<img class="gwt-Image" src="/photo/35946343.cms" /><br />
According to a study, new algorithms and electronic components could enable printable robots that self-assemble when heated.<br />
 <br />
The researchers promised of printable robotic components that automatically fold into prescribed three-dimensional configurations on heating.<br />
 <br /> These robots have been extensively researched in the lab of <keyword id="2136372" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Daniela-Rus">Daniela Rus</keyword>, <keyword id="10146" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Andrew">Andrew</keyword> and <keyword id="2284666" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Erna-Viterbi">Erna Viterbi</keyword>, professor of electrical engineering and computer science.<br />


New Printable Robots To Automatically
Assemble When Heated

<ul class="summary-list"><li>ChatGPT has been used by creators, traders, and many others to make their jobs easier.</li><li>Despite excitement around ChatGPT and GPT-4, there are concerns about AI tools taking jobs.</li></ul><p>One of the biggest questions about the future of work in 2023 is how AI tools like <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/everything-you-need-to-know-about-chat-gpt-2023-1">ChatGPT</a> are going to change the way we do our jobs.</p><p>Will we be replaced by robots? Will they turbocharge <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/tried-best-ai-productivity-tools-chatgpt-notion-ottor-brainfm-2023-3">productivity</a> and make everyone richer? Or are they just the latest techno-fad, doomed to a hype-fueled boom and bust cycle?</p><p>Before <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/gpt-4-openai-model-api-details-2023-3">GPT-4 was unveiled</a> on Tuesday, ChatGPT "was estimated to have reached 100 million monthly active users" in January, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/chatgpt-may-be-fastest-growing-app-in-history-ubs-study-2023-2">according to Insider's Sawdah Bhaimiya</a>. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-podcasters-podcast-use-chatgpt-other-ai-tools-ethics-2023-3">Podcasters</a>, <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/chatgpt-banks-traders-old-information-waste-time-fact-checking-chatbot-2023-2">traders</a>, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/realtors-using-ai-chatgpt-to-write-property-listings-emails-2023-1">realtors</a>, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-content-creators-use-chatgpt-content-ideas-email-draft-2023-2">creators</a>, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/high-school-math-science-teacher-uses-openai-chatgpt-education-learning-2023-3">teachers</a>, and <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/chatgpt-cover-letter-employer-caught-candidate-ai-2023-2">job seekers</a> have all used it to help save time and effort. It has also been listed as an <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/chatgpt-ai-write-author-200-books-amazon-2023-2">author or coauthor</a> of e-books and has been used by one person to make <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/chatgpt-openai-cursed-crochet-animals-tiktok-loves-viral-2023-3">crochet patterns</a>.</p><p>But ChatGPT isn't the first chatbot or <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-ai-is-changing-everything-2019-7">artificial intelligence tool to change the way we work</a>. </p><p>So why all the hype?</p><p>According to Daniela Rus, a professor and director of the Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory at MIT, it's because it's the first widely accessible and easy-to-use AI tool for non-experts.</p><p>"The accessibility in the hands of the everyday user has meant extensive discussions around the tool, in part, due to fear," Rus told Insider. "This can be largely inevitable when people don't understand how the underlying technology works, and what it's truly capable of."</p><p> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/chatgpt-white-collar-jobs-at-risk-artificial-intelligence-ai-2023-2">White-collar workers</a> might be especially worried, as the new tools appear to be coming for the type of knowledge-work that has resisted earlier rounds of automation.</p><p>"When we look back a few years, it looked like that automation in blue-collar jobs like self-driving cars, self-driving trucks would accelerate very rapidly. But to some degree, the large language models now have overtaken those advances in automation in pace and really coming upon us very fast," Sanjay Patnaik, director of the Center on Regulation and Markets at Brookings, said while introducing a <a href="https://www.brookings.edu/events/chatgpt-and-the-future-of-work/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">virtual event on Wednesday</a>. "And, interestingly, a lot of those tasks that ChatGPT and large language models can actually replace or can help augment are tasks in the white-collar working space."</p><p>William Lee, chief economist at the Milken Institute, shared a similar thought in an interview with Insider.</p><p>"Artificial intelligence may have a role in displacing, or at least reducing, the need for less skilled workers," Lee said.