A second challenge is the acceptance of robots by their co- workers. The physical aspect of the robot plays a significant role for its acceptance. It needs to appear as non-threatening as possible with human-like features and creating it factory- friendly. Guaranteeing safety is one of the biggest challenges. The industry and the market need to be willing to accept a degree of residual risk. The most adopted mechanisms to ensure safety are related either to limiting the force that is exerted on the human body or to reducing the speed of the robot when a human is in proximity. The existing standard for collaborative robotics mandates that power and force limits need to be enacted to have a cage-free robot. If no standard has emerged, the industry will continue to develop its own approaches to safety. Hence it is aptly appropriate to quote the Three Laws of Robotics concocted by the science fiction author Isaac Asimov when addressing this challenge.
A second issue is related to capital investment needed for the expansion of the sales and distribution network as well as for additional product development. Even if equity funding is available (which it is, if Islamic finance tenet is practiced), navigating the relevant terms and conditions still pose challenges due to the mostly unfamiliarity existed on both sides (FIs/IFIs and entrepreneurs) on such financing/ investment arrangement to come to a workable agreement. Hence the need to deploy relevant expertise and regulatory support to make this sort of initiative a commonplace in the market. Managing the transition from RD&C to a marketable product is a minefield that needs to be overcome. The lack of entrepreneurial culture prevents investment and public support from the early stages of development of new ideas right to initial product market introduction. Instead, substantial resources are spent on R&D with little consideration of its commercial viability. A fraction of R&D funds should be channelled into the subsequent step of the innovation chain. Universities, research institutes and government venture capital (GVC) firms play vital roles in supporting and sustaining innovative companies. Close ties may serve in development and testing of ideas, seed funding, mentoring, as well as recruitment of talents. However, the problem is how to best accommodate the interests of academia, government, and industry. In the absence of GVC’s involvement, academics’ incentive system dictates that researchers are rewarded by the number of publications, and not the number of products they successfully bring to the market. This naturally leads them to focus on subjects that are highly theoretical and not of interest to the industry. The next critical step is related to market entry. This is even tougher if the company introduces a new and disruptive technology, for which the market must be created. The challenge is convincing potential customers of the value of one’s product with few or no references. For companies from a small country global presents are not a choice, but a necessity, as the local market cannot sustain their growth.
First Law - A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm. Second Law - A robot must obey the orders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law. Third Law - A robot must protect its own existence if such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.
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THREE LAWS OF ROBOTICS
Financing such innovative initiative has always been a challenge to any business of any size including SMEs. In addition to the general difficulty of acquiring funds, there appears to be some specificities with respect to the robotics sector. First, few financial institutions (FIs) are familiar with robotics and what it entails. For this business investment in technology may not yield profits for up to 10 years or worst, fail. Such scenarios are not favourable to conventional FIs at all.
Finding the proper skills and recruiting talents are always a challenge. Two main aspects stand out; first, due to an
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Malaysian Technology Strategic Outlook 2019/2020 Intergration of High Technology
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