This seminar was held in-person in Wu and Chen as well as virtually…
ABSTRACT
- Since its inception, Robotics has constantly used technological developments to address new customer needs. These developments have occurred in two areas: mechatronics and software & control.
- Mechatronic advances made robots stronger, faster, and more accurate. In parallel, software & control has made it easier to program and operate robots, for example e.g., through lead through programming and wizards. The increasing ease of use has addressed a key need for the deployment of robots in industries and businesses whose employees do not have deep technical expertise, enabling them to deploy and interact with robots.
- From a market perspective, global robot density comparisons indicate further significant growth potential, particularly across new segments and SME’s and driven by global megatrends, including an aging workforce, the individualized consumer, geopolitical uncertainty, digitalization, and sustainability.
- To unlock this potential, robotics needs to continue to progress in mechatronics, and in particular in making robots more intelligent and autonomous through software/Artificial Intelligence.
- Artificial Intelligence is already used to provide robots with autonomous skills, like item picking. It will further enable robots to learn and acquire new sensory-motor skills efficiently, leading to higher degrees of perception and dexterous manipulation.
- Additionally, prompt-based, natural language technology and autonomous planning and decision making will allow non-expert users to deploy robotics.
- Matching customer needs for automation with new technological developments has been a key growth driver for robotics in the past. With the rapid advancement of Artificial Intelligence for robotics, this trend will continue.