</p><p>For now, what ChatGPT can actually do is fairly limited, experts told Insider. While chatbots and other tools that use AI could put some jobs at risk, most users should embrace the chatbot to <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-use-chatgpt-artificial-intelligence-making-these-jobs-easier-2023-2">make their lives easier</a>.</p><h2>The Myspace or Netscape browser of AI</h2><p>To JJ Johannes, a real estate agent with a background in tech, ChatGPT is what Myspace was to social media. It's an early, accessible version on which other iterations will build. He has been <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-use-chatgpt-artificial-intelligence-making-these-jobs-easier-2023-2">using ChatGPT to help with tasks</a> like writing online listings and social media posts, which is saving him time. He told Insider that "technology always evolves" and that while "ChatGPT is the catchy thing right now," it's not the only kind of AI available and might not be the last iteration.</p><p>IBM CEO Arvind Krishna told the <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/e8fedb6b-b55a-483b-b3a6-f4bc266957c6">Financial Times</a> that "the marketing moment offered by ChatGPT is incredible. We've seen these moments before: a company called Netscape brought the web browser to everybody's attention."</p><p>"I mean Netscape was not an eventual winner but the internet certainly was," Krishna added. "I think what ChatGPT has done [is] helped make AI real to lots of people who kind of were aware of it but didn't maybe quite see what the power of AI would be."</p><p>"So just realize that the technology's going to keep evolving and while ChatGPT is the hot topic of AI, there's a lot of other components to AI and there might be other iterations especially to this input, output that you get from ChatGPT answering questions," Johannes said.</p><h2>ChatGPT isn't coming for white-collar workers yet, but it shows where AI could be going</h2><p>Chatbots are already prevalent in <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/cognitiveworld/2019/07/02/ais-increasing-role-in-customer-service/?sh=6ca85f7773fc" target="_blank" rel="noopener">customer service</a> and AI has been in use with <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/23808993.2017.1380516" target="_blank" rel="noopener">precision medicine in healthcare</a> as well as <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-bill-gates-business-leaders-quotes-on-chatgpt-ai-2023-2">many major tech companies.</a></p><p>Hope Bradford, senior director of digital transformation at Kelly, a staffing and workforce company, told Insider that AI tools help HR professionals screen candidates. She said that they have also been used to match résumés with both job titles and descriptions. These tools "continue to evolve," she said, adding that "now ChatGPT has taken it to a whole 'nother level of going, oh, it's more than just a matching tool. It's doing other things."</p><p>The technology is already changing as seen with OpenAI's newly unveiled <a href="https://openai.com/research/gpt-4" target="_blank" rel="noopener">GPT-4</a> large language model. Among its improvements over its predecessors, GPT-4 can take "image and text inputs, emitting text outputs," according to <a href="https://openai.com/research/gpt-4" target="_blank" rel="noopener">OpenAI's website</a>.</p><p>"GPT-4 demonstrates how the power of AI is proliferating due to scale of data and computing as well as ease of use. Its performance on AP exams and numerous other academic and professional standards is very impressive," Rus, the MIT professor, told Insider. "OpenAI has taken several steps to address many of the shortcomings of its prior versions."</p><p>Outside of just chatbots like ChatGPT or new large language models like GPT-4, automation has already had a strong presence in the workplace. Lee pointed to automation in assembly lines or in construction.</p><p>"I think it really is at the sphere of a white-collar workplace revolution where the tip of this sphere is really going to impinge on the lower-level skilled jobs," Lee told Insider.</p><p>But ChatGPT isn't doing that right now.</p><p>"Right now it's nowhere near ready for real-world use other than as entertainment, but the trend is clearly there that ChatGPT will be, or some version of it would be, the future for all white-collar workers and even into the research world." Lee said.</p><p>"I would classify ChatGPT as a smart high school freshman, and I don't want a professional to be a smart high school freshman doing triage at a hospital or intake at a doctor's office or a lawyer's office," Lee said in a February interview.</p><p>So will we replaced by robots? Are white-collar workers' jobs at risk of being cut because of AI tools? What does ChatGPT mean now and for the future? While people have found success and the pros of AI tools, there's still uncertainty about their future and fears still loom.</p><p>"I think there's been conversation over time about many cycles of jobs being at risk as automation comes around and how those jobs evolve even from the very beginning of mechanics starting to evolve and those jobs actually change into other jobs," Bradford said.</p>

