"Intelligent robotics and automation are important to deal with new consumer trends, increasing demand for product diversity or challenges posed by trade barriers," says Dr. Susanne Bieller, Secretary General of the International Federation of Robotics. "New technological solutions are paving the way for more flexibility in production."

Robots are becoming smarter
The programming and installation of robots is becoming much simpler. What this looks like in practice: Digital sensors combined with intelligent software enable direct teaching methods - for example in the form of "programming by demonstration". The task that the robot arm is to perform is first carried out by a human: He literally takes the robotic arm by the hand and demonstrates the desired sequence of movements. The recorded data is then converted by the software into the robot arm's digital program. In the future, automatic learning programs will instruct robots to optimize their movements using trial-and-error methods and work with video demonstrations.

Robots working together with humans
Collaboration between humans and robots is another important trend in robotics. The ability to work together with humans means that modern robot systems are able to adapt to a rapidly changing environment. The range of collaborative applications offered by robot manufacturers is constantly expanding. At present, applications with a shared workspace are the most common, in which humans and machines perform tasks one after the other - in other words, sequentially.

© IFR

Applications in which humans and robots work on the same part at the same time are much more challenging in comparison. Research and development (R&D) is currently focusing on methods that enable robots to react with humans in real time in the workplace. Just as two humans would work together in the factory, R&D teams want the robot to be able to adapt its movements to the environment to ensure truly responsive collaboration. These solutions take into account, for example, recognizing the human voice or gestures. With today's technology, human-robot collaboration already offers enormous potential for companies of all sizes and industries. Investment in collaborative systems will complement traditional industrial robots.

Robots are going digital
Industrial robots are the central components of digital and networked production as used in Industry 4.0. This makes it all the more important that they can communicate with each other - regardless of the manufacturer. The so-called "OPC Robotics Companion Specification", which was developed by a joint working group of the VDMA and the Open Platform Communications Foundation (OPC), defines a standardized generic interface for industrial robots and enables the connection of industrial robots to the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT). The digital connectivity of robots, for example with cloud technology, is also a driver for new business models: robot leasing - known as Robots-as-a-Service - for example, has advantages that could be particularly attractive for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs): no capital commitment, fixed running costs, automatic upgrades and no need for qualified personnel for the robots. as