Collaborative Robotics:
Social Impact of Robotics in the Workplace
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By Paul Golata, Mouser Electronics
Technology advancements for the daily workspace continue. Personal computers have remained a required tool for a
generation of workers, providing businesses with greater efficiency in satisfying customer demands. In the coming
generation, robots will move from impersonal objects performing production operations located on factory floors to
personal objects interacting with both workers and customers throughout the business environment.
My employer, Mouser Electronics, is a worldwide, leading, authorized distributor of semiconductors and electronic
components for over 700 industry-leading manufacturers. As a distributor, Mouser Electronics has a workforce and
warehouse that serve and work to provide inventory and ship products for design engineers and buyers. Warehouses
such as this are concerned with tasks that involve the assembly, loading, picking, shipping, and transferring of
parts.
It’s conceivable that in the future collaborative robots, operating with computer control and six-degrees of
freedom, will start to assist humans with many of these warehouse tasks. Robots can be guided to help assist with
receiving and shipping pallets of products. Parts can be loaded onto conveyor belts to arrive at sorting locations
where robots can use their robotic hands, guided by machine vision and tactile sensors, to deftly manipulate through
parts and properly sort products into specific bin categories for further stocking and shipping operations. Robots
may carry coordinated loads full of parts to predetermined locations for further dispersal to the stockrooms and
specific bin locations (Figure 1).
Figure 1: Robot controlled forklift trucks are the innovation of tomorrow's
workforce.
Collaborative robots will work jointly together with humanity on activities related to the delivery of goods and
services. Their impact on the workplace will far exceed the impact of personal computers in the workplace. This
article will examine and discuss what this transformational revolution will mean for the workforce of tomorrow.
Additionally, the social impact on workers and society will require them to adjust their creative talents to
position themselves to guide, direct, and control robots rather than merely be displaced. The seismic shift in our
work requires us to look at how society needs to prepare for a future that is always approaching and requires that
people maintain high degrees of adaptability, flexibility, and ingenuity.
Economics of Automation
The reason why collaborative robots are making inroads is a matter of the economics of automation. Automation means
that a process is self-moving, working by itself with little or no direct human control. Automation brings economic
advantages to the workplace by increasing productivity.
A key economic advantage is there is less human involvement, meaning that a cost expenditure—of human
labor—is reduced. Naturally, the reduction in human capital gets mitigated by increased expenditures for
automation equipment. In this case, collaborative robots.
A collaborative robot can successfully emulate a human operator’s physical skills, performing with higher
precision and reliability while doing it without fatigue—potentially 24/7. Presently, manual tasks such as
moving and stacking inventory may get performed through the assistance of collaborative robots. Humans often get a
bad back from such lifting or find this work more difficult as they age. Collaborative robots, with proper
maintenance, are extremely robust and dependable.
Besides being steady and reliable, automation reduces errors, providing further economic incentive. Collaborative
robots can perform their programmed tasks to their intended completion. If they run into issues, they can be
programmed to either solve the problem or move on to other programmed activities to maximize efficiency.
Collaborative robots bring humans and automation together into a working relationship. It demands that there is a
proper understanding of what should be automated and how much it will cost to realize this automation. Bringing
collaborative robots to the forefront will impact the workforce and the market for labor. How fast these systems
will become to reality is uncertain, but it is certain that they are coming. Collaborative robots will provide
opportunities for all companies, including Mouser Electronics, to provide better service and value to their
customers.
Automation Alongside Humans
Movies largely inform most people’s ideas of robots. The Star Wars series has positively positioned
collaborative robots in the minds of many. C-3PO with his ability to assist in language translation and
R2-D2’s astro-mechanical skills manifest something of what it may be like in the workplace of the future when
humanity works side-by-side with robots. Let’s examine a few details of how collaborative robots may enter the
workplace, where they might be employed, and what roles they might fulfill.
Automation will initially lend itself to certain tasks. Tasks that include data collecting, data processing,
decision making, and manual labor functions, which can be structured and programmed, will likely be the first
portions of the workforce to experience the impact of collaborative robotics. These activities account for a
significant portion of what employees currently perform in economically advanced locations. Because of the inherent
complexity of automating all tasks, initially, impacts will reside on those roles most easily automated: For
instance, your “Big Mac” hamburger is handed to you by a collaborative robot serving you at the counter.
Collaborative robots will help economies by providing more productivity. However, they will require human
assistance to adapt to what they do at work (Figure 2). McKinsey Global Institute (MGI) is a think-tank leader that
focuses on helping leaders in the commercial, public, and social sectors with the facts and insights on which to
base management and policy decisions. MGI estimates that in the next ten years, globally hundreds of millions of
jobs will require significant transitions due to the impact of technology.
Figure 2: Your new best friend at the office could be a robot.
The arrival advanced automation, artificial intelligence (AI), and collaborative robots, as previously mentioned,
will negatively impact those job functions that will be displaced through the takeover of these technologies. The
expectation is that jobs focusing more on physical aspects rather than mental aspects are the most vulnerable to an
automation takeover. It’s likely that those with lower education levels will experience the greatest impact.
Increasingly jobs will require minimal levels of education to be able to provide a sustainable differentiation
between human physical labor and that which can be automated. Advanced degrees in technology, automation, software,
and AI will provide job opportunities for people to employ their skills in this future environment.