ChatGPT is the Myspace of AI: It's fun, but it's far from taking your white-collar job

<p></p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5c8a2511124d042cf4484282-1275/origami%20robot.png" border="0" alt="Origami robot" data-mce-source="MITCSAIL/YouTube" data-mce-caption="MIT's origami robot can pick up a multitude of objects." data-link="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=byqGFH6AZuk"><p class="source"><span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=byqGFH6AZuk">MITCSAIL/YouTube</a></span></p><p class="caption">MIT's origami robot can pick up a multitude of objects.</p></img></div><p></p></div></div><ul class="summary-list"><li><strong>Researchers have built a flower-shaped robot that can pick up objects more than 100 times its own weight.</strong></li><li><strong>The robot has an origami "magic ball" skeleton, and its main advantage is that it's able to pick up delicate and irregularly-shaped objects.</strong></li><li><strong>It's the latest creation to come out of the field of soft robotics.</strong></li></ul><p>Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) researchers have made a soft, origami-inspired robot which can pick up objects 100 times heavier than itself.</p><p>In a video released on Wednesday, researchers from MIT's Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) showed off their new creation picking up a variety of items, including an apple, a rubber duck, and a wine bottle.</p><p>The robot resembles a bright orange flower, which can grasp the objects by folding inwards. <a href="http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/120930">In their accompanying paper</a>, the researchers described the robot as an "origami magic-ball" coated with a flexible thin membrane.</p><p><strong>Here's the robot in action:</strong></p><p>An advantage of the soft robot is that it can pick up irregularly shaped and delicate objects.</p><p>"By combining this foldable skeleton with the soft exterior, we get the best of both worlds," lead researcher Daniela Rus <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2019/3/14/18259883/soft-robot-origami-gripper-mit-csail-daniela-rus">told the Verge</a>. "I'm excited about using such a robot hand to start grasping groceries."</p><p><em><strong>Read more</strong>: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/facebook-phd-students-soft-robotics-research-2018-11?r=US&amp;IR=T" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Facebook is quietly developing 'soft robotics' - flexible robots that move and act like living organisms</a></em></p><p>The field of so-called "soft robotics" has been gaining traction in recent years, the idea being that more flexible robots will be able to complete more delicate tasks than their rigid counterparts.</p><p>Some of the more high-profile soft robotics creations draw inspiration from the animal kingdom, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/squishy-soft-robots-robosoft-challenge-2016-3?r=US&amp;IR=T#soft-robots-are-typically-made-of-silicone-and-have-a-softer-touch-allowing-them-to-do-things-harder-shinier-robots-cant-1">resembling squishy tentacles</a>. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/facebook-phd-students-soft-robotics-research-2018-11?r=US&amp;IR=T">Facebook last year started hiring PhD students</a> to develop its own soft robotics.</p><div><iframe width="1166" height="656" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/byqGFH6AZuk" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/review-louis-vuitton-wireless-earphones-master-dynamic-2019-3">We tried Louis Vuitton's wireless earbuds to find out if they're worth the $995</a></h3>        <div>            <iframe class="bijwplayerclass" data-player="jwplayer" src="https://content.jwplatform.com/players/SSbFw7MQ-CEZHWCBG.html" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" scrolling="auto" style="margin:0px;" allowfullscreen=""></iframe><script>function receiveMessage(event){ console.log(event.data.fullscreen); Android.fullscreen(event.data.fullscreen); }window.addEventListener("message", receiveMessage, false);</script>        </div>    </div>

