Friday, 31 March 2023

summary reader response draft 4

How technology might help with the labour shortage in the cleaning sector

 

After reading the article entitled 'How tech can ease the cleaning industry's manpower crunch', by GERMii (2021) , I learn about how future labour will be complemented by robots. First and foremost, since the COVID-19 outbreak, cleanliness has been one of the highest priorities. The article stated that because of the COVID-19 outbreak, that Harold Van Haltren, CEO of pathogen mitigation company GERMII, would be exploring the trends that will influence public hygiene.The article also stated that , "By introducing Whiz, an AI vacuum cleaning robot that has GERMII’s technology, which transforms ultraviolet C (UV-C) into a concentrated beam of light that is lethal to viruses, bacteria, and pathogens able to disinfect surfaces without relying on chemicals and sterilize the environment." As a result, having sterile and safe business premises provides peace of mind. With its capability of learning routes and creating reports, the robot saves the facilities manager time. GERMii also stated that while using the robots , the cleaners will be expected to concentrate on more crucial chores, including sterilizing "high-touch, high-risk, or difficult-to-clean areas" as a result in paragraph seven. Lastly, according to the photo of the article, it has a 2D/3D camera (sensor), and with its small build, it can move around in a crowded area without any difficulties.

While the robot , Whiz, can learn routes and navigate around freely as it is cleaning and it benefits cleaners in future goals, such boosting labour manual due to its 2D/3D camera (sensor) , I feel that there are a few disadvantages to using the Whiz whereby the batteries have a short battery life and when the robot is cleaning, objects such as twigs, can clog up the mechanism.  Not only that , but with the capability of learning routes, the cleaning robots tend not do what they were programmed for.

One disadvantage is that when the robot is cleaning and navigating around freely, small objects can be clogged- up in the mechanism. Baswal ( 2023 ), stated  that the cleaning machine can be defeated when small objects get clogged up when it is specifically designed to navigate around obstacle. Thus , this can make the machine malfunction and it is costly to repair. The author also stated a second disadvantages whereby the machine has a short battery life making the cleaning job incomplete. When the machine is charged, it can only last for a roughly 2 hours and its recharging time may take up to several hours.

The third disadvantage is that the cleaning robots tend to not do what they were programmed for. McCabe (2019 )  stated that “It might spend 20 minutes cleaning the same small section of the house and then miss an entire room.” Thus, if this applied in a work environment, it would also miss a few cleaning spots.

Despite many disadvantages, Whiz is a powerful, cutting-edge cleaning tool. Cleaning robots are highly good at executing the duties they are designed to accomplish, according to Flynn (2022). They can be configured to avoid locations with plenty of potential hazards. The "sophisticated sensors" used in today's "high-quality" cleaning robots will lessen the likelihood of the machine becoming trapped or bumping into things (Flynn, 2022, p.10).

In conclusion, cleaning robot technology will eventually benefit and reduce the workloads of cleaners and workers making a safe and clean environment. As a result, reading these articles teaches us more about technology, how robots will supplement human labour in the future, and how these robots will make the world a cleaner and better place for everyone. However, having this robot does come at a disadvantage as it is a need to maintain the robots properly and learn to use it well as this robot can easily malfunction and when it does, the cost of repairing it will be very costly.

 

 

 

Reference:

Baswal, A. (2023, January 01). Advantages and disadvantages of floor cleaning machine (2023). GoodHouseCleaner.,

https://goodhousecleaner.com/advantages-and-disadvantages-of-floor-cleaning-machine/

The New York Times. (2019, May 10). Dog poop, dirty rugs, and other disappointing truths about robot vacuums. The New York Times

https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/blog/dog-poop-dirty-rugs-and-other-disappointing-truths-about-robot-vacuums/

Shareef, U. (2015, December 17). Zelect. Robotic vacuum cleaner advantages and disadvantages | Zelect.in.

https://www.zelect.in/vacuum-cleaner/advantages-and-disadvantages-of-robotic-vacuum-cleaners

GovInsider. (n.d.).How tech can ease the cleaning industry's Manpower Crunch.

https://govinsider.asia/intl-en/article/how-tech-can-ease-the-cleaning-industrys-manpower-crunch-robots-germii


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