Will Robotics and Autonomous Vehicles Turn Out to Be Green and Good for Your Life?
Every smart company thinks about whether a technology that they’re developing will be considered good for the environment. There are several reasons for this including that the employees like it, some customers look for green products, and the owners/shareholders don’t want to cause environmental problems. There are already enough freak weather conditions and melting ice caps to worry many of us who see the news on TV or YouTube.
What some people want to know is whether new ideas like robotics and autonomous vehicles are going to save us from ourselves? Or is it more technology for the sake of it with nothing green or useful? In this article, we explore whether either of these new technologies is promising for advocates of green technology and good for your life?
Robotics and How Green Are They?
When it comes to robotics, it really depends on how they going to be used. There’s some debate over how useful robots are in a production facility like a car plant vs having several employees produce the same part or install one inside the vehicle.
When employees have productive robots, it’s useful to consider with fewer employees driving to that plant, is it better for the environment? Will they just drive elsewhere to work? That’s a real possibility. Therefore, it’s fair to say that robotics is not immediately a green technology – it depends on how they’re used. That applies to most technology today.
Positive Use of Robotics
The type of robotics that’s looking positive for its green benefits includes ones that help people with disabilities to perform functions that would be either impossible, difficult or painful to achieve alone, and autonomous robots that benefit the environment in some way.
With the latter category, the robots that are being tested in the field for making deliveries locally within a 1-3-mile radius are a good example of this. Typically, they run on battery power and are affordable to recharge. They don’t emit anything like fossil fuels do in cars, other than perhaps some LED lights or a smiley face to welcome people as the robot travels towards them. Delivering packages without needing someone to drive there is better for the environment overall.
Driverless Cars and How Green Are They?
The idea of the driverless car is not new. You’ve seen it in many Sci-Fi movies over the years, no doubt. We even have several flying cars that aren’t a DeLorean, which are being developed and hopefully released at some point in the future too. However, driverless cars as a real thing is something else entirely.
Most autonomous cars are being created to run economically. Some are electric, others hybrid. Hopefully, most cars will be more fuel efficient even if they still rely on a traditional engine and gasoline or diesel for power.
These types of cars can come into their own, such as when taking groups of people to a destination or wasting time in traffic. Rather than inefficient drivers blocking up busy streets, they can use advanced traffic systems and information sources to find the most efficient route to reduce delivery times. They’re also able to take several passengers at one time, so there’s no need for a designated driver who cannot consume alcohol that evening either. Everyone can have a great time and let their hair down.
Positive Use of Driverless Cars
With less traffic congestion, the air is cleaner and more pleasant to breathe. The whizzing sound as a car being driven past will become more familiar without the need to see a Tesla to know what it is.
The autonomous car is also useful to make safely less of an issue for potential passengers. Eventually, with great design, coding, and optimization, these cars will become safer on the road than humans driving.
As humans, we’re fallible. We make unforced and forced human errors that are completely avoidable. Sometimes, we fail to look both ways before we pull out in the road. Other times, we miss a road sign that says to slow down and look out for ice on the road. This all leads to problems.
Is This A Career Opportunity?
While working in the green industry directly is interesting, helping companies provide greener solutions provides a feel-good factor that goes beyond a mere paycheck.
Certainly, the salaries and bonuses when working in robotics and autonomous cars are substantial. It goes well into the six-figures for dedicated, talented people who find this work exciting. Many of the people in this area find the appeal of developing greener technologies to be one of the pleasing parts of the work. Whether that’s helping to make the streets less congested for everyone else or encouraging fewer runs to the store to pick up items that a robot can deliver within an hour of ordering it online; there’s a real potential to benefit people.
To work in this field, you’ll already need a computer science degree. This is a prerequisite because it’s such a technical one that it’s necessary to have the basics down completely. Understanding how computing works from the inside through programming languages, structured systems, database management and other areas all play a part here. Studying for an MS in electrical and computer engineering is the right post-graduate qualification to pursue. It can be completed over a two-year period with the course material covered completely online too.
Many types of robotics and cars that drive themselves have green benefits. They’re not always obvious to observers though. Last mile deliveries reduce the needless running of errands blocking up the roads for short journeys where a robot delivery bot could get the job done faster while keeping the road clear for essential use. Autonomous cars and other types of vehicles will develop, and people will find new ways to make them useful. Freeing up people to do other things other than sit in traffic is never a bad thing either. That might mean reading a book while the car drives or listening to a podcast. Driverless cars will also become safer for passengers eventually too.
