There can be no denying that the adoption of robotics in industry has increased considerably over the last few years. Driven by leaps in technology and the desire for industry to automate as much as possible, service robotics companies such as Robotnik have stepped up developing new and exciting autonomous mobile robotics to fulfil demand.
AI and robotics is a fusion that is inevitable and in many respects already here. As AI and hardware is developed further, industries that want to survive will push increasing adoption as time goes on. It’s not just manufacturing and distribution that are set to benefit from robotic development. Industries such as construction are set to adopt various technologies to assist in building design and build. According to various reports, market size in robotics is expected to grow by 37.9bn within the next five years.
So what we can expect to see in the world of robotic adoption in industry.
Construction Robotics
As mentioned, robotics in construction is set to ride and many believe this to be one of the top industries in terms of adoption. Although it could be argued construction hasn’t been one of the first industries to adopt new tech this has been gradually changing. Partly due to labour shortages.
The advantages of having machines that can paint, survey sites, lay bricks and haul materials are proving to be too good to ignore.
When you consider the U.S is planning to overhaul much of its infrastructure, being able to build speedily and accurately will drive industry wide adoption of robotics.
Shipping, Packaging, Distribution and Warehousing
The demand for autonomous automation in the warehousing sector became apparent in 2020 when e-commerce sales spiked. With Covid-19 measures shutting down economies, there was simply nowhere to buy goods other than online. As such, mega companies like Amazon went stratospheric.
As any diligent business manager would do, they have looked at the situation and decided that automating mundane and repetitive tasks is the way to drive profits and productivity. AMRs are a good example of the kind of robot that is making sweeping changes to how warehouses are managed and day to day business is conducted. As such, the fully autonomous warehouse, shipping, and distribution centre are but a heartbeat away.
Transport
Unless you’ve been living under a rock the concept of the self driving car must have reached your ears. Tesla and other leading car brands are trying to push through the technology that will enable your car to drive you from a to b. Right now the technology is not fully autonomous and so the car isn’t fully in control of your journey. The tech to enable the car to take full control is not far away and by the end of the year, you could find the fully autonomous self driving vehicle on the road.
Self driving autonomous transport is not only for private transportation. For example, the Robotnik’s RB-CAR is an autonomous mobile robot that can be programmed to navigate autonomously or teleoperated with a joystick or a steering wheel for the transportation of goods (such as food or supplies) or for the transportation of people in need.
Industry seems keen to adopt a model of self driving delivery vehicles whether this is drones in the sky or haulage. The fact is that once a vehicle is proven safe when transporting people around, the technology will be rolled out to industry who will be in a position to make significant cost savings.
Manufacturing Robotics
Robots are perfect for automating repetitive and sometimes dangerous tasks and this is why manufacturing adoption is increasing. Collaborative robots and autonomous quality control are set to explode this year. Most manufacturing plants run 24 hours a day every day and this is where robotics comes into its own. The use of mobile manipulators and robotic arms will certainly help increasing productivity in many companies is the coming years.
Pressures over the last two years have hit the manufacturing industry hard due to supply chain shortages and disruption. As such, manufactures have been forced to look at processes to make operations more efficient. They don’t come more efficient than robots.
Food
The food and beverage industry has seen fairly large scale adoption over the course of the last few years. Autonomous pizza making robots that can make 100 pizzas per hour have come to light. Food delivery is another area where robotics has come into its own.
When you consider that much of catering is repetitive, having a robot that can do this for you is a massive bonus to any business.
Healthcare
Robotics has been in healthcare for some time but only in certain specialities.
The Covid-19 crisis led to the increase of the use of robotics in healthcare as collaborative mobile robotics can perform specific tasks that facilitate social distancing or transport materials in health centres. Many companies have put their technologies at the service of the COVID-19 health crisis and through projects such as ENDORSE, they aimed to integrate an electronic diagnostic module in a mobile robot base from Robotnik in order to obtain a direct interface to have the patient’s status remotely.
In 2022 you can expect to see robots helping to perform surgery with more accuracy and care, together with more and more automation in senior care to plug staff shortages.
It may feel like a robot invasion is only around the corner, but hopefully, it will help humanity rather than enslave it.
This year will be the year of mass robot adoption.
