Keep up with robotic revolution
Countries like Bangladesh will miss out on developing themselves at a faster rate if they fail to keep up with the changes being created by robotic revolution as it will lead the fourth industrial revolution, experts said yesterday.
Robots will kill lots of traditional jobs and at the same time, they will create more employment opportunities in the connected world, they said.
“Traditionally, Bangladesh is a physical labour-driven economy. Countries like us will fall into big trouble if we fail to cope up with the upcoming automation,” said Mohibul Hassan Chowdhoury, deputy education minister.
He spoke at a seminar styled “Present and Future of Robotics” on the second day of the Digital Device and Innovation Expo at Bangabandhu International Conference Center in Dhaka.
In the developed world, robots now fly airplanes, carry out complicated surgery, and run the service industry with heavy industrial works, Chowdhoury said. And even sometimes people don’t feel that they are taking service from robots, which also help grow economies, said Prof Lafifa Jamal, chairperson of the robotics and mechatronics engineering department at the University of Dhaka.
Lafifa, also the president of Bangladesh Robot Olympiad, said in Japan robots were now taking classes. South Korea is using robots to run the ground handling of airports.
In her presentation, Lafifa said by 2035 artificial intelligence would help double the economic growth rate in 12 developed countries and boost labour productivity by up to 40 percent.
From Bangladesh’s context, she said a lack of research funding and research infrastructure was the main challenge. “We have human resources and we need to nurse and use them efficiently in order to match the developed countries.”
Hriteshwar Talukder, a lecturer of the electrical and electronic engineering department at the Shahjalal University of Science & Technology, said they were now in the planning stage to develop a special robot that could be used in rice harvesting.
Huge labour crisis is noticed in Sylhet region every year during harvest season and that’s why a team from the SUST is now working on the issue.
“But again there is funding shortage. Laboratory facilities are also a challenge here as well.”
Nabarun Bhattacharyya, senior director and central head at the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing in Kolkata, said third world countries should give emphasis on using robots and automation in education, health and agriculture as they boost productivity.
Prof Muhammad Alamgir, a member of University Grants Commission, Md Abul Kashem Mia, a professor of the computer science and engineering at Buet, Waiz Rahim, chief executive officer of Deligram, and Quazi Mustahid Labib, who won a gold medal at the International Robot Olympiad, also spoke.
A good number of universities are taking part in the exposition and demonstrating their robotic innovation that can respond promptly, chat in Bangla, move fast and have lots of industrial applications using artificial intelligence.
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