The Future of Industrial Robotics

Artificial intelligence is helping automate many processes in business and industry and is proving its worth in analysing enormous data sets in ways that would be difficult or time-consuming for people. AI also has an important role to play in the robots of the future, because it lends robots – traditionally highly efficient, tireless, and rapid beasts of burden for applications such as welding car bodies – human-like abilities, such as identifying and recognising objects in the environment using enhanced computer vision, or manipulating objects in complicated ways.

AI can also allow robots to navigate a factory without the need for human control. It can even comprehend language thanks to the rapid recent development of natural language processing. All these elements will increase the capabilities of industrial robots and their usefulness in the manufacturing environment. 

For example, robots that can process language can be programmed more intuitively, without the need for the operator to understand programming languages or how to program PLCs. Robots and AI are highly complementary technologies. AI, in short, is effectively helping to make future robots more human-like. 

What will robotics do in the future? A key development will be robots becoming more autonomous and independent of the need for operator intervention. 

If a robot is genuinely autonomous, it can operate completely independently. Advances in AI are helping make autonomous robots of this type more commonplace. These innovations include technologies such as computer vision, a field of AI that enables computers to understand image data, and advanced sensors such as laser scanners or cameras, which help robots understand and navigate their environment. For example, autonomous robots are being used in logistics applications for the transport of heavy goods over long distances (such as within very large warehouses). 

These autonomous machines for logistics and materials handling can navigate the environment independently, avoid obstacles, and safely deliver goods to the correct location. Autonomous drones are also being used in the manufacturing sector to monitor and inspect parts of the plant that are otherwise difficult to reach. 

Collaborative robots – co-bots – are robots that can work alongside people, which traditionally would have been difficult to achieve due to safety concerns. Co-bots are now being used in automotive, aerospace, healthcare, packaging, and electronics to assist employees. Co-bots typically feature force-sensing technology, which makes them safe for interaction with human workers, along with rounded edges and an array of collision sensors. 

These robots may feature robotic arms and control systems that allow them to be guided directly by a human operator (through a handheld device, for example) to perform a task. Unlike autonomous robots, co-bots are specifically designed to be controlled by people, assisting in activities alongside manufacturing personnel. For example, a co-bot can be programmed to deliver raw materials to a production line at given intervals while the engineer focuses on higher-value tasks such as quality control. Co-bots can also be used to assist with activities that may be extremely physically arduous or dangerous for people. Again, AI is helping to make co-bots smarter and capable of more difficult tasks.

Robots also come into their own when it comes to the maintenance of smart factories. They can be used for cleaning and repair, or for detecting leaks of gases or liquids. Maintenance work that is difficult or dangerous for engineers can often be conducted by robots. For example, utilities are experimenting with robots to maintain overhead power lines and gas mains, and robots have been used for a long time to access areas that are completely inaccessible to people, such as nuclear facilities. Autonomous robotic systems can also be used for the inspection of infrastructure such as transport systems or oil and gas pipelines. 

Two fields of robotics that are expected to have a special impact on maintenance and repair are very small robotic systems (nanorobotics), which can access extremely confined spaces, and soft, flexible robots that can conduct precision repairs for aerospace. Nanorobotics even promises to conduct repairs without disassembling equipment in some cases.