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2024 might be a 12 months of constructing robotics momentum. Source: Adobe Stock
2023 was a 12 months of nice change inside the robotics trade. We’ll see ripple results from the newest booms in synthetic intelligence and humanoid robots for years to come back. Entering into 2024, various promising applied sciences and use instances are primed for progress.
With 2023 within the rearview mirror, it’s time to look forward to what the following 12 months have in retailer for the robotics trade. Here are 5 robotics traits that we expect will take middle stage in 2024.
Generative AI will make robots smarter, extra social
It could be inconceivable to speak about 2024 with out theorizing how generative AI will proceed to have an effect on robotics. It was one of many greatest traits in robotics in 2023, and, if something, it’ll be much more current in 2024.
“Language models aren’t just for IoT anymore. Given the ease with which interfaces like ChatGPT can interpret prompts into commands, there will be a new class of tools emerging that seeks to combine the best of natural language processing and perception hardware,” mentioned Brandon Minor, co-founder and CEO of Tangram Vision. “This feels like a natural extension from an engineer’s point of view, and success would add a layer of ‘magic’ to any tech demo.”
“However, this might also lead to unintended consequences in deployment for collaborative robotics suites,” he informed The Robot Report. “Robotic systems that are suited for specialization might feel external pressure to generalize overnight. After all, to a hammer, everything is a nail, no matter what someone else might prompt.”
Researchers and builders are already utilizing GenAI to make robots quicker learners for troublesome manipulation duties. This analysis will probably proceed this 12 months, and a few functions might even make their manner into industrial robotics.
In addition, generative AI could make robots extra personable, because it makes it potential for robots to grasp pure language directions. In 2023, Boston Dynamics used ChatGPT to show one in all its Spot quadrupeds right into a tour information, and we’ll see extra tasks like this within the 12 months to come back.
“The robotics industry is experiencing a paradigm shift moving from a focus on hardware to software, so there is immense opportunity for GenAI applications,” noticed Amir Bousani, co-founder and CEO of RGo Robotics.
“While the robotics industry is historically slow-moving to adapt to new technologies due to its complexity, I believe GenAI will be felt industry-wide within the next five years,” he mentioned. “When it does reach critical mass, applications for mobile robots could include more sophisticated navigation behaviors based on interactions with their environment.”
Robots get out of the warehouse and into new roles
Robots have come a great distance from getting used virtually completely for automotive manufacturing. Now they’re working in warehouses, grocery shops, quick meals eating places, and extra. Enabled by generative AI, robots might work together with individuals extra naturally within the subsequent 12 months, making them higher for public-facing roles.
“In 2024, we’ll see an acceleration of robots in public settings: sidewalk delivery, restaurants (both front of house and back of house), hotels, hospitals, parking lots, and more,” mentioned Adam Rodnitzky, co-founder and chief working officer of Tangram Vision. “Part of this comes down to the startups serving these markets reaching a point of maturity where they can deliver reliable fleets into these venues.”
“Part of it also comes down to the fact that the startups serving these markets must now scale those fleets — or else,” he informed The Robot Report.
Mobile robotic use instances will develop in 2024
Just a couple of years in the past, autonomous cellular robots (AMRs) had been a nascent expertise that many industries had been hesitant to make use of. Today, they’re a $20.3 billion trade, in accordance with Markets & Markets. The agency predicted it can develop to $40.6 billion by 2028.
“AMRs have been on the market for around 10 years,” mentioned Rasmus Smet Jenson, vp of promoting and technique at Mobile Industrial Robots (MiR). “The first few years saw robot enthusiasts and others testing single robots, but now companies from myriad industries deploy large fleets of robots into core production.”
Despite this progress, automated guided automobiles (AGVs) and AMRs have principally discovered footholds in warehouses, the place they can be utilized to move items to employees who will retailer them or choose particular person objects for order success.
In 2024, we’ll probably see cellular robots step out of the warehouse and into extra unstructured environments. They’re making headway in locations like airports, the place they’ll ship items to individuals ready at their terminals.
Mobile robots might additionally turn into extra widespread in out of doors environments, the place they’re already getting used to mow lawns or transport produce on farms.
“Thus far, most of the investment for mobile robots has focused on indoor applications, like warehouses,” Bousani mentioned. “As robots have become increasingly more sophisticated over the years with new perception technologies, they can better understand complex environments.”
“In 2024, we will see more robotics companies further integrate AI to not only help robots learn faster, but, almost more importantly, to better process the large amounts of data mobile robots can gather,” mentioned Tom Ryden, government director of MassRobotics. “This will allow these robotic systems to better prove their ROI, leading to an increase in the rates of deployments.”
“AMRs are widely used to move materials within production and in warehouses,” mentioned MiR’s Jensen. “We expect these application to continue to be the most common areas in 2024, but as AMRs become mainstream, we’ll see even more use cases. Expect to see newer solutions such as mobile cobots and AMR pallet jacks/forklifts as well as we’re definitely seeing the demand for those grow.”
Submit your nominations for innovation awards within the 2024 RBR50 awards.
Humanoids to maintain making headlines, however deployments will nonetheless be uncommon
We’re just a few days into 2024, and we’ve already seen firms teasing new humanoid robots. Just like 2023, humanoids will take middle stage in 2024. Companies will proceed to innovate and launch new fashions or up to date variations of present legged robots.
However, it’s unlikely that these robots will make their manner into the world at scale – but. While Agility Robotics is testing its Digit in Amazon warehouses and with GXO Logistics, it appears to be the exception.
Developers face a couple of extra years of growth earlier than humanoids will enter the workforce in massive numbers.
“Across the industry, there needs to be more education to customers — and the end users — around the different advantages of robotics,” mentioned RGo’s Bousani. “Right now, there is a common perception that humanoids will displace traditional human jobs and reshape the future workforce. While humanoids will not take over the workforce any time soon, advancements in human-level perception and computer vision technologies will unlock entirely new applications and uses for mobile robots over time.”
“Investments in humanoids like the Digit robot will gain traction for specific applications but not become mainstream anytime soon,” he mentioned.
Robotics builders will go all in on Rust in 2024
In September 2022, Linux’s “benevolent dictator for life,” Linus Torvalds, talked about that the Rust programming language could be used within the upcoming Linux 6.1 kernel. This opened doorways for robotics builders to rely much less on C as a programming protocol.
In addition, builders have added a number of new options to Rust to make it safer and useful. Heading into 2023, it might make some severe inroads into robotics.
“Because of Rust’s inherent memory safety and management, it is very well suited for the world of robotics,” mentioned Tangram Vision’s Rodnitzky. “While many roboticists have casually dabbled with Rust, there is a growing contingent that are pushing ever more aggressively for broader adoption within the robotics community.”‘
“Significant startups such as Scythe Robotics have adopted it as their language of choice, and the scope and number of active development projects are increasing significantly,” he mentioned. “In particular, Rust working groups and projects that work within the ROS [Robot Operating System] framework are seeing a significant uptick in participation and adoption.”