Artificial intelligence will provide robots with more autonomy and will enable their use in wider applications
AI has become a major talking point most recently because of the effect it has on people’s lives and the potential for both harm and major benefits. “Artificial Intelligence” was a phrase originally coined in association with the development of robots. The transition from automated machinery to androids taking over goes as far back as Isaac Asimov’s essays and novels.
However, with the development of AI technology, one of the main benefactors of intelligent robots is industry and giant strides have already been made in the fields of autonomous robotics and collaborative robots.
AI is serious business for automation experts at ABB and they’ve built the technology into the company’s strategy for improving industrial automation.
The company’s President of the ABB Robotics Division, Marc Seguar, has identified three drivers for robotics-driven AI solutions within the current year, as the company continues to expand into new market segments that haven’t been previously served by robotic automation.
According to Segura, this year will see a growing focus on the critical role of AI. “From mobile robots and cobots, to enabling new robotic applications in new sectors and creating new opportunities for people to learn and develop, these new frontiers for AI are redefining the future of industrial robotics,” he says.
The three drivers identified by Segura centre around new markets, collaboration and autonomy.
New market sectors
The potential offered by AI-enabled robotics is influencing sectors far beyond manufacturing. In 2024, these technologies are expected to bring substantial efficiency improvements to more dynamic environments, such as healthcare and life sciences, as well as retail. Another example is the construction industry, where AI-powered robotics can make a material contribution to boosting productivity, enhancing safety and sustainable construction practices while spurring growth.
“The construction industry is a great example of a sector where AI-powered robots will prove transformative, delivering real value by addressing many of the issues facing the industry today, including worker shortages, safety issues and stagnant productivity,” said Segura. “Abilities such as enhanced recognition and decision-making offered by AI, coupled with advances in collaborative robots enable safe deployment alongside workers. These advances also enable robots to perform key tasks such as bricklaying, modular assembly and 3D printing with greater precision and speed, all while contributing to more sustainable construction by lowering emissions, such as concrete mixing on site, to reducing the need to transport materials across far distances with on-site assembly.”
Robotic Collaboration
The advances being made in AI and robotics is significant for training and education, closing the automation skills gap and making robots more accessible to more people and businesses. With AI making programming easier, through lead-through and even natural language, education can shift more towards how robots can assist humans more effectively, rather than just teaching programming skills. This transition will make robots more approachable and bring them to a wider audience, leading to new job prospects while helping alleviate labour and skills shortages.
“A shortage of people with the skills needed to program and support robots has long been a hurdle to the uptake of robotic automation, especially in small to medium sized manufacturing companies,” said Segura. “We will see this increasingly being overcome as advances in generative AI lower the barriers to automation and expand the focus of education beyond programming. Developments in natural language programming, powered by AI in which workers can verbally instruct a robot in its task, will create a new dynamic in human-robot interactions.”
New levels of autonomy
Accelerating progress in AI is redefining what is possible with industrial robotics. AI is enhancing everything from robots’ ability to grip, pick and place as well as their ability to map and navigate through dynamic environments. From mobile robots to cobots and beyond, AI is giving robots unprecedented levels of speed, accuracy, and payload carrying ability, enabling them to take on more tasks in settings like flexible factories, warehouses, logistics centres and laboratories.
“AI-enabled mobile robots can transform sectors like discrete manufacturing, logistics and laboratories,” said Segura. “Robots equipped with ABB’s new Visual Simultaneous Localisation and Mapping (Visual SLAM) technology, for example, have advanced mapping and navigation skills, granting new levels of autonomy, while greatly reducing the infrastructure needed by previous generations of guided robots. This paves the way for a shift from linear production lines to dynamic networks, creating significant efficiencies and taking on more dull, dirty and dangerous tasks, to enable workers to take up more rewarding jobs.”
Autonomous Mobile Robot
An example of how robotic autonomy is already making an impact this year is the recently announced “Flexley Tug T702” robot.
The tug is equipped with Visual SLAM technology as well as new AMR Studio software, enabling first-time robot users to easily program and operate entire fleets of mobile robots. The new capabilities simplify configuration and can reduce commissioning time by up to 20 percent, paving the way for a workplace where intelligent robots operate autonomously, amid a critical shortage of skilled labour.
According to Segura, this combination of mobile robotics and AI-powered navigation technology brings unmatched intralogistics flexibility and scalability for users in an environ-ment that is shifting from linear production to dynamic manufacturing networks.
“The AMR T702 is a perfect match for a wide range of industries, such as automotive, consumer goods sector or logistics, especially in large, busy warehouses and fulfilment centres where the environment is constantly changing,” he says.
Enabling Intelligent Decision
Visual SLAM technology enables AMRs to make intelligent decisions, differentiating between fixed and mobile objects in dynamic environments. Using this, the robots can create a map that is used to operate independently, reducing commissioning time from weeks to days and enabling fully autonomous operation in highly complex, dynamic environments along-side people. Maps are constantly updated and shared across the fleet, offering instant scalability without interrupting operations and greater flexibility compared to other navigation technologies.
The inclusion of AMR Studio software streamlines the process of setting up an entire AMR fleet from start to finish, guiding users through the necessary steps, from environment mapping to mission generation and system configuration.
Once the fleet is up and running, the software puts users in full control of what is happening on the shop floor. Intelligent order assignment uses powerful algorithms to ensure that orders are distributed efficiently, while real-time visualization and data monitoring provides full traceability.
Large Robot Modularity
The flexibility enabled by Artificial Intelligence is a theme that’s also carried through the robot hardware design with increasingly modular approaches being taken to allow much greater task customisation within a set range of hardware options.
ABB has taken this concept to its large robots with two additional large modular robots added to its range. With the two new models, the range now offers a combined total of 46 different variants capable of handling payloads between 70kg-620kg, to give users a new level of flexibility, greater choice and performance in their operations.
Segura explains that the large modular robots increase the scope of robotic options available to industrial users. “The comprehensive portfolio of mechatronic platforms, industrial robots, cobots and AMRs that are being offered are also being extended further with this range, helping users to ensure they remain competitive, while operating in a sustainable manner,“ he says.
Efficiency is driven by OmniCore, providing precise motion control with path accuracy down to 0.6mm, even with multiple robots running at high speeds of up to 1600mm/s and moving payloads of up to 620kg. The robot range design in combination with OmniCore’s re-generation technology achieves up to a 30% energy reduction, while the built-in power pack can relay energy back to the grid, according to Segura.
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