Robots and the City
The robots:
First I would like to give you a fast run-down to show the reader how close mobile robotics technology is, to be implemented on a mass scale.
It's close because it's virtually developed already. For the most part, it's just a matter of stringing together technologies that are already developed. The key technologies that allow robots to replace humans are:
Comprehensive boundary scanning and detection (like what driverless cars have), to allow robots to work safely and quickly around humans and fragile structures.
Wireless internet so as to allow for efficient remote manual over-ride. This is vital because no robot can realistically solve the 'miscellaneous' problems confronting them in a variant and dynamic environment.
-Driverless technology to allow a robot to access a location without a human. Without this, the economic advantage of using robots will be heavily compromised. As soon as a robot requires constant supervision it can become economically pointless.
Realistically, all we are waiting for is the driverless car.
My best guess for the common mobile robot of the future, is that we will see something that looks like a crab on a driverless skateboard. The driverless skateboard takes the crab to a site, the 'crab' walks off the platform and then addresses the job. The manual-override (human) operates the robot remotely at the point that they need to cut in and direct it, and only then.
Remote controlling will be highly intuitive, like in modern VR video games. A 2-hour job might be reduced to 10 minutes in terms of actual (paid for) human labour, as all the dead time of moving to the work point is fully automated. The remote controller will be highly skilled because they've probably already spent half their lives on video games (practicing).
The mass-produced 'core' robot will be the crab. 3D printing with metals will allow specialized tools to be quickly and cheaply developed for all kinds of different jobs, to be attached to the mobile robot. All different tools can be quickly delivered via driverless car technology, posting components quickly and cheaply.
Online robotic services start-up's will rapidly move into traditional territories, in the same way that Uber is quickly moving into the territory held by traditional taxi companies. We do not need to wait for dinosaur industries to reform themselves (for the most part they won't. They will just die).
More comprehensive article on robotics here:
The city:
Ultimately, what we are creating is the potential for people to work from home, even while doing "manual" work. And of course we're creating the potential for extraordinary levels of automation.
The result will be a massive wealth increase across the board, as the cost of living collapses.
People will be less attracted to the idea of making as much money as possible. Instead they will focus more on lifestyle.
There will be little advantage in cramming people together in vertical and horizontal stack-and-pack, as the agglomeration advantages of doing so become ever more irrelevant in an internet-based world. And no one will have to tolerate the hustle and bustle if they don't like it.
With the internet growing robotic limbs, most people can and will live anywhere they want, with minimal or no penalty.
City planners will eventually be forced to accept this. No matter how much they love the idea of forced densification.
Conclusion:
There's nothing 'geek fantasy' about what I have written. I'm not one to love technology for its own sake. It's simply clear enough that the mass-implementation of mobile robotics is close. Commercial competitive pressures will dictate their implementation, at the point that these systems can be practically deployed. The economic advantages are too clear.
Mobile robotics, with driverless cars, will have a deep impact on how we live and how our cities will function and be structured. Public priorities, and natural optimization points in urban design, will soon change - and drastically.
I have a further related article here: http://makingnewzealand.wixsite.com/home-site/single-post/2016/08/20/The-shape-of-New-Zealand-to-come