Workforce Impacts
Market economics, through the supply and demand curve, suggest that a potential oversupply of people available for
these roles will result in lower real wages paid out. Considering incoming job displacements brought on by
technology’s fulfillment of job functions, it’s imperative to find ways for people to
“slide” over into new roles that add value to an enterprise. Correspondingly, the total wages for these
job categories and functions will lessen. Income differentials between jobs could grow as jobs dependent on physical
labor experience lower wages and those requiring mental ingenuity experience a rising wages. Wage stagnation is
present in many modern, advanced economies. Workers, desirous to earn a living and decent wage, may be subjected to
unpredictable changes in their income.
The future will rely on machines doing physical activities while future workers will focus on applying,
communicating, coordinating, and managing work processes. Higher-level intelligence skills such as emotional
intelligence and social intelligence will increasingly be required. The ability to combine creativity with ingenious
logical reasoning will be highly valued.
Skills needed for success in this transition will require retraining and increased flexibility. The potentially
fast pace of these implementations and changes mean that the workforce must be fluid in its ability to adjust to
changing situational dynamics and be ready to move in directions that offer high-value opportunities. Younger
workers may be more conditioned to handle these dynamics, which may result in potential employment issues for those
workers who have developed long-term, firmly entrenched, but less flexible and adaptive skills. Retraining and
reskilling (or uptraining) will be required to augment these workers skills.
Societal Impacts
The Internet, mobile phones, and social media are examples of technology that have become ubiquitous and an
integral component of society. The world we live in will become increasing digital and informational. Ensuring that
one is equipped to handle reality, in this manner, will be an essential tool for successfully earning a living.
The first thing to take note of is the need to be aware. Perception is required to be cognizant and open to
adaptation. The speed of these impending changes suggest that awareness start immediately and be increased in volume
and frequency so that society starts to take heed to what is happening. In the meantime, market forces will push us
strongly in this direction. Technology has always been applied to industry, but the future may be different than the
past. It seems that this time technology is bringing more than just extra “muscle”; it’s bringing
“the muscle and the brains.”
The current trajectory suggests that structured, unskilled, physical labor will be replaced in a manner analogous
to the telephone switchboard operator of yesteryear. While governmental educational programs aimed at schools and
universities may aid with societal adaptation, it is likely that most of this responsibility will fall on industry
itself. Governments will have to address how they intend to protect the most vulnerable people that may be left
behind in the wake of any negative economic shifts that lead to their displacement. Will governments provide
economic income protection and look for ways to create policies that support transitional workers?
In successfully engaging the future, enterprises will determine what the most valuable assets are that they will
need from employees as they acquire workers from the marketplace. Companies can exhibit leadership and commitment to
their employees by fostering internal programs to help people garner new skills that will ensure the company’s
competitive advantage. On-the-job retraining to augment a worker’s skills will yield a worker better suited in
the new reality. But will companies take the lead to do so? Instead, they may simply take an easier route, one that
avoids retraining, and re-gear for the future by new hiring. This will require businesses and society to work to
improve job mobility from one employer to another so that skills can flow where needed in the most efficient manner.
Future of Work
The future of work will be drastically different than the work of today. One of the most interesting ways it will
be different is that new agents will come into the workplace. Several generations ago a massive shift happened in
economies. The nature of work shifted from agricultural to business and moved people from rural areas to large
cities. Over the past several generations women have increasingly entered the workforce, working in every role and
aspect alongside men. However, the future anticipates even more massive shifts in the workplace, as people will be
working alongside robots—specially designed machines that have the power to act and fulfill suitable roles
complementary to their human counterparts.
The introduction of collaborative robots into the workplace accompanies many other changes that will coincide with
their development. For example, AI will increasingly be used to store, process, and analyze vast amounts of data.
Technology will extend workplace capabilities, increasing efficiencies and creativity. Because of its highly
intensive, cognitive workload, it will deliver active insights that promote progress. The impact of technology leads
many to contemplate what role humans will play in the future workforce as collaborative robots and technologies,
such as AI, replace their humans counterparts.
Conclusion
Times are changing, and one needs to be ready to roll with the changes. Collaborative robots are already arriving
on the scene and will soon be working with us as a norm day-in-and-day-out. They offer the opportunity to help make
our economy more productive. This recognition of reality demands that changes in technology bring with it the
requirement of human adjustment. Fortunately, despite our ongoing pursuit of security, safety, and comfort, we are,
as a species, excellent at adapting to change. Let’s welcome the assistance that technology and collaborative
robots promise, as we ultimately move together to make all workplaces safer and more productive.
Paul Golata joined Mouser Electronics in
2011. As a Senior Technical Content Specialist, Mr. Golata is accountable for contributing to the success in driving
the strategic leadership, tactical execution, and overall product line and marketing direction for advanced
technology related products. Mr. Golata provides design engineers with the newest and latest information delivered
through the creation of unique and valuable technical content that facilitates and enhances Mouser Electronics as
the preferred distributor of choice. Prior to Mouser Electronics, he served in various Manufacturing, Marketing, and
Sales related roles for Hughes Aircraft Company, Melles Griot, Piper Jaffray, Balzers Optics, JDSU, and Arrow
Electronics. Mr. Golata holds a BSEET from DeVry Institute of Technology Chicago, IL; an MBA from Pepperdine
University Malibu, CA; and a MDiv w/BL from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary Fort Worth, TX.
