THE EFFECTS OF TECHNOLOGY ON MANUAL JOBS – INTRODUCTION – Term Paper

Various industrial robots possess increased flexibility with regards to the orientation and positioning of an object that is being operated on or the overall tasks which are being performed. Often, the industrial robots utilize precise guidance; most entail machine vision systems related to the powerful controllers or computers. The artificial intelligence that is at times lined with science fiction has become an immensely significant factor in today’s world and it acts as an industrial robot that can be easily adapted to. Boekholt believes that by the year 2025 there will be forklifts which are fully guided and automated and they will represent 50 percent of the industrial sales (2000, 67). Therefore, an industrial robot could be defined as the automatically controlled, multipurpose programmable manipulator. In addition some of the applications it performs include welding, transportation, placing products, picking and assembly, palletizing and packaging, testing and product inspection. These robotic tasks are usually executed with high precision, speed and endurance.

Robots have significantly expanded in terms of magnitude all around the world but particularly in the developed countries. According to a study carried out by the Global Asset Management, the costs of the robots, as well as automation, have dwindled substantially. In the past, the robots were too expensive and this restricted the industries from using them hence the high-wage industries such as the auto industry were the only ones using them. Nonetheless, in the current years, the robots’ average costs have gone down; in some major industries in Asia, the cost of the robots, as well as the cost of low-wage labor, is almost similar. Therefore, the robots currently represent the viable alternative when compared to manual labor.

Robots can be identified as the most prominent of all modern technologies because they have emerged from factories and have gradually become more pervasive within the work environment, streets and homes. The advanced progress in machine learning assisted by enormous growth in the computer power is freeing robotics from the requirement of becoming comprehensively pre-programmed. This has allowed them to safely interact with people as well as take over more tasks. The expansion of innovation and technological change is increasing and this is majorly enhanced by the digital technology that has the ability to spread ideas at a faster rate. In the modern world, most robots are able to do complex functions. A previous study on robots revealed that companionable social robots would be developed in future and now there are robotic pets such as Paro, Pleo and Aibo.

Industrial robots are equal to the machine tools. Specifically, they are considered programmable manipulators that have movable tools or parts through the pre-specified motion sequences. Re-programmability means the actions of the robot could be modified through altering the control settings while leaving the hardware unchanged. The robots combine various attributes of the traditional machines and the machine operators. Just like the machine tool, a robot could repeat similar tasks over a long period of time while being significantly precise. Just like the machine operator, it has enough flexibility to perform new tasks; it could also utilize accessory tools so that is can extend its different physical capabilities.

Robots are usually highly valued within the industry because they are precise, reliable, predictable and can be used in the hostile environments. However, due to the modern limitations, current robots can be strategically employed in industrial environments that are highly structured. Some of the functions of the industrial robots include tasks that are repetitively programmable like spot welding, palletizing, spray painting as well as unloading and loading of several kinds of the metal cutting and metal forming machines. Furthermore, sensor-based robots are able to do a wider variety of tasks under the minimally structured conditions; additionally, they are cheaper and simpler to use. Robots also have improved feedback and vision that can inspect, assemble, electroplate, buff and grind as well as initialize heat treatment.

In the United States, industrial robots have undergone a population explosion; this means that their numbers have gone up by almost 80 percent by the year 1981. Nonetheless, it has been noted that the Japanese possess more experience when it comes to robotic applications and yet they were initially established in the U.S. The Japanese possess almost three times more industrial robots as compared to those that operate in the United States.

The industrial robots that are currently in existence are programmable and have multi-joined arms that have tool-holders or gripers at each end and they are able to move a workpiece or tool to pre-specified points and a specific part in the arms transmits and reaches precise energy flows to particular points. It should be noted that the modification in the production systems has resulted in the technological change. According to Bourlakis et al., production tools are a composition of things which are utilized by workers as well as the production process of labor (2011, 89). Afterwards, labor is influenced by the technological advancements directly. Hence, technological advancements could be considered as a procedure by which the economies modify in time due to products that they produce as well as a process that is used in their production.

Low-level technologies entail machine systems and since a machine comprises of the arranged combination of the resistant bodies, they can be triggered to perform tasks accompanied by particular determinate motions. Mechanization majorly took place during the industrialization period and this progressed to another level that is accompanied with information systems and computer developments. This has resulted in changes within the production and labor tools development. The aftermath of new technologies development in the production systems has changed the function of labor as well as the work structure. Even though the initial function of technology was not really significant, the impacts it has have significantly increased. Hence, to gain a better understanding of the work structure in an organization one has to examine the technological developments and the stages of a labor organization given the aftermath of the industrial revolution.

Many pieces of evidence have been given with regards to the main technological developments which have had more lasting effects, particularly on the society. One illustration is Spinning Mule; this as well as similar machines had the capability to produce high-quality fabrics at a faster rate and at a cheaper cost as compared to the spinning machines that were operated manually. This made the smaller business experience more difficulties when it came to selling their products. Afterwards, hunger and poverty triggered an uprising of weavers back in 1844. However, the assembly line introduction by Henry Ford presented a technology revolution but it had a surprising influence on the society even though the costs of production were lower. This gave them the chance to sell their cars at affordable prices. Currently, many more individuals can afford personal cars and at the same time, there was an increased demand which created millions of job opportunities.

According to the fearful manual workers, the robots are seen as job killers whereby they have assumed control of good jobs and yet most individuals are still seeking employment. Currently, the robots are seen in a negative light because they are blamed for the rising employment rates. Surprisingly, historical events show job shifts and not job elimination. Before the establishment of a rail system or highways, the United States needed barns, covered wagons and black smiths because they were important and they also provided employment to many individuals. Modern technologies have led to new job skills and requirements.