The future of robotics

This article was contributed by Sergey Amosov, CEO of Hardware For Software

The robotics market includes a wide and ever-expanding range of products. After numerous years of collaboration with both eastern and western customers, it’s possible to make predictions about the future evolution of robotics and the robotics industry.

According to the demand, a major market share will involve professional service applications. Changes in customer behavior have emerged as a significant driver of the industry’s development. As an example, delivery services and online marketplaces have raised the demand for robotics in the fields of manufacturing customization and logistics. The recent necessity to automate more and more food delivery operations has resulted in an increase in the use of robotic methods in these fields. Immediately after demand and automation were recognized and implemented in the food industry, rovers were developed to transport food orders to customers around the globe. Now, more and more businesses are employing delivery robots, adding robotics to various aspects of restaurant operations, and so on. Looking at the future of robotics, it is likely that this trend will persist and spread to more industries.

Individual aid and support enhancement are also being established through the use of mobile services. This includes robotic companions that can aid the aging demographic with personal grooming, household chores, and other activities of daily living. This trend is likely to expand as the future of the robotics industry unfolds.

It is already possible to find android-type robots with flexible manipulators on their hinges at world robotics exhibitions. These robots are capable of doing tasks such as:

• Pouring water into a glass
• Washing dishes
• Serving goods

Impressively, a humanoid robotic arm capable of solving a Rubik’s cube without the assistance of a human was also developed by employees of the OpenAI analytical center for artificial intelligence. In the near future, robots will be able to adapt to and learn from unforeseen events, thanks to advancements in artificial intelligence.  As a result, these technologies will be particularly effective in non-repetitive operations.

Technologies are gradually moving away from replacing manual labor and toward improving the efficiency of existing manufacturing processes. In response to consumer demand for environmentally friendly manufacturing, waste recycling processes will be optimized and more complicated solutions for the “intelligent” sorting and distribution of recyclable materials and industrial waste will emerge. We must keep in mind that there is already a scarcity of manual labor on the market and that in a number of complicated spheres where repeatability of operations is not that high, which results in the necessity for technological solutions such as AI.

Looking at the future of robotics, the possibilities of collaboration between humans and robots will expand due to advanced AI. We will be able to interact with machines more easily and natively because of improved sensors, better AI flexibility, and improvements in voice recognition and analysis technologies.

Scalability has always been critical for industrial applications, and it is just as vital for robotic industrial applications. Automated devices will be mobile, simple to integrate into existing manufacturing systems, and have longer life cycles. Specifically, this means the advancement of robots for mass production. The majority of these are manipulators and conveyor robots. The functions of monitoring, modifying, and adjusting the work of AI will continue to be performed by humans.

The efficient and rapid integration of robotic devices into existing environments and processes will define the speed of future projects and the future of robotics. Within the next decade, robots will be massively integrated into new spheres of human life and technical processes.

Sergey Amosov is the CEO of Hardware For Software