distance from the patient by using probes and other remote medical equipment. "We aim to build a completely autonomous diagnostician through robotics, thus enabling the transfer of the skill from the human doctor on the machine carrying out the treatment," he said.

NEW DELHI: From diagnosing diseases to categorising huskies, Artificial Intelligence has countless uses but mistrust in the technology and its solutions will persist until people, the "end users", can fully understand all its processes, says a US-based Indian scientist. Overcoming the "lack of transparency" in the way AI processes information - popularly called the "black box problem" - is crucial for people to develop trust in the technology, said Sambit Bhattacharya who teaches Computer Science at the Fayetteville State University "Trust is a major issue with Artificial Intelligence because people are the end-users, and they can never have full trust in it if they do not know how AI processes information," Bhattacharya told . The computer scientist, whose work includes using machine learning (ML) and AI to process images, was a keynote speaker at the recent 4th International and 19th National Conference on Machines and Mechanisms (iNaCoMM 2019) at the Indian Institute of Technology in Mandi. To buttress his point that users don't always trust solutions provided by AI, Bhattacharya cited the instance of researchers at Mount Sinai Hospital in the US who applied ML to a large database of patient records containing information such as test results and doctor visits. The'Deep Patient' software they used had exceptional accuracy in predicting disease, discovering patterns hidden in the hospital data indicating when patients were on the way to different ailments, including cancer, according to a 2016 study published in the journal Nature.

Collaborative robots (cobots) have begun to make their mark on manufacturing floors, and now they have entered the retail domain. In a world-first, robotic retail technology pioneer Niska has brought to the Australian market an interactive retail experience that incorporates cutting edge robotics and artificial intelligence technology. The store opened in Melbourne today (17 September). The project, three years in the making, saw Niska collaborate with robotics companies ABB, KUKA and Soft Bank Robotics; engineering company Special Patterns; UNSW; and Phosphor. Consulting on the robotics technology was Greg Sale, director of consulting firm Manufacturing, Technology & Marketing.

The margins between artificial intelligence, smart materials, biology, and robotics are diminishing. From robots which can repair and monitor the natural environment to nanorobots to track and kill cancer. Future robotics will influence every part of our society or life, and this is how robotics will affect the human race in coming future. The progress in robotics industry is happening on all fronts, and Robotics-as-a-Service (RaaS) is going to accelerate innovation thus disrupting and changing the state of business operations in many sectors globally. Robotics-as-a-Service (RaaS) is a new functional tactic and business model where robots are offered as a service rather than as a product to supervise and control the most mundane, repetitive, manual or hazardous tasks in any organization across multiple locations.

By Tushar Kaushik IN YOUR CART AI-enabled shopping assistant Spod can suggest products based on customer's age, gender. At an office in HSR Layout, a boxshaped robot, mounted with a tablet, moves along the office floor while avoiding objects. As it detects a human face, it stops to greet and introduce itself: "Greetings, I'm Spod. I'm here to help you shop." Spod is an artificial intelligence-enabled robotic shopping assistant that visitors to supermarkets may well see in near future.

The idea of'Automata' originates from the mythologies of many cultures across the globe. Early inventors and engineers from ancient civilisation such as Greek, Chinese or Ptolemaic Egyptian attempted to develop a self-operating or automated machine resembling humans and animals. The term'Robot' comes from the Czech word "Robota" refers to "Forced Work or Labor" which was first used to refer the word'Artificial Automata' in a 1920 play R.U.R (Rossum's Universal Robots) by the Czech interwar writer'Karl Capek.' In 1928, one of the first'Humanoid Robots' invented by W.H.Richards, delivered a speech in the annual event of the'Model Engineers Society' in London. The brief history shows that'Robots' are not a new innovation but is a'Thinking Machine' which is programmed by a computer and is capable of doing complex series' of actions automatically.

The robotics industry is estimated to hit $135.4 billion in 2019 as per IDC. There was a time when a robotics revolution was considered mere science-fiction. The rise of robotics has been phenomenal in most disciplines. From building robotic arms for medical procedures to running autonomous self-driving vehicles, robotics is empowering all technological sectors. In October 2017, Sophia, a social human-like robot was offered citizenship of Saudi Arabia – the first robot to achieve this status.

A healthcare revolution is being predicted after the Edinburgh Centre for Robotics (ECR) received new funding. Researchers there are using artificial intelligence to create robots that will learn from their environment, each other - and us. The ECR is a joint initiative between Heriot-Watt University and the University of Edinburgh. Its new Robotarium will open later this year thanks to £8m of support from the UK's Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC). Now the EPSRC is giving almost £1m more to develop four new robots that will use Artificial Intelligence (AI) to transform healthcare and emergency response.

What better stock to review first for robots and AI month than one of the most familiar names in the space: iRobot (IRBT)? For one, as mentioned, the company is familiar. I would reckon that pretty much everyone reading this either has a Roomba, knows someone who has one, or at the very least knows what it is! Secondly, the company has an extremely easy-to-understand business model. And third, iRobot is very much a "pure play" on the robotics trend, in a space where a lot of the advancements are taking place within the "skunk works" divisions of larger, more diversified companies that make their money in other ways.

Hold onto your white collars, because the robotic revolution is going to cause the biggest transformation in the world's workforce since the industrial revolution, and are 7 jobs intelligent robots have firmly in their sight. While many of us are excited about the future and the conveniences intelligent algorithms and robots may provide in our lives, 80% of Americans believe their job will "probably" or "definitely" exist in its current form within the next 50 years even though in the same study 2/3 of Americans think robots will perform most of the work currently done by humans. Clearly, many of us are overly optimistic about our future selves and careers. And, be forewarned, the jobs predicted to be taken first aren't just entry-level service or manual labor jobs. And, the robotic revolution is happening now.