How does AI drive robotics innovation? Listen to what ABB has to say!

With the development of artificial intelligence technology, industrial robots are accelerating their evolution towards autonomy, intelligence and collaboration. As a pioneer in the field of global industrial robots , ABB has identified the trend, made bold innovations, and made in-depth layouts in multiple dimensions.

The story of ABB Robotics began in 1974. 50 years later, in 2024, ABB's robotics portfolio is stronger than ever. On the occasion of its 50th anniversary, ABB is sending a strong signal: artificial intelligence is being deeply integrated into robots, and ABB will promote this process with greater courage and determination, establish new technological barriers, and further consolidate its brand.

Marc Segura, President of ABB Robotics, said:

“In the coming year, there will be increasing focus on the critical role of AI, from mobile robots and collaborative robots , to enabling new robotic applications in new areas, and creating new learning and development opportunities for people. These new frontiers of AI are redefining the future of industrial robotics.”

AI will drive new levels of autonomy in robotics applications

The accelerating development of artificial intelligence is redefining what is possible in industrial robotics.

Currently, artificial intelligence is enhancing robots' grasping, picking and placing capabilities, as well as their ability to map and navigate in dynamic environments. From mobile robots to collaborative robots, artificial intelligence is providing robots with unprecedented speed, accuracy and payload carrying capacity, enabling them to take on more tasks in flexible environments such as factories, warehouses, logistics centers and laboratories.

Segura said AI-enabled mobile robots could transform industries such as discrete manufacturing, logistics and laboratories.

For example, robots equipped with ABB's new Visual Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (Visual SLAM) technology have advanced mapping and navigation skills, enabling new levels of autonomy while significantly reducing the infrastructure required to guide previous generations of robots. This paves the way for the shift from linear production lines to dynamic networks, creating significant efficiencies and taking on more dull, dirty and dangerous tasks, freeing workers to do more valuable work.

Artificial intelligence will see robots enter new fields

The potential offered by artificial intelligence and robotics technologies is impacting industries far beyond manufacturing.

By 2024, these technologies are expected to deliver substantial efficiency gains in healthcare and life sciences, as well as in more dynamic environments such as retail. Another example is the construction industry, where AI-driven robotics can make a significant contribution to improving productivity, enhancing safety and sustainable building practices, while stimulating growth.

Segura said the construction industry is a great example where AI-driven robots will prove transformative, providing real value by addressing many of the issues facing the industry today, including worker shortages, safety concerns and stagnant productivity.

Capabilities such as enhanced recognition and decision-making provided by artificial intelligence, combined with advances in collaborative robots, allow workers to be deployed safely. These advances also enable robots to perform key tasks such as bricklaying, modular assembly and 3D printing with greater precision and speed, while contributing to more sustainable construction by reducing emissions (e.g. on-site concrete mixing) and reducing the need to transport materials over long distances for on-site assembly.

Artificial intelligence will provide new opportunities for collaboration with robots in education

Advances in AI and robotics have important implications for training and education, closing the automation skills gap and making robots more accessible to more people and businesses.

As AI makes programming easier through guidance and even natural language, education can shift more toward how robots can more effectively assist humans, rather than just teaching programming skills. This shift will make robots more approachable and bring them to a wider audience, leading to new job prospects while helping to alleviate labor and skills shortages.

Segura said a lack of personnel with the skills needed to program and support robots has long been a barrier to the adoption of robotic automation, especially among small and medium-sized manufacturing companies.

As advances in generative AI lower the barriers to automation and expand the focus of education beyond programming, we will see this problem increasingly overcome. Programming languages ​​will be further revolutionized by AI, allowing workers to verbally direct robots to complete their tasks, which will create a new dynamic in human-robot interaction.

Last words

In the long evolution of industrial robots, the biggest pain point has always been the lack of autonomy: robots need to manually plan their movement routes, and the overall system architecture has natural defects. This not only increases the complexity of deployment and maintenance, but also restricts robots from playing a greater role in emerging fields such as flexible manufacturing, warehousing and logistics.

With the improvement of this kind of autonomy, the role of mobile robots is also expanding from automatic transportation to more complex "mobile workstations", which makes it possible to establish flexible work units and helps liberate humans from boring and repetitive labor.

And for a long time, the main application of robots has been concentrated in the manufacturing industry, especially in large-scale standardized assembly lines such as automobiles. However, with the support of artificial intelligence, industrial robots are rapidly penetrating into more complex and dynamic scenarios such as medical care, construction, and laboratories, and the scope of application has expanded explosively.

At the same time, for most small and medium-sized enterprises, the threshold for deploying and using industrial robots is still high, which seriously restricts the application and promotion of related technologies in a wider range. In addition to cost factors, another major obstacle is that operation and maintenance are too specialized, requiring a lot of manpower for coding and debugging. However, with the advancement of AI technology, such pain points are gradually being resolved.

Faced with a new wave of technology, most companies have chosen to seize the initiative in development, including established giants such as ABB, and a group of new stars are rising. It is undeniable that the development of AI is an opportunity and a challenge for companies. Whether they will stand at the forefront or be knocked down on the beach remains to be seen.