Is The World Ready For Robots?
One way to "kill" a technology is to launch it too soon. Apple's bet on 100% touchscreen smartphones back in 2007 proved that the world was ready. Although Apple was not the first in the touchscreen phone business, Apple's brave bet to venture first with touchscreen paid off. In most respects, their success was because the world was ready.
And now we have bots and robots. CES 2018 is full of them. It's new. It's exciting. But are people ready to buy in?
This reminds me of 3D TV. It was big at CES 2011, and immediately "died" just a year later. What went wrong? Consumers were almost ready to buy in. Unfortunately, not all people actually did, specially those that were suppose to create 3D content. 3D was great, but the very reason for it to thrive didn't give it enough heartbeat to live.
The excitement we have with bots and robots is that same excitement we had with 3D. Almost there but not really there yet. I think it's too soon. It's a hype that people are not really ready for yet. And no, it's not the fault of Skynet. Likewise, you can't blame Isaac Asimov for it either.
In order for a technology to really kick-off, it needs money. The best way for a technology to get that money is for that technology to actually sell. Launching a product that no one's ready to spend for, no matter how great and promising the product may be, is a way to kill that product's technology.
The truth is, there are more pressing issues that need to be solved first -- like battery, processor/chip security, IoT security, virus/malware/hacker problems, A.I., safety, ethics, etc. There are so many things that's not mainstream enough to make people comfortable with bots and robots, more so running some aspects of their lives.
We are still far away from realizing bots and robots the way science fiction can present them. We are progressing, yes. But at this point, all signs point to bots and robots still premature for mainstream consumption. I can't really say that the world is ready for them. Perhaps something to keep an eye on, but not something to put any hopes up for. Not yet. Not this year. And perhaps for many more years to come...
And now we have bots and robots. CES 2018 is full of them. It's new. It's exciting. But are people ready to buy in?
This reminds me of 3D TV. It was big at CES 2011, and immediately "died" just a year later. What went wrong? Consumers were almost ready to buy in. Unfortunately, not all people actually did, specially those that were suppose to create 3D content. 3D was great, but the very reason for it to thrive didn't give it enough heartbeat to live.
The excitement we have with bots and robots is that same excitement we had with 3D. Almost there but not really there yet. I think it's too soon. It's a hype that people are not really ready for yet. And no, it's not the fault of Skynet. Likewise, you can't blame Isaac Asimov for it either.
In order for a technology to really kick-off, it needs money. The best way for a technology to get that money is for that technology to actually sell. Launching a product that no one's ready to spend for, no matter how great and promising the product may be, is a way to kill that product's technology.
The truth is, there are more pressing issues that need to be solved first -- like battery, processor/chip security, IoT security, virus/malware/hacker problems, A.I., safety, ethics, etc. There are so many things that's not mainstream enough to make people comfortable with bots and robots, more so running some aspects of their lives.
We are still far away from realizing bots and robots the way science fiction can present them. We are progressing, yes. But at this point, all signs point to bots and robots still premature for mainstream consumption. I can't really say that the world is ready for them. Perhaps something to keep an eye on, but not something to put any hopes up for. Not yet. Not this year. And perhaps for many more years to come...
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