Artificial Intelligence (AI) has become an integral part of our daily lives, influencing everything from how we interact with technology to how businesses operate. But where did it all begin? Let’s take a journey through the early days of AI, exploring the key milestones that have shaped this fascinating field.
Today, AI is a rapidly evolving field with applications in various domains, including healthcare, finance, transportation, and entertainment. From virtual assistants like me, Microsoft Copilot, to autonomous vehicles and systems, AI continues to transform our world in profound ways.
A Copilot self generated image when queried “Show me what you look like”. CP
Conclusion
The journey of AI from its early conceptual stages to its current state is a testament to human ingenuity and perseverance. While the field has faced numerous challenges and setbacks, the progress made over the past few decades has been remarkable. As we look to the future, the potential for AI to further revolutionize our lives remains immense.
This Article is 95.6% Made by Human / 4.4% by Artificial Intelligence
One of the most concerning uncertainties surrounding the emergence of artificial intelligence is the impact on human jobs.
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Let us start with a specific example – the customer support specialist. This is a human-facing role. The primary objective of a Customer Support Specialist is to ensure customer satisfaction.
The Gradual Extinction of Customer Support Roles
Within the past decade or so, several milestone transformations have influenced the decline of customer support specialists. Automated responses for customer support telephone lines. Globalization. And chat-bots.
Chat-bots evolved with the human input of information to service clients. SaaS-based products soon engineered fancy pop-ups for everyone. Just look at Uber if you want a solid case-study – getting through to a person is like trying to contact the King of Thailand.
The introduction of new artificial intelligence for customer support solutions will make chat-bots look like an AM/FM frequency radio at the antique market.
The Raging Battle: A Salute to Those on the Front Lines
There are a handful of professions waging a battle against the ominous presence of artificial intelligence. This is a new frontier – not only for technology, but for legal precedent and our appetite for consumption.
OpenAI is serving our appetite in two fundamental ways: text-based content (i.e. ChatGPT) and visual-based content (i.e. DALL·E). How we consume this content boils down to our own taste-buds, perceptions and individual needs. It is all very human-driven, and it is our degrees of palpable fulfillment that will ultimately dictate how far this penetrates the fate of other professions.
Sarah Silverman, writer, comedian and actress sued the ChatGPT developer OpenAI and Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta for copyright infringement.
We need a way to leave a human mark. Literally, a Made by Human insignia that traces origins of our labor, like certifying products as “organic”.
If we’re building the weapon that threatens our very livelihood, we can engineer the solution that safeguards it.
The Ouroboros Effect
If we seek retribution for labor and the preservation of human work, we need to remain ahead of innovation. There are several action-items that may safeguard human interests:
Consolidation of Interest. Concentration of efforts within formal structures or establish new ones tailored to this subject;
Litigation. Swift legal action based on existing laws to remedy breaches and establish legal precedents for future litigation;
Technological Innovation. Cutting-edge technology that: (a) engineers firewalls for preventing AI scraping technologies; (b) analyzes human work products; and (c) permits tracking of intellectual property.
Regulatory Oversight. Formation of a robust framework for monitoring, enforcing and balancing critical issues arising from artificial intelligence. United Nations, but without the thick, glacial layers of bureaucracy.
These front-line professionals are just the first wave – yet if this front falls, it will be a fatal blow to intellectual property rights. We will have denied ourselves the ideological shields and weapons needed to preserve and protect origins of human creativity.
At present, the influence of artificial intelligence on labor markets is in our own hands. If you think this is circular reasoning, like some ouroboros, you would be correct. The very nature of artificial intelligence relies on humans.
Ouroboros expresses the unity of all things, material and spiritual, which never disappear but perpetually change form in an eternal cycle of destruction and re-creation.
Equitable Remuneration
Human productivity will continue to blend with artificial intelligence. We need to account for what is of human origin versus what has been interwoven with artificial intelligence. Like royalties for streaming music, with the notes of your original melody plucked-out. Even if it’s mashed-up, Mixed by Berry and sold overseas.
