The Shocking Truth About Airline Safety And Robots

Would you be comfortable entrusting airline safety to robots? Rolls-Royce, the well-known engine maker, has revealed plans to maintain airplane engines using snake robots assisted by smaller robots that look like beetles.

Rolls-Royce is attracted to the idea of using robots because it is more economical both to the airlines and engine maker. Robots will save thousands of dollars every year because they will be able to check engines in minutes while they mounted on the plane.

Traditionally, the engines are taken down from the plane and checked by engineers, a process that can take several days. A snake robot will be used to take beetle-like robots to areas hard to reach. The tiny beetles will make an inspection and report back to engineers.

Rolls-Royce will decide to take down an engine or not based on the report by the robots. What if the robots make a mistake? Rolls-Royce indicated that there are still several years to make preventive maintenance by robots a reality.

Entrusting airline safety to robots is unpalatable to some. They feel that human engineers should continue to carry out such vital tasks. The shocking truth is that artificial intelligence is here to stay and thrive. All the complaining and worry will not stop technological advancement.

Robots have some advantages over humans. They do what you tell them, do not complain, can work tirelessly, and do not need to worry about family and friends. They don’t pick up quarrels with fellow employees, and their employers do not need to worry about retirement benefits and pension.

Artificial intelligence cannot be trusted entirely. Self-navigating cars get involved in fatal accidents, and reporters tell about near misses. When that happens in mid-air, it is scary and shocking. So far air travel has been the safest and quickest mode of transport. Will the safety standards be maintained and improved when robots become the maintenance engineers in charge?