Topic 170

determining situations in which it is more appropriate to use a robot than a human being by Andrew Leung

There are many dangerous jobs in the world, and all should be done by robots to make sure that a person does not get hurt or even die from doing what they were taught to do. Jobs like building a sky scraper to going down in a sewer system to unclog a pipe are dangerous jobs that have cost many peoples lives these days. The more dangerous the job the more the need for robots there is and with out robots many people will die from working those jobs.

For plumbers or people who work in the sewers, they usually need to go inside the sewer and unclog a section of the sewer because it is clogged up. When a sewer system is unclogged, sometimes the sewer water floods the pipe drowning the plumber and ultimately killing him. With a robot repairing sewage pipes or unclogging them the robot will not drown, but just be soaked in icky disgusting water and have to be cleaned afterwards. The robot can be remotely controlled by a plumber and so the plumber will not be hurt or killed when they are working in the sewage pipe.

For iron workers, people have fallen off of accidentally been hit off the scaffolding of a sky scraper. This job accounts for 10 percent of the deaths of people in the USA. Though iron workers can be replaced by robots, it will undoubtedly slow the work down and therefore take a longer time to finish a building. Robots have the problem of balance, and precision movement along a beam as many iron workers must do to work on the beam. When a robot reaches the destination on a beam they are undoubtedly going to work slower than a human because the robots can only move so fast to apply bolts or drill holes through the beams. This is one job that robots could be bad for.

Truck driving jobs are also dangerous to people. Truck drivers are often in accidents and usually killed in the accident because of the speed at which a truck travels and the load it carries on its back. Robots could do well driving trucks on long journeys such as going through route 66. Truck drivers often doze off when driving the trucks because of the monotonous road ahead and end up trailing off to the side into another truck or tumbling off into the desert. Robots will not tire and will drive all the way with no problems. A truck driver could be present to take pit stops and release the pressure within tires and then get back on the road and just sleep all the way to the destination. Robots could be integrated into the car and programmed to drive long distances with out having to stop.

Guards also could be replaced by robots. Let’s say guards of a bank are present and there is a heist on the guard’s duty. Usually the guards are shot first and then the money is taken, but with robots as guards they could be shot and they will still stand to shoot the robbers and everyone will be fine. How a robot will be programmed to know a robber when there is one I do not know, but it would be a great invention and save many lives. The best I can think of is maybe a Robocop for a guard…