Ahead of his appearance at the Innorobo Keynote in Paris in May, Albert Yefimov, head of the Skolkovo Foundation's Robotics Centre, gave an interview to TheDisruptory, a website devoted to disruptive innovations from around the world.
Image: thedisruptory.com.
Q: What is your most recent project / news?
Firstly, the cofounder of one of Skolkovo’s resident startups – Oleg Kivokurtsev of Promobot – was included in the Forbes list of 30 Under 30. This is important because robotics is itself a young industry, and the proportion of young people – those under 30 – working in it is I think definitely more than 50 percent.
Secondly, last year the number of participants in Skolkovo’s robotics centre grew by 50 percent compared to the year before, to 50 or 60 companies. We comprise a significant part of the country’s overall robotics industry as well as of the Skolkovo Foundation itself. The reason for this is that people are beginning to understand that robotics is a growing branch of industry and that there’s room for innovation in it.
Another important thing is that we have robots on sale. Promobot, for example, sold more than 100 robots in 2015 – that’s a lot, especially considering only several hundred are sold in the whole of Russia per year. Ten percent of them are service robots created by Promobot – that’s also a lot.
We also actively developed our panel of mentors in 2015. A significant proportion of Skolkovo mentors – about 40 percent of them – work with companies engaged in robotics.
And at the moment we are formulating two teams for Eurobot – one from the Skolkovo gymnasium, and one from Skoltech.
Finally, last year we sold the first exoskeleton made in Russia, to the Arkhangelsk Development Corporation.
Q: Could you tell us about a compelling use case using one of your human-centered technology?
There are two points to make here: The population of the planet is getting older. Soon there simply won’t be enough young people to look after the old, either financially or physically. So everything that will increase work productivity among young people or help them to care for the elderly will be needed. This is particularly the case in developed countries – especially Japan – but is also true for the U.S., Russia and other countries. Migrant labour will save Europe, but not completely, because the migrants generally aren’t highly skilled.
The second issue is connected to the first. Specific jobs require specific qualifications. And the number of skilled workers is decreasing, especially in developed countries. On some oil platforms in the North Sea there are literally not enough skilled workers. And it’s not just that one country has a deficit – there’s nowhere to get them from. That means their labour will become more expensive, prompting the question of how to replace them. And they can only be replaced by robots.
So imagine how driverless transport could ease the workload of people who spend time driving their elderly relative around. Driverless transport will be accessible for older people – they can just open the door and get in.
Or take oil platforms, where an underwater robot can replace a diver. It’s safer. And for owners of small vessels, if before, the owner of a yacht had to take it to a port to get it looked at, with the help of an underwater robot they can take a look at it themselves.
Q: What lessons have you learned from your customers so far?
The main demand we see from our clients is a classic business model. Regardless of the fuss surrounding robotics and artificial intelligence right now, the classic model of payback of expenses has not changed. Understanding the need to think like our clients and not just like people who invent technology, that’s the main experience we’ve gained.
Q: What surprised you on the 2015 robotics market?
First, all the letters against artificial intelligence from Nobel laureates. Because the danger from AI is so exaggerated that I am forced to wonder whether these people are in their right minds, although some, like Elon Musk and Stephen Hawking, are totally rational people. But AI that could in any way pose a threat to people is centuries away, and overall it brings nothing but advantages to people.
I was also surprised by the very sharp rise in investment in AI and robotics – which go together. Toyota has invested in the creation of a robotics and AI centre, General Motors has investments of its own too. Toyota isn’t just investing in driverless cars, but in robotics. Toyota openly says, “We don’t know what Toyota will be in 10 years. Maybe it will be a domestic robot.”
Albert Yefimov will be discussing the international robotics market on May 25 at the Innorobo Keynote in Paris: Impact and challenges of the robotics revolution - Horizon 2030.