This 'origami' robot looks like a delicate flower, but is strong enough to lift a bottle of wine

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/53befcf76bb3f7c353e31151-2400" alt="AP417629995193" data-mce-source="AP" /><p class="source"><span>AP</span></p><p class="caption">A rider hails a Lyft rideshare.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>Like most cities around the world, New York City suffers from horrendous traffic.</p><p><a href="https://www.csail.mit.edu/ridesharing_reduces_traffic_300_percent">A new MIT study</a> suggests that UberPool and Lyft Line (the two apps' carpool features that allow strangers to share a ride for a reduced fare) could be the key to cutting down on urban congestion.</p><p>If New Yorkers switched from private taxis to carpools, traffic would decrease by 300%, according to the researchers. Using data from 3 million taxi rides, they designed an AI algorithm that would both reduce congestion and wait time for the vehicles. The researchers used taxi ride data to understand how New Yorkers move by car (Just <a href="http://www.nycedc.com/blog-entry/new-yorkers-and-cars">23%</a> of Manhattan households own personal cars).</p><p>First, the system plans the routes that the cars could take that day, prioritizing areas that it knows are usually busy. Throughout the day, the algorithm continually adjusts based on the requests that come in. It also takes into account the best type of vehicle to send (e.g. a 10-person van would be most efficient for neighborhoods with a lot of requests at once).</p><p>The more often people use the system, the smarter and more efficient it would become.</p><p>The system's algorithm would also <span>eliminate the need for 75% of all NYC taxis (i.e. 10,190 cabs), according to the study. In addition to eliminating every private taxi, 3,000 </span><span>four-person cars could serve 94% of car demand in NYC, and <span>2,000 ten-person vehicles could serve 95% of demand</span>. On average, you would wait fewer than three minutes for the vehicle to show up.</span></p><p><span>"<span>Ride-sharing services have enormous potential for positive societal impact with respect to congestion, pollution and energy consumption," </span>Daniela Rus, the professor at MIT's </span><span>Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory who led the study, said in a press release.</span></p><p><span>While the report may seem idealistic, more Americans (especially city folk) are warming up to carpools.</span></p><p>In 2015, Lyft <a href="http://www.geekwire.com/2015/lyfts-carpooling-service-now-makes-up-50-of-rides-in-san-francisco-30-in-nyc/">reported</a> that 30% of its rides in NYC were carpools, and Uber <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/31/technology/car-pooling-helps-uber-go-the-extra-mile.html">said</a> the same for more than half of its NYC rides in March 2016. That <a href="http://toddwschneider.com/posts/taxi-uber-lyft-usage-new-york-city/">works out</a> to over 12,700 Lyft Line rides and over 107,000 UberPool rides every day in the city.</p><p>Rus notes that MIT's system would best work with <span>autonomous cars, which <span>promise an unprecedented level of data. Driverless cars can <span>track everything from what times people leave for work to which roads they take to the location of other carpools - data that would only make the algorithm more efficient.</span></span></span></p><p><span>Uber, Lyft, and legacy car manufacturers all have their own driverless car initiatives, and the former was the first company to rollout autonomous vehicles to a US city (<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/uber-driverless-car-in-pittsburgh-review-photos-2016-9">Pittsburgh in September</a> and <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/uber-self-driving-cars-leave-california-for-arizona-2016-12">Arizona in early 2017</a>). Uber's driverless cars are not carpools, but Uber CEO<span> <span>Travis Kalanick has </span></span><span><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/uberpool-ride-sharing-could-be-the-future-of-uber-2016-6">described</a> </span><span>UberPool as the future of his company.</span></span></p><p><span><span><span></span></span></span><span>While the AI-driven communal rideshare is a possible solution to New York City's congestion, </span><span>subways and buses are the still the fastest and most efficient way to move residents. And that probably won't change anytime soon.</span></p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/middle-seats-airline-sliding-design-video-2016-12">Airplane designers have a brilliant idea for the middle seat</a></h3>        <div>            <div>    <script src="http://player.ooyala.com/v3/6e12e8b3387a44daacfb73afba25a76e"></script>    <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="NoeHRmNDE6N-cSWIqmFSRD9PkKQAaaV2" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div>    <script>    if (typeof RunFunctions === 'undefined') { var RunFunctions = []; }     RunFunctions.push(function()    {         var ooyalapopvideo = OO.Player.create('ooyalaplayer_popvideo', 'NoeHRmNDE6N-cSWIqmFSRD9PkKQAaaV2',{ autoplay: 'false' });     });    </script>    <noscript><div>Please enable Javascript to watch this video</div></noscript></div>        </div>        <script>(function() { function createPlayer() { OO.ready(function() { RunFunctions.forEach(function(ooyalaFunction) { ooyalaFunction(); }); RunFunctions = [];}); } createPlayer(); }()); </script>    </div>