These are complex quantum-powered algorithms. The technology exists. It is along the same lines of code that is empowering artificial intelligence. Consider a brief example:
A 16-year old boy named Olu decides to write a book about growing-up in a war torn nation.
✅Congratulations on your work, Olu!
47.893% Human / 52.107% Artificial
Meanwhile, back in London, a 57-year old historian named Elizabeth receives an email:
✅Congratulations Elizabeth, your work has been recycled!
34.546% of your writing on the civil war torn nation has been used in an upcoming book publication. Click here to learn more.
We need a framework that preserves and protects sweat-of-the-brow labor.
As those on the front-line know: Progress begets progress while flying under the banner of innovation. If we’re going to spill blood to save our income streams – from content writers and hand models to lawyers and software engineers – the fruit of our labor cannot be genetically modified without equitable remuneration.
“Digital Domestic Dialogues” stages a near future in which technology has acquired an emotional and sensitive intelligence: it is capable of exciting itself and others through everyday gestures as an analog and primordial archive of human communication, culture and social dynamics.
Robots and users interact with a range of seemingly familiar objects through simple and natural gestures, triggering scenarios of everyday wonder. The collection, born out of a design exploration within the Habits Design Studio team, is a reflection on the poetic role of technology in the digital evolution of the domestic scenario. Technical Partners: Laminam, Giovanardi
COSMO
“Cosmo” is a lamp born from the desire to infuse new life into the act of lighting; the idea is to return to the primordial concept of fire, which through propagating from one body to another expands the quantity and at the same time transfers the luminous qualities of the flame.
“Cosmo” is able to learn the characteristics of the light source placed below it, detecting its intensity, color, movement, returning the effect to the environment and creating dynamic light scenarios.
The user is called upon to create the desired atmosphere himself by experimenting with direct sources, such as a candle flame or telephone flashlight; or by showing the lamp a video of a sunset, or another special moment he can evoke a light scenario. Turning it on thus becomes once again an exciting moment of awe and wonder.
The design of the lamp draws inspiration from scientific representations of black holes, the only phenomenon found in nature able to absorb light radiation. The captured light, is then returned to the environment dynamically and three-dimensionally by the spherical diffuser, allowing the creation of a 360° light scene, similar to HDRI images used in digital rendering software.
“Cosmo” redefines the boundaries of properties normally attributed to lighting fixtures with its ability to learn, imitate and stage emotions through light. Project by Selma Antonellini, Habits Design
RITO
The coat rack, a familiar but often overlooked object, is the subject of this project, which offers a contemporary reinterpretation of it with the product “Rito”; no longer just a support point, but an active companion that enriches the daily routine and transforms the experience of entering the home.
Thanks to artificial intelligence, “Rito”reacts to the presence of inhabitants, and recognizes when clothes and objects are hung or removed, interpreting the situation and animating the entrance area with dynamic projections on the wall.
The name “Rito” stems from a reflection on the fact that moments of entry and return home, though fleeting and temporary, are precious fragments of our lives, each with its own unique meaning and value. While some may be more ordinary and repetitive, such as returning after a day’s work or a morning walk with the dog, others can be more special and emotional, like returning after a long journey.
Regardless of the nature of the return, “Rito” aims to transform every entry and departure from home into a moment of warmth and hospitality. Its projections bring the wall to life, animating it with contextual content.
Before leaving the dwelling, “Rito” transforms the wall into a dynamic and inspiring space, offering motivational content, helpful tips, and personalized reminders. Upon return, it welcomes with tailor-made evocative scenarios, reigniting the surrounding environment and making the return even more pleasant and familiar. Project by Ilaria Tarozzi and Ilaria Vitali, Habits Design
VISIONARIA
VISIONARIA is a digital device that combines literary tradition with artificial intelligence, offering an innovative reading experience. Digital integration enhances the potential of printed material and opens up new imaginative horizons, transforming reading into a visual and artistic experience.
By swiping across the lines of a page in a book, similarly to how we would underline a beloved or noteworthy phrase, VISIONARIA recognizes the text. The selected phrase is then instantly input as a prompt into a dedicated AI generator, aiming to create an image of the book scene that can be viewed in real-time.
