Robots: Making Lives Better

Today as our world becomes more and more advance, we find ourselves being surrounded by technologies more than ever before. From the introduction of the world wide web, the first touchscreen mobile phone and now, the beginning of a new era, robotics. Many engineers are competing in creating the best but not least, the most life-like robotic to be introduce to the world. Although there are 7 billion and growing people roaming this planet yet, we are still lacking in human resources and labor. Thus, we are creating the birth of robotics in hopes to solve this matter.

Source: Sullivan Corporation

 The idea of robotics is an ingenious idea as they are capable of traveling where people cannot go (Bekey et al., 2008). Not only to the extent of which humans cannot reach but robotics can be helpful towards the simple human needs for instance, housecleaning, cooking or practically taking care of the household. The reason why we are considering about living with robots is because we are always on-the-go, busy and doing the laundry is merely the least of our concerns. According to the Business Insider Malaysia, they asked 9 successful people to share one thing they would buy that makes their lives easier or better, Tim Ferriss, an entrepreneur mentioned, he would buy housecleaning as he doesn’t have time to wash and fold his clothes (Torabi, 2015). In South Korea and Japan, they have long started when it comes to investing in robotics especially, personal and service robotics vehicles. They are currently in the works of creating eldercare robotics due to Japan and South Korea’s high aging population (Bekey et al., 2008).

The idea of robotics wouldn’t be realistic without having any loopholes to begin with. Many would argue that robots does not know how to ‘feel’ and it will be hard for it to connect with us. Safety is very important which means the significant challenges in human-robot interfaces need to be overcome by the industry (Bekey, 2008). Therefore, the research of human-robot interaction (HRI) is in the works. Not only that, us, humans are developing and learning each day, so for a robot to grasp on it would be difficult and it was need a lot of upgrading as well. However, Sony and Fujitsu may be changing that fact as they are creating systems from eye-hand coordination, well-developed visual perception to a fast, power-efficient and well-packaged torso and set of limbs (Hirukawa et al., 2004).

References

Bekey, G., Ambrose, R., Vijay, K., Lavery, D., Sanderson, A., Wilcox, B., Yuh, J., & Zheng, Y. (2008). Robotics: State Of The Art And Future Challenges. World Scientific & Imperial College Press,    London.

Torabi, F., 2015, 9 successdul people share the one thing they buy that makes their lives easier or better,  Business Insider Malaysia, viewed 4 May 2015, <http://www.businessinsider.my/successful-people-what-makes-my-life-easier-2015-3/#AT2UrGxHqduzTMMF.97>. 

The fold-able bike

Back in the days, getting transportation and finding parking slots was easy, so easy that you can still choose where to sit and park unlike in today’s world, if you are able to find a seat in a public transport and a parking slot, call it your lucky day. Over a period of time, the growth of number of vehicles found on the road has risen tremendously and it is still growing! Based on the list of countries by the number of road motor vehicles per 1000 inhabitants in 2010, Malaysia is ranked number 47 out of 192 with 361 vehicle for every thousand citizens (World Bank, 2011).

Not only that, it has become common for people to be late for an occasion due traffic and lack of parking spaces. No matter what time of the day it is, finding parking is still difficult. Based on my experience, even if let’s say my classes does not start till 12.30pm, I still have to leave my house by 10am just so I can get a slot and there are days where I do not even want to drive around because all I can think is “it is impossible to find parking now”, “where shall I park” “which highway should I use to avoid traffic?” and so on.

Therefore, it is time to introduce the Urb-E bike. 

This is the latest invention by Urban Mobility. This is a fold-able bike that consist of a seat, two freely rolling wheels about 15 centimeters in diameter, handle bars, 20 to 25 centimeters front drive wheel with an electric hub motor and a folding triangular frame holding the batteries. The Urb-E has a 20 mile range just from a single charge and it can go up to a speed of 15 mph. This amazing invention can be folded to the size of a carry on luggage and you can bring it everywhere with you for instance, having it placed next to you in class or work without having to worry about it getting stolen. Moreover, it has a smart phone holder that works for both IOS and Andriod devices. With this, it enables you to charge your devices while riding.

source: IndieGoGo

Source: IndieGoGo

Source: IndieGoGo

With the introduction of the Urb-E bike, this will make a difference in our society. Since it is fold-able and portable, individuals now, do not have to worry about looking for parking slots. Not only that, more and more people be more on time. This invention not only will help many struggling individuals but this will also help the environment as well since it does not run on any sort of fuel by instead, lithium ion batteries. 

Source: IndieGoGo

Unfortunately, this invention cost about $700 USD and if you’re planning on investing this one of a kind creation to travel everywhere, think again. This is because it only travels to a maximum of 15 mph. I believed that if this bike cost way lesser and can travel at least more than 50 mph, this will bike might just be the answer to most if not, everyone’s struggles of finding transportation and parking spaces. "Felt like the kind of vehicle an enlightened citizen of 2030 would own. It’s fast, maneuverable, and lightweight. With a 20-mile range on a full battery charge, it could work well for most city dwellers’ daily commutes" (The Verge). 

For more information about the Urb-E bikes, visit IndieGoGo.com to learn more.

The Hive

This blog is dedicated to all the working bees out there who we believe need technologies to make daily lives easier not necessarily faster. People are always on the go, major parts of the world are always out and about, just like bees. You see, every worker bee is important to the hive, every hive is important to nature, nature is important to us humans, like oxygen. We just can't live without bees. Without these mother nature's little helpers working their hardest everyday, we won't exist for long. With that in mind, think of the working bees who clock in and out everyday daily to fulfill their jobs and tasks because it may seem like it is small and unimportant to some but what they are doing makes a whole lot of difference to their company or their "hive" as well as the society. Same goes to bees, they are small but they do a whole lot without us realizing it.