Uber and Lyft carpools could cut New York City traffic by 300%

<p>Researchers have invented an origami robot that, true to its name, unfolds in your stomach.</p><p>If that sounds gross to you, that's because it totally is, but it&#xa0;could be a game-changer in the medical community due to its ability to remove batteries from the human body, according to a&#xa0;paper recently presented&#xa0;at the&#xa0;International Conference on Robotics and Automation.</p><p><div><iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/3Waj08gk7v8" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div></p><p>The robot is compressed into a pill and unfolds in your stomach after the casing dissolves.&#xa0;The origami bot's main goal is to quickly remove swallowed button batteries or to patch a wound in the stomach lining.</p><p><span>While the robot's in your stomach, it can be manipulated&#xa0;using magnetic fields to navigate to the battery. Once there, the robot picks up the battery using another magnet attached to its body.&#xa0;</span></p><p>The researchers&#xa0;<span>-&#xa0;</span>who come from<span>&#xa0;MIT, Tokyo University, and the University of Sheffield <span>-&#xa0;</span></span>said that as many as 3,500 button batteries are swallowed each year, and if they're left unattended for long enough,&#xa0;they will&#xa0;corrode and release caustic chemicals onto the stomach lining.&#xa0;</p><p class="embed-spacer"><span style="background-color: #ffcc00;"></span></p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5735ebf1dd0895f7538b4919-/uyfudqv---imgur-2.gif" alt="uyFUdqv Imgur 2" data-mce-source="MIT" /></div></div></div>"[Shuyei Miyahista]&#xa0;bought a piece of ham, and he put the battery on the ham," researcher Daniela Rus said in <a href="http://news.mit.edu/2016/ingestible-origami-robot-0512">a statement from MIT</a>. "Within half an hour, the battery was fully submerged in the ham. So that made me realize that, yes, this is important. If you have a battery in your body, you really want it out as soon as possible."<p>This isn't the first time researchers have introduced&#xa0;swallowable tracking&#xa0;technology. <a href="https://www.nibib.nih.gov/science-education/science-topics/nuclear-medicine">Radioactive tracers</a> are used to track the pathways of drugs as they're processed by the body. Sensors are also being <a href="http://www.proteus.com/how-it-works/">stuffed into pills</a>&#xa0;to track vital signs&#xa0;after ingesting drugs.</p>

