From Industry 4.0 to New Retail, AI+3D Robots are Gradually Changing the Way of Life

From the creation of human beings by Yanshi recorded in Liezi Tangwen more than 3,000 years ago, to the wooden bird made by Lu Ban using bamboo and wood in the Spring and Autumn Period that could fly in the air for "three days without landing", in the West, the ancient Greeks used water, air and steam pressure as power to invent robots that could work, open doors by themselves and sing with the help of steam... Whether in the East or the West, making robots to improve production efficiency and liberate human resources is the dream that humans have been pursuing from eating raw meat to mastering scientific and technological tools.

The evolution of robots

From dreams to practice, from literature and legends to profound changes in the world, the development of science and technology has continuously promoted the evolution of robots. Previously, robots have experienced two revolutionary developments. The first robot revolution originated from the need to develop nuclear technology. In the 1940s, in order to solve the harm of nuclear radiation environment in atomic energy laboratories to human body, the Argonne Institute developed a remote control manipulator in 1947, and then developed a mechanically coupled master-slave manipulator in 1948. When the operator controls the master manipulator to perform a series of actions, the slave manipulator can accurately imitate the actions of the master manipulator. This remote-controlled machine, by imitating human actions, assists human work, and realizes the combination of man and machine for the first time. The "robot" model was initially formed. With the wave of industrialization in the second half of the 20th century, robots relying on remote control were widely used in industrial production.

As the technology of robots used by major manufacturers matures, the technical performance of the first generation of robots gradually fails to meet actual needs. Since the 1980s, with the development of Internet technology, the second generation of robots with vision and force perception have begun to enter the field of industrial production. This type of robot controlled by a program can automatically repeat a certain operation, greatly improving production efficiency.

Looking back at these two robot revolutions, we can find that robot technology does not simply promote the automation of industrial products. It not only replaces manual labor, but also combines the strengths of people and machines to achieve behavior control or simulation of actions, promoting the development of industrial equipment from low-end to high-end and achieving a productivity increase of dozens or even hundreds of times.

The third robot revolution has officially arrived

Since the beginning of the 21st century, with the development of artificial intelligence technology, the unprecedented achievements of deep neural networks based on big data and GPU cluster servers have promoted the rapid development of machine vision and artificial intelligence, and the third robot revolution with perception capabilities has intensified. For example, the tactile sensing manipulator based on the realization of robot intelligent perception and human-computer interaction, and the "dexterous hand" equipped with pressure sensors by Tomovic and Boni. Among them, 3D sensing technology with artificial intelligence core sensing technology is the most innovative in the field of robotics.

3D sensing allows terminals to understand the world

"Sweeping robots that can avoid obstacles, Haidilao delivery robots that deliver meals instead of humans..." Robots that can sense and interact are entering our daily lives and bringing people a new experience. The reason why robots have become more humane is inseparable from the mature application of a core AI technology - 3D sensing technology.

As a leading company in the field of AI 3D sensing, Orbbec has created an integrated 3D vision solution for the robotics industry, equipping robots with "smart eyes". The 3D sensing camera independently developed by Orbbec can realize dozens of functions such as face recognition, human skeleton recognition, 3D measurement, environmental perception, 3D map reconstruction, etc. Compared with traditional robots that use 2D vision as a sensing carrier, this type of robot with 3D sensing function can collect rich information through its intelligent visual recognition function. By linking AI artificial intelligence technology, industrial robots can be more flexible, smarter, and more efficient, completely freeing human hands.

In addition to being used in the field of industrial robots, robots equipped with Orbbec's 3D sensing technology that can understand the world have entered commercial application scenarios, profoundly changing people's daily lives. For example, service robots can quickly recognize faces, sense distance, detect liveness, and perform multi-modal linkage, allowing machines to move from simply executing instructions to truly achieving better interaction with humans.

In the medical field, 3D medical robots can assist doctors in clinical diagnosis, monitor patients' physical conditions in real time, and analyze patients' behaviors. Special robots that can see more clearly and respond more promptly can provide multiple functions such as 3D map creation, obstacle avoidance, navigation, and positioning, and can replace humans to complete various difficult tasks.

Whether it is AlphaGo that defeated the top human Go players, or 3D robots that can understand the world, from imitating humans to surpassing humans, robots with artificial intelligence and deep learning capabilities are moving from science fiction blockbusters to people's lives. As a fusion of multidisciplinary technologies such as computers, cybernetics, structural science, information and sensor technology, artificial intelligence, and bionics, robots represent the level of a country's cutting-edge technology.

We are delighted to see that in this vigorous third robot revolution, domestic artificial intelligence companies such as 3D sensing are leading the way from independent chip research and development to multi-scenario solutions. We believe that with the acceleration of 5G commercialization and the in-depth development of artificial intelligence technology, China will lead the rapid arrival of the era of the Internet of Everything.