This mode of consumption, aided by the product’s pencil-like shape, introduces a new dimension to the reading experience, encouraging increased engagement that can be intimate and profound or shared on larger devices such as smartphones, TVs, and more, ensuring flexibility depending on the context – be it at home for relaxation and entertainment, in education, enhancing the consumption of educational content, or in public settings, stimulating imagination in artistic installations.
With VISIONARIA, literature evolves and broadens the spectrum of an age-old activity through an extremely accessible mode, towards unexplored scenarios in the world of culture and entertainment. Project by Alberto Milano, Michele Poggi, Marco Rissetto, Habits Design
1g1lm
1g1lm represents the unusual marriage of two seemingly incompatible units of measurement: “g” for weight in grams and “lm” for luminous flux in lumens. This lamp was born from a simple but fascinating question, “What would be the effect if light had a tangible weight?”
To visualize the weight, the lamp uses an elastic fabric on top. By placing an object on top of it, the fabric deforms, generating a unique and unrepeatable aesthetic because it is shaped directly by the weight, not predetermined by the designer. In addition, as the deformation increases, so does the intensity of light. Due to the light diffusion of the fabric, the light seems to take shape and weight. In the act of placing and taking objects, an impossible interaction with the very essence of light is realized, made solid and tangible for a moment.
1g1lm writes a new equation between light and matter, giving birth to a new ritual rich in poetry and at the same time exploring new alternative scenarios: proposing, in contrast to the digitization of the real, to make, through technology, concrete experiences that were once ephemeral and intangible.
Habits Design
Habits is a multidisciplinary industrial design studio, founded in 2004 by Innocenzo Rifino and Diego Rossi in Milan. The work of the studio is focused on technological and interactive projects of international relevance, partnering with companies to design timeless products and experiences.
The team is composed of industrial designers, electronic and mechanical engineers, model makers, interaction and visual designers, and interior designers with a global point of view. Recognizing the unique Asian technological know-how, Habits started a branch in Bangkok in 2021.With over 20 years of experience in a wide range of industries, today Habits mainly covers digital products, home appliances, automation, lighting, UX/UI, and phygital interfaces.
The team awarded more than 180 international design prizes such as Red Dot, IF, Compasso d’Oro, Design Plus, Good Design, and German Design Award. “We study science and art. We design new habits. Prototyping our ideas, embedding electronics, we reduce the gap between physical and digital.”
Laminam
Pioneers since the beginning.
Laminam was born in the early 2000s, following the invention of production technologies to create ultra- thin ceramic surfaces of large dimensions. A pioneering company, it was the first to revolutionize the ceramics market, giving new impetus to a mature sector, betting on the intuition of creating large architectural surfaces and launching innovative sizes and thicknesses on the market. Over the years, the company has developed a production process characterized by innovative methods and highly automated technologies typical of Industry 4.0 such as digital decoration systems, dry cutting systems and internal logistics managed by automatic laser-guided vehicles. These are methods and technologies that increase energy efficiency while reducing environmental impact.
Today Laminam produces and offers a range of eclectic and versatile large ceramic surfaces used in many applications – from traditional and advanced architecture to furniture and design – distributed in over 100 countries worldwide. Over the years, the series have been enriched with new textures and finishes to enhance the creativity of designers, architects and anyone who wants to give a new connotation to their spaces.
Giovanardi
Giovanardi designs, industrializes and manufactures supports for in-store communication (displays, merchandising, shop windows, shop in shop, technical packaging) and for art.
Giovanardi’s history began in 1919 as a manufacturer of plaques and dials: today Giovanardi SpA is an advanced, certified company, structured to process projects of increasing complexity, according to up-to-date technologies, with a network of accredited partners and an attentive, flexible, punctual client-service. For 100 years it has been shaping ideas.For the Silo, Elena Assante.
According to a study carried out by America’s Bureau of Labor Statistics in January this year, the restaurant labor force in that country is still over 450,000 jobs below pre-pandemic levels — marking the largest employment deficit among all U.S. industries. Although figures are not currently available for Canada, the situation is the same.
In November 2022, the USA National Restaurant Association found that 63% of full-service restaurants and 61% of limited-service places are operating with fewer employees than needed to accommodate guests.
