The Evolution of Robotics and Prospects for Maximizing Adoption, With Rian Whitton

The first industrial robots appeared in the early 1960s and were initially optimized for production lines. These days, innovation in robotics is progressing rapidly as sophisticated localization and mapping enables improved robotic mobility, and as new levels of flexible manipulation allow robots to perform more specialized tasks. Rob and Jackie sat down recently with Rian Whitton, a strategic technologies analyst at ABI Research, to discuss the evolution of robotics and the prospects for accelerating productivity gains. 

Related:

• Robert D. Atkinson, “In Defense of Robots,” National Review, April 2017.
• Robert D. Atkinson, “Robotics and the Future of Production and Work” (ITIF, October 2019).
• Robert D. Atkinson, “The Case Against Taxing Robots” (ITIF, April 2019).