If you have ever lived, worked in, or visited New York City and had to get around by car, you understand what a hassle parking can be. You might be happy to learn that in 2007 a company opened a new robotic parking garage. What makes the system so special–besides the fact that you no longer have to relinquish the keys to your new sports car to a testosterone-charged teenager–is that the system is so efficient that it can fit sixty-seven cars in a space that previously held only twenty-four. It is able to pull off this feat by packing cars closer to one another (there is no need to leave space to open a car door) and by doing away with ramps and other superfluous maneuvering space. When you consider that it costs roughly $25 a day to park in New York City and multiply that figure by the number of additional cars such a system can handle, it provides some modest idea of how robots can help some businesses “walk the escalator.”

All across the emerging field of robotics, similar opportunities for cost savings are emerging. Robotic vacuum cleaners and floor scrubbers are helping building maintenance companies cut down on janitorial costs; Staples and Walgreens and others are now using robots to transform their warehouses; and the military is now employing robots to disarm roadside bombs and patrol dangerous areas. The video below demonstrates how versatile these robots are becoming:

And, as was mentioned in an earlier post on the future of robotics in health care, robots are now performing more than 50 percent of all prostatectomies. Less understood is that these robotic systems are so good at what they do that patients often have significantly shorter recovery times due to the precision and delicacy with which the robots perform the surgical operation. In more practical terms, this means shorter hospitals stays and fewer nurses to watch over the patients. It also suggests that hospitals can free up more doctors, nurses, and beds to serve other needier patients.

Exponential Insight

Whether you are looking to squeeze a little more efficiency out of an existing operation, fighting a new battle, or are just trying to clean up around the office better, a growing number of robots are available to “walk the escalator” with you.

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