How Unmanned Systems Will Impact Society

Unmanned systems have gained wide popularity over the past few years but, their notoriety has been marked by the negative publicity received from news outlet. Although unmanned aerial vehicles seem to have the upper hand in terms of popularity, I believe it is unmanned ground systems who will have the greatest impact on society over the next two decades.

Unmanned Ground Systems have been making their way into our life in a very subtle way. This is perhaps due to the level of attention garnished by unmanned aerial vehicles. Due to the nature of their operations UAVs are seen as a threat to privacy and safety and although these systems have seen rapid expansion, regulation is now threatening to hold them back.The Federal Aviation Administration is currently developing an integration plan for unmanned aerial systems, and regulations seek to ensure aviation safety. In the meantime unmanned ground systems continue to make their way into our lives.

Unmanned ground systems will eliminate the need of a large workforce, but most importantly it will allow companies to reduce costs. As more systems continue to be developed and implemented, people may feel threatened. In order to continue to employ large numbers of people instead of embracing automation, companies may seek to justify paying low wages. A report released in September by market research company Forrester suggests that by the year 2021, the United States will lose six percent of its jobs to robots (Solon, 2016). A separate study conducted by the University of Oxford in 2013, suggested that almost half of the United States Workforce are in danger of losing their jobs to automation (2015). Although these numbers include the growth in all areas of robotics and unmanned systems, the growth and implementation of unmanned ground systems is less restricted.

Companies like Uber and Amazon are great supporters of this technology. Uber seeks to automate their process in the future and it is currently test-driving autonomous vehicles in the Pittsburgh area. The growth of automation is not limited to the United States, in Japan, Aiko Chichira, a humanoid, has made her way into a Japanese store where she will be greeting customers as they enter the store (Landau, 2015). These type of systems/robots will slowly make their way into other businesses allowing them to reduce costs and increase efficiency.

References

Jones, M. (2015, February 17). Yes, the robots will steal our jobs, and that’s fine. The Washington Post. Retrieved from https://www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2016/02/17/yes-the-robots-will-steal-our-jobs-and-thats-fine/?utm_term=.41529171e8bd

Landau, J. (2015, April 21). Japanese store debuts Toshiba robot to greet customers. New York Daily News. Retrieved from http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/watch-japanese-store-robot-greet-customers-article-1.2192946

Solon, O. (2016, September 13). Robots will eliminate 6% of all U.S jobs by 2021, report says. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/sep/13/artificial-intelligence-robots-threat-jobs-forrester-report