Robotics are often viewed as the face of emerging technology, especially with the growth of capabilities in humanoid type machines that captivate our attention. They have also been used for decades in automating manufacturing, farming, warehouse functions, hospitals, security, etc. for mostly routine programmable functions. Now aided by machine learning, machine vision, AI and advanced sensors, robotics has become transformative in many industry verticals.

“By combining machine vision with learning capabilities, roboticists are opening a wide range of new possibilities like vision-based drones, robotic harvesting, robotic sorting in recycling, and warehouse pick and place. We’re finally at the inflection point: The moment where these applications are becoming good enough to provide real value in semi-structured environments where traditional robots could never succeed.” 2022: A major revolution in robotics | ZDNET

A humanoid robotic version of the Terminator has also become within technological reach. Engineers at Cornell University have created a robot capable of detecting when and where it has been damaged and then restoring itself on the spot. Terminator-style robot can survive being STABBED | Daily Mail Online

The extent that humans are replaced by robot helpers or morphed into man-machines is an interesting philosophical question. Joan Slonczewski, a microbiologist at Kenyon college, notes that humans have continuously redefined intelligence and transferred those tasks to machines. Slonczewski asks: “Could we evolve ourselves out of existence, being gradually replaced by the machines?” Intelligent Robots Will Overtake Humans by 2100, Experts Say | Live Science

^{Robotics have great potential for space and ocean exploration in extreme environments. In fact, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern developed a robotic arm called the Cold Operable Lunar Deployable Arm (COLDArm), that is designed to withstand temperatures of minus-280 degrees Fahrenheit and can allow future missions to explore the moon and planets. NASA Developing Robotic Arm to Withstand Moon’s Frigid Nights (gizmodo.com) Robotics will allow mankind to explore and go where no man (or woman) can boldly go before.}