How Long Until A Robot Replaces Your Local Dealer Mechanic?

A good mechanic is MUCH more than a machine!

For example, imagine you have an intermittant problem with your car. You take it to the shop. The mechanic hooks it up to the diagnostic computer. 30 minutes later, he hands you a bill for $120 (computer diagnostic fee), and tells you the computer didn't log any error codes; keep driving, and come back when the problem happens consistently.

That's machine-like.

A GOOD mechanic understands that the diagnostic computer is only the first step in correctly identifying the problem. This will eventually lead to correcting what's wrong.

I do NOT believe that during my lifetime, a dealer's repair shop will be staffed by robots only. We're a long way off from that Sci-Fi vision.


And for those folks who will cite some of today's automotive factories that are "almost all robots":

1) You haven't seen the behind-the-scenes action, where humans feed parts into the system, inspect robots' work and make the necessary corrections, fix robots when they break, and correcting anything out of the ordinary.

2) Manufacturing robots simply repeat a set of KNOWN instructions, under KNOWN conditions. They are not "figuring things out" like a human does when troubleshooting a problem. It's an entirely different scenario.

never.. this article is pointless

Decades. Even thought I am hopeful that robotic technology will one day be in place to help mankind, auto mechanic is way down the list of potential uses.

I am very optimistic on the timeline for automation, but even I don't think this is happening anytime soon. We are probably talking 2-4 decades. What will happen in the near future is cars are going to become far more reliable and require a ton less service.

The better question is when will the local corrupt politicians will be replaced with constitutional based honorable robots?

I know you are joking, but robots could be helping with public policy within decades. I'm not sure if that is a good or bad thing yet.