At the beginning of February this year, The Washington Post reported that although many industries have recovered since the start of the pandemic, in the USA (similar trends in Canada) 2 million hospitality and leisure jobs still remain open.
“Hospitality is still stuck in the dark ages. High-friction ordering, slow and clunky payments, and labor challenges lead to low profitability and a poor customer experience,” notes Brian Duncan, President of me&u USA, a global leader in at-table ordering specializing in restaurants and bars.
The labor shortage has led chefs and restaurateurs to reduce their workweeks, while some restaurant owners have had to increase the wages of their staff by as much as 20% in addition to closing earlier on weeknights. Others have even had to change their business practices to attract new employees.
Technology can bridge the customer service gap when there are fewer employees available. Customers prefer to use self-service kiosks or access the menu by scanning QR codes because they can take additional time to read the menu, find new things to try, and customize their orders exactly to their preferences.
Such technology means shorter waits at the counter, faster table turnover, and more accurate orders because the information is transmitted directly from the customer to the kitchen. Also, Pay-at-the-Table Technology cuts out the back-and-forth trips from the POS terminal to the table to process payments shaving several minutes off each table turn.
“Manual orders are typically expensive, slow, and inefficient. Smart technology reduces labor costs, takes the load off servers, increases spending per order, and elevates the customer experience,” concludes Duncan.
What factors are impacting the restaurant and hospitality industries in the U.S and Canada.?
How can technological innovations help restaurants operate with limited staff and still increase revenue?
How can self-service ordering and streamlined payment tools enhance customer experience?
LOS ANGELES—Automation is no longer an option, automation is the key to surviving the Great Reset.
In 2021, more than 47 million American workers resigned, an annual record. In Canada numbers are harder to determine since accurate resignation numbers are not readily available. However, Statistics Canada has published the results of a survey pitched towards Canadian workers.
With no sense of the number of people surveyed and the accuracy of the data gathering the results should perhaps be best taken at face value: “In January, respondents were asked whether they were planning to leave their current job, and whether quality of employment considerations were among the reasons for doing so. Fewer than 1 in 10 Canadian workers aged 15 to 69 (7.3%) were planning to leave their current job within the next 12 months, compared with 16.1% in 2016, when respondents to the General Social Survey were asked the same question (not seasonally adjusted). When January 2022 LFS respondents were asked to report their main reason for planning to leave their job, preliminary results show that at least 1 in 5 of those planning to leave (22.2%) reported reasons related to quality of employment, including low pay (15.7%), heavy workload (4.3%) and inability to do their current job from home (2.2%). The trend is continuing. Surveys and data show that 6 in 10 young professionals have changed jobs or plan to and that 4.5 million workers quit their jobs in March.”
Businesses face continuously evolving markets and societal pressures that are transforming the way employees and employers put in exchange with each other to provide value to consumers and clients.
Staffing agencies especially have been under pressure during the pandemic and navigating the Great Reset.
Bilflo automates back-office tasks and helps staffing manage hundreds of contractors and direct hires on a single, simple platform. This allows organizations to conserve time and labor while expanding business operations and profits. The ability to pull in live performance metrics makes it easy for businesses and teams to track their progress on goals.
“The pandemic was a catalyst for development and expansion, springing from a strong foundation. We spent the past decade developing Bilflo to provide value to clients, especially during a turbulent time,” said Bilflo CEO Barrett Kuethen. “Bilflo was built by staffing industry experts to specifically serve the industry and address the unique operational pains to bridge process gaps.”
As of 2022, Bilflo has an extensive integration roadmap that has started with ATS platforms: Bullhorn and Jobadder along with accounting systems like Quickbooks. The company is expanding with key offerings such as Importing External Time, which will support staffing companies by eliminating redundancy and manual errors from VMS tools and other client time portals. Bilfo’s developers and leadership update the platform responsively to customers to provide optimized results.
