For some time, those following robotics development have noticed a quiet revolution in this field. While self-driving cars have grabbed all the headlines, work at the intersection of AI, machine vision, and machine learning is fast becoming the foundation for the next phase of robotics.
What is robotics technology?
Robotics is the intersection of science, engineering, and technology to produce machines, called robots, that are a substitute (or replica) of human actions. Robots are acquiring intellectual and mechanical abilities that are not beyond a machine like R2-D2 in the future.
Whether they are increasing safety, improving accuracy, or reducing waste, robotics is advancing at an impressive pace. Discover intelligent, autonomous machines changing everything from mobility and delivery to production and manufacturing.
By combining machine vision with learning capabilities, roboticists are opening up a wide range of new possibilities such as vision-based drones, robotic harvesting, robotic sorting in recycling, and warehouse pick and place.
We are finally at the point of change: the moment where these applications are becoming more than enough to provide real value in semi-structured environments where traditional robots can never succeed.
Top 7 Robotics Trends
With industries around the world turning to automation due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it is time to explore the impacts on how business is conducted during the next twelve months.
- Autonomous Mobile Robots (AMRs) as data acquisition platforms
- Robotic Process Automation (RPA)
- Increased robotics demand & abilities
- Robotics as a Service (RaaS)
- Multi-purpose robots & cobots
- Delivery robots on the rise
- Increased awareness of the lack of interoperability
1. Autonomous Mobile Robots (AMRs) as data acquisition platforms
Autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) use cameras, sensors, artificial intelligence, and machine vision to independently navigate through uncontrolled environments to accomplish a variety of tasks.
Driven by e-commerce growth, labor shortages, increased automation, and mass privatization of goods, demand for AMR is growing at incredible rates – from €0.88B in 2017 to an estimated €6.17B in 2022. AMRs expected to act like IoT hubs, where mobile robot software will add another €2.64B to the AMR market value.
Autonomous robots can improve the speed and accuracy of routine operations, particularly in warehousing and manufacturing locations; Work side by side with humans for added efficiency, and reduce the risk of employee injury in hazardous environments.
2. Robotic Process Automation (RPA)
Robotic process automation, metaphorically, is a form of business process automation technology based on software robots or artificial intelligence/digital workers. This is sometimes referred to as software robotics.
RPA is a commonly used technology for businesses that deal with large amounts of repetitive tasks. Robotic Process Automation (RPA) is a software technology that makes it easier to build, deploy and manage software robots that simulate human actions interacting with digital systems and software.
A great example of such a business would be hospitals that deal with manual invoicing, appointment scheduling, and inventory management. All these can easily be automated through RPA.
3. Increased robotics demand & abilities
Frankfurt, August 06, 2020 – By 2022, an operating stock of approximately 4 million industrial robots is expected to operate in factories around the world. These changes mean that roboticists are in demand. In fact, the average salary of a robotics engineer is over $100,000 per year.
At the same time, robots are driving the demand for skilled workers. Educational systems must accommodate this demand effectively.
The industrial robot industry is expected to grow by 175% over the next nine years, resulting in more competition and innovation, which will drive these modern technologies.
Assistive robots will be safer and cost less as the industry expands and more options become available.
Robotics engineering is considered to be a high-end professional career in India. There are tremendous job opportunities for the candidate having professional training in Robotics Engineering.
4. Robotics as a Service (RaaS)
Robotics-as-a-Service (RaaS) is a new business model where robots are projected as a product, not an organization’s most manual, mundane, repetitive, or dangerous tasks to manage across multiple locations.
Thanks to the growing trend of everything-as-a-service, small firms can now be enabled and empowered to adopt subscription-based robotics-as-a-service (RaaS) as well as Robo and RPA as software.
Robotics is being used in many aspects of manufacturing to help increase productivity and efficiency while reducing production costs. For It helps to Improve productivity at minimum cost and enables a better business network.
Like the health care industry, many robots in construction collaborate with workers to perform repetitive, monotonous, or complex tasks under the guidance and control of workers.
5. Multi-purpose robots & cobots
Collaborative robots (cobots) are designed to work safely with humans in a shared workspace. With their increased flexibility and agility, these robots can accomplish more delicate tasks than traditional robots cannot, such as polishing light materials in production processes.
A cobot, or collaborative robot, is intended for direct human-robot interaction within a shared space or where the human and the robot are close. Cobot applications contrast with traditional industrial robot applications in that the robots are isolated from human interaction.
Retail automation is also seeing significant growth, with retailers expected to add multi-purpose robots to work with their teams – and thus referred to as cobots – to perform multiple tasks simultaneously to meet and thereby make it easier for them to complete.
Cobot safety may rely on lightweight construction materials, rounded edges, inherent range of motion and force, or sensors and software that ensure safe behavior.
The ever-increasing customer expectations and purchase demands. At the same time, cobots are taking some jobs permanently in various industries to improve workplace safety and efficiency.
6. Delivery robots on the rise
Hiring robots to deliver food and drinks will attract customers’ attention and create respect for your restaurant brand. The global delivery robot market size was estimated at €188M in 2021. It is expected to grow to a CAGR of 30.3% during a forecast period from 2021 to 2030.
Robot Fare delivers a strong message that you are keeping up with contemporary trends and providing an unforgettable dining experience.
Many such delivery robots are in the development stage and ready for commercialization soon, making them a highly potential market.
The market for delivery robots is expected to grow from a value of €188M in 2021 to approximately €850M by 2026 – following a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 35.1% during the forecast period.
This market growth is primarily driven by a reduction in last-mile delivery costs, increased venture funding, and increased demand for delivery robots in the retail and food and beverage industries.
7. Increased awareness of the lack of interoperability
With the increasing use of robots across industries, there has been an increased need for solutions that address the lack of interactivity in the industry.
If dealt with, it can be a severe pain point that stunts the facility’s productivity – or even prevents, if not all, robots from starting to obstruct or interfere with each other give.
Interoperability is a factor that many robot operators can easily overlook. It allows robots to communicate with other systems to enable an efficient and safe work environment.