IFS Group Task

TASK 1: REPORT
GROUP 29 - ROBOTICS

Keagan Hess

3697837

Micheylin Apollis

3696849

Thabiso Nbobese

3661385

Diana Mamo

3670950

PLAGIARISM DECLARATION

FACULTY OF ECONOMICS AND MANAGEMENT SCIENCES

GENERAL PLAGIARISM DECLARATION
Name: ..
Student number:
1.

I hereby declare that I know what plagiarism entails, namely to use anothers work and to present
it as my own without attributing the sources in the correct way. (Refer to University Calendar part
1 for definition)

2.

I know that plagiarism is a punishable offence because it constitutes theft.

3.

I understand the plagiarism policy of the Faculty of Economics and Management Sciences of the
University of the Western Cape.

4.

I know what the consequences will be if I plagiarise in any of the assignments for my course.

5.

I declare therefore that all work presented by me for every aspect of my course, will be my own,
and where I have made use of anothers work, I will attribute the source in the correct way.

--------------------------------Signature

---------------------Date

INTRODUCTION
The world of robotic is an ever growing and exponentially increasing technology in the world we
live in today. Many sectors of business, government and education bases entities utilize this
technology around the world. South Africa being a third world country still I the process of
development, also engages in the use of this technology due to the potential in efficiency and
productivity it presents.

INVESTIGATION
Robotics is a technology that deals with the manufacturing and operation of the moving
machines that are either controlled by a remote control ore by using a control of a computer or
laptop, these machines are designed to perform challenging tasks which
could potentially put human lives at risk. The word robot is a word derived
from a Latin word robota and it means a command job. Among the duties
which a robot can perform we can count bomb exploitations, nuclear power
industries, mining and manufacturing of larger products such as vehicles.
The robots are not all the same, they are invented differently and not to
perform similar tasks. There are robots which are invented to assist children
in play different games. When the children are playing these games, they can
either use a television or a laptop computer where you have to stare directly at the television or
at a laptop and use your body parts and the robot respond to your movements. For instance if
you are playing the fighting games you have to pretend as if you are fighting and therefore the
robot will fight against you controlled by a remote controller.
The robots look so scary and strange. The robots can sense what is around them and they can
interact with an existing human being by using speech recognition devices that recognize
human speech and by also using an artificial intelligence system. The robot interacts with an
existing human being by also using a man-made voice as a way to communicate. Robotics must
protect their selves without harming anyone or anything around them before performing a
particular task. When the robot moves, it uses its legs and the wheels which are rolling.
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As one knows that a robot is unlike real person who get

energy from food and drinks in order to perform a certain task,
instead a robot gets its energy supply from a small
engine that provides a force to help a robot be able to
move from one place to another, this engine obtains
its power from a battery, a solar or an electricity power
supply.
The very interesting thing about the robots is that it can decide what to do, how to do it, and
when to do it and in order to do like that it is assisted by a coding found in a computer that is
capable of controlling it. Inside the robot there are cables which resemble the shape of the
muscles and it act as the muscles that are capable of converting the stored energy inside the
battery into the kinetic energy that helps it be able to move effectively. It is so surprising that a
robot manifests its emotions on its face just like a human being, and all this happens with an
assistance of an elastic rubber face which allows the face to move. With these facial
expressions a robot implies the feedback about the conversation you have with it.
CURRENT STATUS
Diffusion of Innovation (DOI) Theory, developed by E.M. Rogers in 1962, is one of the oldest
social science theories. It originated in communication to explain how, over time, an idea or
product gains momentum and diffuses (or spreads) through a specific population or social
system. The end result of this diffusion is that people, as part of a social system, adopt a new
idea, behavior, or product. Adoption means that a person does something differently than what
they had previously (i.e., purchase or use a new product, acquire and perform a new behavior,
etc.). The key to adoption is that the person must perceive the idea, behavior, or product as new
or innovative. It is through this that diffusion is possible.
Adoption of a new idea, behavior, or product (i.e., "innovation") does not happen simultaneously
in a social system; rather it is a process whereby some people are more apt to adopt the
innovation than others.

Researchers have found that people who adopt an innovation early

have different characteristics than people who adopt an innovation later. When promoting an
innovation to a target population, it is important to understand the characteristics of the target
population that will help or hinder adoption of the innovation. There are five established
adopter categories, and while the majority of the general population tends to fall in the middle
categories, it is still necessary to understand the characteristics of the target population. When
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promoting an innovation, there are different strategies used to appeal to the different adopter
categories.
1. Innovators - These are people who want to be the first to try the innovation. They are
venturesome and interested in new ideas. These people are very willing to take risks,
and are often the first to develop new ideas. Very little, if anything, needs to be done to
appeal to this population.
2. Early Adopters - These are people who represent opinion leaders. They enjoy
leadership roles, and embrace change opportunities. They are already aware of the
need to change and so are very comfortable adopting new ideas. Strategies to appeal to
this population include how-to manuals and information sheets on implementation. They
do not need information to convince them to change.
3. Early Majority - These people are rarely leaders, but they do adopt new ideas before
the average person. That said, they typically need to see evidence that the innovation
works before they are willing to adopt it. Strategies to appeal to this population include
success stories and evidence of the innovation's effectiveness.