Bilflo is outcome-driven and their case studies with leading companies bring to life their platform and services. Amtec, a 60-year-old staffing company which employs over 1,000 contractors every year, provides talent to industries like health care, IT, aerospace and more. After adopting Bilflo the company reduced back-office labor by 75 percent, doubled capacity and achieved 49 percent annual cost savings. Extension, a 20-year-old full recruitment and staffing company handles up to hundreds of employees per week, and similarly achieved success through Bilflo, saving more than $20,000 usd a year and eliminating 16 hours a week in manual workload.
Bilflo founders held a webinar, in association with Staffing Industry Analysts (SIA), to discuss why and how to automate staffing companies’ back-office processes. Bilflo has already seen success after emerging in the market early this year and has received 3rd party validation from industry leaders like G2.com. Bilflo received recognition as a high performer for 2022 including generally, and for small business, mid-market, “easiest to use,” “easiest to do business with” and for “best support.” G2 features Bilflo reviews and case studies here on back office management, and tech stacks.
Bilflo’s APIs (application program interface) communicate with organizations’ ATS to retrieve information. This eliminates the need for someone to spend hours manually entering data.
Bilflo makes it so that companies can store contract job information such as rates, burdens, timecard types, overtime rules, job site addresses, workers’ comp codes and rates, and more.
In the era of remote work and asynchronous collaboration, companies need systems in place to handle timecard and expense management.
Compliance is more difficult to manage than ever. Bilflo solves these problems by calculating overtime in all states and provinces. Payroll integration and automated invoicing rapidly handle complex payment terms, billing addresses, line item information, and real-time reports.
Thanks to the digital technology, we can carry out commercial transactions online. We can buy and sell items or services, pay bills, make orders, and so much more.
Online enterprises are heavily relying on this commodity. This is why we have numerous online businesses nowadays.
The infographic below from Subscriptionly will inform you about the current and future tech trends that will influence the ecommerce sector. Some of the main trends are as follows.
Personalized Experience
Technology has enabled online businesses to give their customers personalized shopping experiences. For e-shoppers, this has engendered an engaging and satisfying shopping experience.
Businesses recorded an increase in revenue by employing this concept, since 48% of customers spend more when their experience is personalized.
Automated Customer Service
AI has transformed the way customer queries and complaints are attended to. Consumers now have their issues promptly resolved. It was reported that, this year, AI handled 45% of customer queries on its own. And it does this swiftly and effectively, which is definitely a factor that makes customer support a positive experience.
Excellent customer service is essential to building customer loyalty. In fact, 42% of customers buy more when they are served properly.
It is projected that, by 2020, AI will handle 85% of customer interactions.
Cryptocurrency
Soon, commercial transactions will be carried out with cryptocurrency. Via the use of cryptocurrency (such as Bitcoin), customers will get to make secure payments quickly and conveniently.
Also, businesses that add cryptocurrency as a payment method will make better sales. One retail outfit did and in 5 months, it generated $2million alternative currency sales and a 60% boost in new customers.
Drone Delivery
In the nearest future, e-shoppers will possibly have their purchased items delivered the same day. When this become reality, customers will be happier and businesses will undergo a rise in brand awareness and sales. The 72% of shoppers stated they would shop and spend more if same day delivery was available.
A method that is being considered to initiate same day delivery is the drone delivery. DHL tried it and recorded a 70% improvement in first-attempt deliveries, and a 90% success in resolution of customers’ critical cases. When popularized, 40% of parcels will be drone-delivered in 2 hours by 2028. For the Silo, Josh Wardini.
A recent OECD report finds that low and middle income earners have seen their wages stagnate and that the income share of middle-skilled jobs has fallen. Rising inequality has led to concerns that top earners are getting a disproportionate share of the gains from global “openness and interconnection”. During a Summer 2017 meeting of OECD, employment outlook revealed that job polarization has been “driven by pervasive and skill-biased technological changes.
Founded in 1945, the United States Council for International Business (USCIB) builds awareness among business executives, educators and policy makers around issues related to employment, workforce training and skills enhancement. CMRubinWorld spoke with USCIB President and CEO Peter M. Robinson, who serves as a co-chair of the B20 Employment and Education Task Force, through which he helped develop recommendations to the G20 leaders on training for the jobs of the future. Robinson also serves on the board of the International Organization of Employers, which represents the views of the business community in the International Labor Organization.
