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More than 500 people die every year from work accidents in Colombia (FASECOLDA),
because of this 6.4% of the workers formally linked to Sistema de Riesgo Ocupacional
(occupational risk system) died in 2017 (Fondo), which represent 40% of the population that
works (News Agency UN). According to Carlos Arturo, 1.3 billion COP (Colombian Pesos)
were paid by occupational risk insurers to cover accident costs, an amount similar to previous
years (García). In addition to accidents, 9,690 diseases were classified as "work-related"
(Money). These consequences of the deficiency of safety and occupational health, have greater
occurrence in primary economic sectors such as "mines and quarries", in which only 0.9% of the
population works in accordance with numbers of 2014 (Monzonís and Méndez), it is one of the
Colombia's most important economic sectors, and according to Agencia Nacional de Minería
(National Mining Agency), the second with the most accidents at work, with 106 fatalities in
2017 (ANM), a number that could be much higher, since 70% of mining in Colombia is
clandestine (MARKET) and indifferent to the human rights of its workers, one of the reasons
why Colombia is considered one of the 10 worst countries to work in (Burrow).
For their part, legalized mining companies maintain a suffocating frenzy for the safety of
workers, which I witnessed during academic internship at one of the biggest coal companies in
the country, while I was working in technology department of the open-pit mine, I participated in
all safety activities and trainings to which they put through the workers, such as morning talks,
accident billboards, mandatory reports, random drug and alcohol tests, among others that
dampen accident rates but are not enough to save the life of around 90 people annually and
protect the health of the other workers. I was also able to witness the solid support provided by
the technology, especially in terms of automation of extremely dangerous and complex tasks,
which gave me the certainty that technology can face the challenge of increasing safety in
Colombia's risky economic sectors, starting from two approaches to the Robotics.
The first one directly attacks the cause of the problem by redirecting the behavior of the
workers, through the stimulation of the kinds of learning, mainly experiential and implicit, taking
advantage of the positive influence of video games on human behavior, which stimulate the
production of dopamine (Waelti, Dickinson and Schultz), neurotransmitter linked to pleasure and
Martínez Valencia, Lizeth
learning, and the activation of neural networks (Gong, He and Liu), which speeds up the ability
to coordinate. It seeks to expose virtually the individual to the consequences of the dangerous
acts performed in their work through simulation, training the brain to handle this situation in
subsequent similar experiences, this tool is called Gamification. The second approach focuses
on the consequences, namely, occupational diseases requiring assistance and personalized
rehabilitation directed at localized damage, a branch of robotics that can help an individual to
measure and control their physical reactions using human-machine interaction, is the Soft
Robotics, these robots are presented as a design solution adaptable to the environment through
its construction materials which provide an inertial change in its structure (Ewoldt), one of the
applications that robotics in conjunction with rheology develop are the Wearables Robots, which
adhere as garments to treat a specific part of the body.
I am fully convinced of the advantages that robotics can bring to the country at development
level, but it is necessary to begin to break the human-machine barriers, my ambition to have a
leading role in the research and development of the future generation of systems and
technologies integrated robotics is the reason why I look forward to this specialization whose
achievements will be reflected in the personal projection for my career and professional life, in
the first place it will allow me to emphasize my line of work and develop my second language,
and also the acquired experience to go through exchanges and disciplines, approaching
companies more linked with cutting-edge technologies and the experience in an emblematic
country in this area, which allows me structure an entrepreneurial thought and the future
character for the company or to work with companies in this area.
Martínez Valencia, Lizeth
Bibliography
Agencia Nacional de Mineria . Agencia Nacional De Mineria . 27 Nov 2017. 3 Apr 2018.
Gong, Diankun, y otros. «Enhanced functional connectivity and increased gray matter volume of
insula related to action video game playing.» Nature (2015). Scientific Article .
Kiat, Päivi Hämäläinen. Jukka Takala. Tan Boon. GLOBAL ESTIMATES OF OCCUPATIONAL.
Global Report . Singapore: Workplace Safety and Health Institute, 2017. PDF Document.
Waelti, Pascale, Anthony Dickinson y Wolfram Schultz. «Dopamine responses comply with
basic assumptions of formal learning theory.» Nature (2001): 43-48. Document.