The idea of creating an artificial being, either in the form of a machine, an android or a simulator, has been with us since the beginning of our civilisation. Although the 20th century saw an enormous development of robotics technology, the first attempts at the creation of such machines took place as far as ancient times.
The main differentiator between people and robots is the lack of emotion, but what they lack in emotions, they make up for in their ability to continually carry out monotonous, repetitive work.
Apart from thoughts, books and ideas, one of the first milestones in robotics advancements was Leonardo da Vinci’s plan of mechanical men. Notebook workings containing mechanical designs were discovered nearly 500 years after its creation, in the 1960s’, and turned out to be a fully functional!
The postwar development of technology accelerated the progress in robotics too. Thanks to electronics, industrial and commercial robots began replacing human labour, first the manual, repetitive work and then advancing into more complex fields, and ultimately- artificial intelligence.
Robotics in the workplace is no longer a “next generation” idea! From mechanical arms assisting on assembly lines to full back office automation, robotics in the workplace continues to fuel intense debate. Some worry about job cuts, while others argue that robots are simply taking over less desirable tasks so humans can take on more rewarding ones!
Robots are clearly on the rise: not only in manufacturing and engineering industries but increasingly in everyday environments and domestic usage too. They can automate simple steps to remove monotonous admin for employees, which is appreciated on every level of operations, in all industries!
Large companies are increasingly investing in robotics, confident that their investment ultimately drives huge savings. This doesn’t mean a reduction of functionalities but rather the reduction of cost whilst functionality is sustained.
Driven by evolving security threats, there is a growing need to monitor everyday environments, which results in increased and difficult-to-manage workloads and data flows. To help meet this need, robots will play an even greater role in the maintenance, security and rescue market.
Whatever the argument, with the current pace of innovation, it’s clear we’re headed toward a more virtual workforce blending robots with humans. Robotic automation, along with business process digitisation techniques, will continue to drive not only the process improvement and cost savings but also achieve quality and productivity.
Unless businesses, service providers, and employees learn to embrace the robotics, they will risk being left behind. Some of the systems are built around archaic, hierarchical structures that simply aren’t responsive or efficient enough. Emerging technologies such as workforce optimisation solutions enable not only ongoing, continuous improvement opportunities for individuals within an organisation but also the organisation itself.
Corporate Modelling has a proven track record of working with some of the UK’s leading governmental and financial institutions to implement change, improve organisational performance and reduce company inefficiencies through their award-winning back-office workforce optimisation solution OPX. For more information about how Corporate Modelling could improve your processes, please contact a member of the team on 0141 945 2168 or simply drop us an email.