“I think the guiding principle for government should be to protect and enable/retrain the worker, not protect the job. Policy makers and educators should focus on making sure that workers are as equipped as possible to transition to new opportunities” Peter Robinson.
Peter, welcome. How severe do you believe jobsolescence will be over the next 20 years? How big will the challenge be to offset it and maintain a growing workforce?
I really don’t think the overall effect will be as dramatic as some people fear, at least for the medium-term as far as we can tell. There is an over-hype factor at play, but the consequences still deserve serious attention. For one thing, so many of the jobs in the United States, Canada and other advanced economies are in the service sector, and involve interacting with other people. Despite all the advances in AI, we are still a long way off from robotic nurses or home health aides. Overall, history tells us that at least as many new jobs are created as are displaced by technological innovation, even though transitions can be difficult in some sectors and localities, and as long as upskilling takes place.
“The biggest threat is that our educational institutions won’t be able to keep pace with new skills demands.” — Peter Robinson
What do you think are the biggest obstacles facing college grads today trying to enter the workforce?
I actually think the greatest obstacles are faced by those who don’t make it to university or some form of higher education beyond high school (a four-year degree is not the right path for everyone). A 2014 Pew survey found that among workers age 25 to 32, median annual earnings of those with a college degree were $17,500 greater than for those with high school diplomas only. Obviously, everyone at whatever educational level needs to keep their skills sharp, and governments should join with employers and educators to instill better life-long learning. But there are far fewer established paths toward long-term employment at a middle-class level of income for those who don’t graduate from college. A greater emphasis on vocational education and apprenticeships would help. We strongly support the work being done by United States Secretary of Labor Acosta to promote apprenticeships.
Given that machines are in the process of stripping white collar workers from their jobs, what kind of skills are key manufacturing and service industries going to need from new employees?
I think the premise of your question is overstated. We’re all being told that our jobs are doomed by robots and automation. But the OECD estimates that only nine percent of jobs across the 35 OECD nations are at high risk of being automated, although of course even 9% can be generative of social difficulties. But there is an established track record across history of new technologies creating at least as many new jobs as they displace. Usually these new jobs demand higher skills and provide higher pay. The biggest threat is that our educational institutions won’t be able to keep pace with new skills demands.
“It is becoming clear that Versatility matters, in a constantly changing world, so Jim Spohrer’s IBM model of a “T-shaped” person holds true: broad and deep individuals capable of adapting and going where the demand lies.” — Peter Robinson
In an economy with a significant on-demand labor force, what competencies will these workers need to compete?
There are two types of competencies that will be needed: “technical” – or in other words, related to deep knowledge of a specific domain, whether welding or optogenetics; and “transversal,” which applies to all occupations. Those are described by the Center for Curriculum Redesign as skills (creativity, critical thinking, communication, collaboration), character (mindfulness, curiosity, courage, resilience, ethics, leadership) and meta-learning (growth mindset, metacognition).
How will managerial skill requirements change as a result of major structural changes that are likely, including human replacement by machines and growth of the on-demand economy?
OECD’s BIAC surveys of 50 employer organizations worldwide has shown that employers value not just Skills as described above, but also Character qualities as well. Further, it is becoming clear that Versatility matters, in a constantly changing world, so Jim Spohrer’s IBM model of a “T-shaped” person holds true: broad and deep individuals capable of adapting and going where the demand lies.
“We often hear about the need for more STEM education. But I think there is an equal need for a greater emphasis on the humanities and the arts, for their intrinsic value as well as for developing skills and character qualities.” — Peter Robinson
What central changes in school curricula do you envision, both at the secondary school and college levels?
We often hear about the need for more STEM education. But I think there is an equal need for a greater emphasis on the humanities and the arts for their intrinsic value as well as for developing skills and character qualities as described above. As David Barnes of IBM wrote recently, these skills are more durable and are also a very good indicator of long-term success in employment.
How can the evolving changes in competencies required for employment be effectively translated into school curricula? Where are the main opportunities to enable this? e.g. Assessment systems? Business/Education collaboration? Curriculum change?