MIT researchers invented an origami robot that will unfold in your stomach

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5804de7bdd0895f8488b45a4-2371/gettyimages-474927869.jpg" alt="traffic jam intersection cars buses crossroads china" data-mce-source="VCG/VCG via Getty Images" data-mce-caption="Vehicles are stuck in a traffic jam in heavy smog after the traffic lights were broken-down on February 25, 2014 in Xi an, China. Altogether 1.43 million sq km of China's land territory, nearly 15 percent of the total, have been covered by persistent smog in recent days, according to news report." /><p class="source"><span>VCG/VCG via Getty Images</span></p><p class="caption">Fun.</p></div><p></p></div></div>It's theoretically possibly to remove three-quarters of the taxis from New York's streets, drastically reducing congestion, according to a new study - as long you're happy to share a ride.</p><p><a href="https://www.csail.mit.edu/ridesharing_reduces_traffic_300_percent">Researchers at MIT found that using ride-sharing services like Uber's UberPool</a>, cities can cut down on the number of vehicles on the roads, reducing traffic and pollution and improving efficiency.</p><p>The researchers developed an algorithm that in their model was able to serve 98% of New York City's taxi demand with just 3,000 four-passenger vehicles - compared to the 14,000 taxis that currently operate in the city.</p><p>The algorithm would re-route vehicles as new requests for rides come in to take the most efficient routes, and send under-utilised vehicles to areas with higher demand. Riders would have an average wait-time of 2.7 minutes, it predicts.</p><p>If riders are prepared to go for minibus-style transportation rather than four-door cars, the gains could be even greater. 95% of demand is covered by 2,000 10-person vehicles, the study says.</p><p>"Instead of transporting people one at a time, drivers could transport two to four people at once, results in fewer trips, in less time, to make the same amount of money," <a href="https://www.csail.mit.edu/ridesharing_reduces_traffic_300_percent">lead researcher Daniela Rus said in a statement</a>. "A system like this could allow drivers to work shorter shifts, while also creating less traffic, cleaner air and shorter, less stressful commutes."</p><p>The findings are in line with previous studies:<a href="http://www.itf-oecd.org/sites/default/files/docs/shared-mobility-liveable-cities.pdf"> One from the OECD's International Transport Forum found</a> that a fleet of eight-person and 16-person shared vehicles could theoretically cut the number of vehicles on the road by a whopping 97%.</p><p>It seems unlikely that any ride-hailing service would see the real-world efficiency gains described in these studies - or have the degree of market dominance required. There's also the problem of actually convincing people to use ride-sharing options: The motivation for some ride-hailing app users will be that <a href="http://motherboard.vice.com/read/why-drivers-and-riders-hate-uberpool-and-lyft-line">they don't want to share with other strangers</a> - otherwise they'd just use public transport.</p><p>But it still indicates the kind of improvements that smarter taxi apps can make to city streets - especially if people are prepared to swallow their pride and share.</p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/marijuana-mansion-party-marijuana-don-2016-12">Weed, crab legs, and a mermaid - inside the massive marijuana-mansion party thrown by Instagram's 'Marijuana Don'</a></h3>        <div>            <div>    <script src="http://player.ooyala.com/v3/6e12e8b3387a44daacfb73afba25a76e"></script>    <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="5nd2YyMTE6SOubRIDmjfbziYE47365od" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div>    <script>    if (typeof RunFunctions === 'undefined') { var RunFunctions = []; }     RunFunctions.push(function()    {         var ooyalapopvideo = OO.Player.create('ooyalaplayer_popvideo', '5nd2YyMTE6SOubRIDmjfbziYE47365od',{ autoplay: 'false' });     });    </script>    <noscript><div>Please enable Javascript to watch this video</div></noscript></div>        </div>        <script>(function() { function createPlayer() { OO.ready(function() { RunFunctions.forEach(function(ooyalaFunction) { ooyalaFunction(); }); RunFunctions = [];}); } createPlayer(); }()); </script>    </div>

