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de Silva. Intell Robot 2021;1(1):3-17 https://dx.doi.org/10.20517/ir.2021.01 Page 16

monitoring, planning, and utilization of energy). Some of these applications have been implemented today.
However, some will provide diverse future opportunities.

6.1. Opportunities for developing countries
Here, opportunities exist in all the areas that were mentioned before. However, developing countries should
not blindly decide on the considered robotics activities just for the sake of being involved in Robotics or AI.
It is important to explore and determine what is in the “black box”. Otherwise, one can be dissuaded
through fear-mongering or make wrong choices for robotic activities. One must first question whether
Robotics is needed for a specific local application. Then they must explore which robotic approaches are
relevant for the considered task. Very importantly, they must examine what is in the existing Black Box
before implementing it.

Developing countries should primarily concentrate on “robot development”, not their application for the
automation of local industries. They will be able to market these robots to other countries. Since the
developing countries typically have an excessive and smart labor force, using robots for such applications as
agriculture and industrial automation is not generally suitable in those countries. Nevertheless, they may
consider the development of simple and low-cost robots for local use (e.g., for service and household
applications). They may focus on the development of advanced software, in particular, to incorporate other
forms of intelligence into robots and efficient software, and the use of advanced platforms like Flexible
Cloud, Real-time Internet of Things, and Edge AI. Software development can be carried out without much
capital investment, as it is done in India particularly because these countries normally have an educated and
vast group of professionals. Also, they should focus on advancing the “mechanical capabilities” of robots,
which are essential but may not necessarily be for the local market. As well, they should consider the needs
that result from a particular situation (e.g., Covid-19). Very importantly, they should develop their own
guidelines and regulations for robotic ethics and safety, which can be done by modifying the existing
guidelines and regulations in the highly developed jurisdictions.

7. CONCLUSIONS
Robotics has found numerous practical applications today in industry, medicine, the service sector,
household, and the general society. Important developments and practical strides are being made,
particularly in Soft Robotics, Mobile Robotics (Aerial - drones, Underwater, Ground-based - autonomous
vehicles in particular), Swarm Robotics, Homecare, Surgery, Assistive Devices, and Active Prosthesis. This
perspective paper presented a brief history of Robotics while indicating some associated myths and unfair
expectations. Next, it presented some important practical applications of Robotics, as developed by groups
worldwide, including the Industrial Automation Laboratory at the University of British Columbia, headed
by the author. The main shortcomings of Intelligent Robotics included those of the mechanical capabilities
and the nature of the available level of intelligence. Concerning robotic intelligence, apart from the current
focus of “learning”, other characteristics should be further explored and incorporated. They included
sensory perception, pattern recognition, decision making from incomplete information, inference from
qualitative or approximate information (qualitative reasoning), ability to deal with unfamiliar situations,
adaptability to new, yet related situations (through “expectational knowledge”), inductive reasoning,
common sense, display of emotions, inventiveness, and self-awareness. Finally, the future trends and key
opportunities available in Intelligent Robotics for both developed and developing counties were indicated.

DECLARATIONS
Authors’ contributions
The author contributed solely to the article.