I’d go back to something else David Barnes said: We need much stronger connections between education and the job market, in the form of more partnerships among employers, governments and education institutions. Everyone needs to step up and create true partnerships. No one sector of society can address this alone. OECD’s BIAC has also documented employers’ wishes for deep curricular reforms to modernize content and embed competencies in order to meet today’s market needs.
What role should government play in ensuring citizens receive a quality and relevant education given the challenges that lie ahead?
I think the guiding principle for government should be to protect and enable/retrain the worker, not protect the job. Policy makers and educators should focus on making sure that workers are as equipped as possible to transition to new opportunities as these develop, and on ensuring that businesses have the freedom to pivot and adopt new technologies and business processes.
For the Silo, C.M. Rubin. C. M. Rubin is the author of two widely read online series for which she received a 2011 Upton Sinclair award, “The Global Search for Education” and “How Will We Read?” She is also the author of three bestselling books, including The Real Alice in Wonderland, is the publisher of CMRubinWorld and is a Disruptor Foundation Fellow.
In a future where all flora is extinct on Earth, an astronaut (Bruce Dern) is given orders to destroy the last of Earth’s plant life being kept in a greenhouse on board a spacecraft. His robotic farmer friends Huey, Dewey, and Louie factor heavily into the storyline.
(Originally published in print and online April5, 2012) Will the new Robot Farmers being launched this July, at the 2nd annual Canada’s Fruit & Veg Tech X-Change, become the future of farming? That question may be answered during planned robotic demonstrations.
Iowa based engineer, David Dorhout believes the Robotic Farmers he invented can help the modern farmer more efficiently produce food.
Increasing labour costs, new stringent health and safety regulations plus the increase of average farm size, are all factors that will measure the practicality and economics for early adopter producers. Dorhout suggests, “Agriculture has been at the forefront of innovation and demand has led to better efficiencies. I think robotic support will become mainstream, starting in the high value horticulture sector”.
Dorhout R&D will be showing off their field and row crop concept Robotic Farmer – “Prospero”. This spider like robot is the working prototype of an Autonomous Micro Planter (AMP) that uses a combination of swarm and game theory. It is meant to be deployed as a group or “swarm”. Dorhout says, “Prospero will eventually have the ability to plant, tend and harvest – autonomously transitioning from one phase to another”. This might not be so far off when you consider that robots are now milking, feeding and cleaning dairy operations around the world. The first milking robot in North America was installed in Ontario in 1999 and just 12 years later they are mainstream with thousands in operation. Thus the question, “Can robotics work on-farm?” has been more than adequately answered if the economics support it.
In addition to Prospero, another highlight of this July’s horticulture trade show in Norfolk County will be Dorhout R&D’s global launch of the new “Aquarius” robot, designed to aid greenhouse operators with dispensing water and other nutrients to plants. Astonishingly enough, this robot will be ready for pre-order at our event.
Have Your Own Farm Invention, Or Know Someone That Does?
Canada’s Fruit & Veg Tech X-Change will be recognizing innovative equipment and tools directly related to on-farm applications.
Enter your custom fabricated tools and equipment for a chance to win one of three cash prizes!
DETAILS
– FREE to enter
– Max 3 items per producer
– Items will be displayed in an outdoor setting
– Cash Prizes for the top 3 entries:
1st – $500, 2nd – $250, 3rd – $100
– Judged by attending producers – based on most creative and best implemented
– Equipment is to be dropped off during the days of Saturday July 7th – Wednesday July 10th
– All equipment must remain at the site for the 3-days of the event – July 12, 13, 14 2012
– Equipment can be picked up during the days of Sunday July 15th – Wednesday July 18th
– Winners will be included in post show press release!
Additional Highlights…
Other event highlights included in the price of admission are:
– “Meet the Buyers” Complimentary Brunch
– “The Wealthy Barber” Celebrity Speaker, David Chilton
– Irrigation Demos
– Cover Crop and New Variety Plots
– Organic XPO, Woodlot XPO
– Educational Speaker Series
– Various equipment demos and much more!
For the Silo, 