The work done to build a robot is amortized over all the robots built. So I think it will be cheaper. Factory robots do replace workers because they are cheaper. Humans can do high quality paint jobs too. It just probably takes them longer, or maybe humans need multiple tries because they mess up more often. The point is, no factory owner will invest in new technology if it didn't make economic sense. Quality is not orthogonal to price.
A mower robot could also be safer. A person riding a mower is exposed to a lot of noise, sun, and shaking. If you are relatively disabled or have a bad back, you can't operate a mower. Just about anyone who can see, on the other hand, could operate a mower remotely. No exposure to noise, to dust, to sun, to bumps. Also, you would want to err on the side of safety, so if the robot is in any way unsure of itself (say because there are moving objects nearby) it should just shut off and wait for human guidance. Some jobs, like mowing, cleaning, planting, harvesting, etc, can easily be stopped with no problems. On the other hand, you wouldn't want to just shut down a car in traffic when something goes wrong.
If people can attend meetings in another country remotely, why couldn't they also push around a vacuum cleaner or pick strawberries remotely? This would avoid all the costs of travel and food and boarding in a foreign country. Rather than immigrants working illegally in the US, they could be operating machines in the US from their home countries.
Janitors already travel from building to building to clean the floors. If they could operate the cleaning equipment from home, why wouldn't they? Physically transporting a person is more expensive than transporting information, and the gap between the two will only widen.
It seems to me that the hard part is remote controlling the robot so that it can move around while not hurting itself and other people. The Anybot robot is already semi-autonomous in this sense. Once you have this basic feature in place, it's straightforward to add other capabilities.
A mower robot could also be safer. A person riding a mower is exposed to a lot of noise, sun, and shaking. If you are relatively disabled or have a bad back, you can't operate a mower. Just about anyone who can see, on the other hand, could operate a mower remotely. No exposure to noise, to dust, to sun, to bumps. Also, you would want to err on the side of safety, so if the robot is in any way unsure of itself (say because there are moving objects nearby) it should just shut off and wait for human guidance. Some jobs, like mowing, cleaning, planting, harvesting, etc, can easily be stopped with no problems. On the other hand, you wouldn't want to just shut down a car in traffic when something goes wrong.
If people can attend meetings in another country remotely, why couldn't they also push around a vacuum cleaner or pick strawberries remotely? This would avoid all the costs of travel and food and boarding in a foreign country. Rather than immigrants working illegally in the US, they could be operating machines in the US from their home countries.
Janitors already travel from building to building to clean the floors. If they could operate the cleaning equipment from home, why wouldn't they? Physically transporting a person is more expensive than transporting information, and the gap between the two will only widen.
It seems to me that the hard part is remote controlling the robot so that it can move around while not hurting itself and other people. The Anybot robot is already semi-autonomous in this sense. Once you have this basic feature in place, it's straightforward to add other capabilities.