Supplement | HBS Case Collection | October 2019 (Revised March 2020)

Modern Automation (B): Robotics

by William R. Kerr and James Palano

Abstract

Driven largely by advances in perception and situational awareness, robots in the 2010s were gaining functionality that allowed them to be applied to fundamentally new types of work. The expanding range of new tasks that could be completed by machines had significant implications for businesses, the workforce, and society. This primer grounds conversations about these implications by describing the advances in underpinning technology that moved the boundaries of where robots could be deployed and illustrating real-world examples of the new types of activities that robots were becoming able to perform.

Keywords: robotics; artificial intelligence; future of work; technology commercialization; Technology; Commercialization; Employment;

Language: English Format: Print 17 pages Purchase

Citation:

Kerr, William R., and James Palano. "Modern Automation (B): Robotics." Harvard Business School Supplement 820-069, October 2019. (Revised March 2020.)

Related Work

  1. Supplement | HBS Case Collection | October 2019 (Revised March 2020)

    Modern Automation (B): Robotics

    William R. Kerr, James Palano, William R. Kerr and James Palano

    Driven largely by advances in perception and situational awareness, robots in the 2010s were gaining functionality that allowed them to be applied to fundamentally new types of work. The expanding range of new tasks that could be completed by machines had significant implications for businesses, the workforce, and society. This primer grounds conversations about these implications by describing the advances in underpinning technology that moved the boundaries of where robots could be deployed and illustrating real-world examples of the new types of activities that robots were becoming able to perform.

    Keywords: robotics; artificial intelligence; future of work; technology commercialization; Technology; Commercialization; Employment;

    Citation:

    Kerr, William R., and James Palano. "Modern Automation (B): Robotics." Harvard Business School Supplement 820-069, October 2019. (Revised March 2020.)  View Details
    CiteView DetailsPurchase Related

  2. Supplement | HBS Case Collection | October 2019 (Revised March 2020)

    Modern Automation (B): Robotics

    William R. Kerr, James Palano, William R. Kerr and James Palano

    Driven largely by advances in perception and situational awareness, robots in the 2010s were gaining functionality that allowed them to be applied to fundamentally new types of work. The expanding range of new tasks that could be completed by machines had significant implications for businesses, the workforce, and society. This primer grounds conversations about these implications by describing the advances in underpinning technology that moved the boundaries of where robots could be deployed and illustrating real-world examples of the new types of activities that robots were becoming able to perform.

    Keywords: robotics; artificial intelligence; future of work; technology commercialization; Technology; Commercialization; Employment;

    Citation:

    Kerr, William R., and James Palano. "Modern Automation (B): Robotics." Harvard Business School Supplement 820-069, October 2019. (Revised March 2020.)  View Details
    CiteView DetailsPurchase Related

About the Author

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William R. Kerr
Dimitri V. D'Arbeloff - MBA Class of 1955 Professor of Business Administration
Entrepreneurial Management

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