Ride-sharing taxis could drastically reduce congestion, according to a new study

<p><a href="http://businessinsider.com/digital-industry-insider"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/57811f7e8a4565dd5596bbcb-803-150/ge-digital-industry-insider-article-header-new.png" border="0" /></a></p><p><em>The future of industry is digital. GE and BI Studios have co-created <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/digital-industry-insider">Digital Industry Insider</a>, dedicated to bringing you what you need to know about digital industrial news and events.</em></p><!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd"><html><body><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/577ecaaa4321f10d038b6ad4-2121/robot%20with%20arm%20out.jpg" alt="robot with arm out SC" data-mce-source="Getty Images"><p class="source"><span>Getty Images</span></p></img></div><p></p></div></div>Do a Google Image search for "robotics" and you'll see the expected: Cute, humanoid machines reminiscent of a sci-fi movie. "Industrial robotics" yields something else: Images of iron arms on swinging pedestals constructing cars on an assembly line.</p><p>The reality is somewhere in between. In 2016, hulking machines are still executing heavy duty tasks, but humanoid types are increasingly working alongside humans on assembly lines.</p><p>Manufacturing isn't that different from everyday life-smart robots are showing up in factories just as they're invading our homes. "People say the robots are coming," said Sander van't Noordende, group chief executive of Accenture's products group. "But I think they're already here."</p><h2>Eyed robots</h2><p>Robots have typically been used in an industrial setting to complete repetitive tasks. However, a new wave of robots can adapt and learn new tasks much like a human. In 2012, for instance, Rethink Robotics introduced Baxter, a human-sized robot ranging from 3 feet tall and 165 pounds to 6 feet and 300 pounds. Spend a few minutes <a href="http://video.mit.edu/watch/meet-baxter-a-new-kind-of-industrial-robot-12638/"><span>teaching Baxter</span></a> how to do a simple task, like putting something on a conveyor belt or packing a box, and he can do it forever. But you can also teach something Baxter new after that, so he's endlessly adaptable.</p><p>Baxter has since been overshadowed by Sawyer. The younger sibling can lift more than Baxter and do more precision work. Like Baxter, he's safe to work around. A monitor screen sports animated eyes. "They're actually indicators," said Mike Fair, manager of application systems at Rethink Robotics, of Sawyer's eyes. "You're not surprised what he's going to do next." The eyes also make Sawyer more human-like. "We tried to give him personality," Fair said. "It makes people feel more comfortable about working around robots."</p><p>Similarly, Germany's Dipl-ing has a robot called Anna that can learn a new motion just by being guided to do so. Dipl-ing also recently spun off a unit that rents robots. "The robot then gets paid like a worker minimum wage, €8.50 per hour," said Ralph Schmidt. "But this worker then works like three workers, overnights also." </p><p>Expect more of their type. MIT professor Daniela Rus doesn't see robots replacing humans necessarily, but rather helping them perform physical tasks the way smartphones help us execute mental work today. Rus's Distributed Robotics Lab at MIT has built robots that can tend gardens, bake cookies and cut a birthday cake, among other tasks.</p><h2>Influence on manufacturing</h2><p>While robots are up and coming, they are not commonly seen on the shop floor. Robots are currently used for about 10 percent of all the tasks they could be employed for, according to the Boston Consulting Group.</p><p>That's not always the case. Japan has more industrial robots-306,700-than in all of North America, according to the International Federation of Robotics (IFR). The auto industry also over-indexes for industrial robots. Some 35 percent of all industrial robots are helping make auto parts, while another 29 percent are making the cars themselves, according to the IFR.</p><p>Such robots perform unsubtle work like hefting heavy things, painting and applying glue. As the robots get smaller and more agile, their list of chores will expand. Renault uses units that weigh 64 pounds and drives screws into engines.</p><p>These more agile robots will likely boost the bots-to-human ratio in manufacturing. The global robotics market will grow from $25.69 billion in 2014 to $53.22 billion in 2020, according to Research and Markets. The Boston Consulting Group predicts by 2025, the share of manufacturing tasks performed by robots will jump to 25 percent.</p><h2>The outlook for robots</h2><p>In 2016, there's evidence that robots can help with more and more tasks. Amazon's Echo, a cylinder device that uses artificial intelligence, has become a hit. Robots also help vacuum and mow the lawn. In addition, robotic process automation is taking on white-collar work like data entry and some IT jobs.</p><p>For years, the manufacturing industry has held the robots largely at bay because of their relative clunkiness. Now that they're getting more lithe, it will be hard to hold them back.</p><p><em>This content was created for <a href="https://www.speakingindustry.com/">Speaking Industry</a>, a partnership between WP BrandStudio and GE.</em></p></body></html><p class="tagline">Find out <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/sponsor-posts">more about Sponsor Content</a>.</p>

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