4. Late Majority - These people are skeptical of change, and will only adopt an innovation
after it has been tried by the majority. Strategies to appeal to this population include
information on how many other people have tried the innovation and have adopted it
successfully.
5. Laggards - These people are bound by tradition and very conservative. They are very
skeptical of change and are the hardest group to bring on board. Strategies to appeal to

this population include statistics, fear appeals, and pressure from people in the other
adopter groups.
The innovating country medical robotics is the US. The famous De Vinci surgical system
developed by the Intuitive Surgical venture, is the latest in robotics aided surgery. The main
functions of the machine is to allow the surgeon to accurately locate and remove cancerous
cells and tissue from patients, it also maps out a 3D rendering of the operating area. Korea is
also an innovator in this field as a local company, Curexo, has created Robodoc, the worlds first
fully automated orthopedic surgery robot. The approximate cost for one of these machine is
$1million.
South Africa has recently started using the De Vinci making us early adopters, its first
implementation was in October 2013 at a hospital in Pretoria. South Africa as a developing
country is making leaps in the medical field.
This machine also has training capabilities, it comes equipped with training simulations and
tutorials. This furthers the opportunity for South African doctors to gain experience and skill.

Showa Hanako 2
Showa Hanako 2 is a new robot created in japan. This robot is used in the practice of dentistry.
It is a robot which one can perform dental demonstration on and the robot would be able to
react to the procedures (this includes sneezing, gagging, blinking and coughing). The mouth is
created to be as realistic as possible and gives the dentist a human like experience. This robot
is also able to store the data of the performance of the student and can be able to rate the
student practicing.

OPPORTUNITIES

In South Africa there has been an increase in robotic technology. South Africa is now making
allies with other countries like china who is a leading country in terms of robotics development in
orger to adopt their strategies and implement similar advances.

Da Vinci robotic surgery

The Da Vinci surgical system is a robot made to help surgeons perform surgical
procedures in a more effective way. This robotic technology also gives the surgeons a 3D view of the inside of the patient. The main objective of this technology is to help
remove cancer from the bladder as well as prostate cancer. It also helps the patient
rebuild a new and healthy bladder. The first launch in South Africa was in a hospital in
Pretoria. This technology benefits businesses (in this case hospitals) as it generates
high income and greater profit. It also benefits the society as the people in the society
will be able to get cancer removed from their bladder and live a normal life (their life will
not be cut short because of this disease).
Mining robotics
This is a technology that helps mining companies or businesses get the smallest
amounts of minerals left in the ground after mining and/or perform underground mining.
This robot is very small about a third if a normal human being so it can be able to fit in to
small areas. It was first launched in South Africa in 2014 by Angelo America as they had
strong allies with developed countries (like China and America). There is a very big
advantage to business owners as they will get every bit of the minerals underground
and these machines can work for a longer period of time. Since these robots are small
they can reach places even human beings cannot reach. It is also safer as no human
life will be in danger. The business will be also be more profitable than ever. It benefits
society because although the works will not always be underground they will be given
other sorts of tasks and this means that there will be less deaths caused by mines
collapsing.

Future impact (business & society)

Robotics will have a major future impact on our businesses and society. These future impact is
negative and positive.
Firstly in our nearby future robotics will help us take care of our elderly. They will be
personalized to make tasks so much easier, like bathing the older people, help lift heavy object
and they will even be able to play games with the older people to help keep their minds active
so that they will not get diseases like Alzheimer easily (A disease which causes older people to
forget things easily).
In the nearby future robots will be more social. In this way robots will be able to communicate
with humans and have normal conversations. They will also fit into our families and help parents
to make their tasks with their kinds easier. For example they will be able to tell bedtime stories
to children. Spanish research has shown that 12 years from now humans will depend on robots
like they depend on their mobile phones in their everyday lives.
Engineers at Autodesk are busy developing Nano-robots which can help cancer patient to fight
cancer. They inject Nano-robots into cancer patients, this treatment will kill cancer cells. In the
future Robots will also be able the help people who are not able to walk. They will help them
with the rehabilitation process.
In a few years time robots will be able to stand in as teachers. This will not mean that they will
be that effective as teachers, but they will help a lot in the education system. Robots will be able
to teach us anything we will like to know and they will be able to answer our questions in the
classroom.

Robotics will impact the jobs of people rapidly. According to experts 48% of them envisioned a
future where robots will take more jobs then what they will be able to create by 2025. If this will
happen most of the people in our society will be
jobless and our unemployment rate will get higher
which eventually will cause more poverty. The other
half of them believes that technology will not replace
more jobs them the jobs they will create by 2025. This
will have a positive impact on our society because it
will create more employment that effect the economy
positively.

From this Graph we can see that supply of industrial robots increased dramatically over the
years.
More robots in the workplace by 2025 will also be a positive thing for businesses. Robots has
the ability to work 24 hours without resting, unlike humans. Humans needs break when they are
working and does not have the ability to work a whole day without resting. Robots also has the
ability to work faster than humans.

When more robots is installed in the workplace, the

production rate will be higher which means that the business will make more profit. In this way
demand will never exceed supply and will affect the economy positively.
Like William Cibson said: the future is already here- its just not evenly distributed.
CONCLUSION
In the world we live in today technology is rapidly developing at an exponential rate. With this
fact comes many advancements, innovations and substitutions for previous manners of problem
solving. Since these advancement allow for increases in efficiency productivity and the accuracy
of various tasks, it is crucial that organizations take advantage of this fact in order to provide the
best possible service and products.