Marc Segura, Head of the Robotics Division at ABB, outlines three main drivers for robotic AI solutions in 2024. Meanwhile, ABB is continuing its expansion into new segments where robotic automation has hardly been used to date. "In the coming year, there will be an increased focus on the crucial role of AI," emphasizes Marc Segura. "From mobile robots and cobots to new robotics applications in other segments and the creation of new types of education and training opportunities - these AI trends will redefine the future of industrial robotics."

1 AI will provide greater autonomy in robotics applications

Accelerating progress in the field of AI means redefining the possibilities of industrial robotics. AI not only improves the ability of robots to grasp, pick up and set down objects, but also enables them to map and navigate through dynamic environments. With the help of AI, mobile robots, cobots and other robotic solutions can achieve the highest levels of speed, accuracy and payload, allowing them to take on more tasks in environments such as flexible factories, warehouses, logistics centers and laboratories.

"AI-powered mobile robots can transform segments such as manufacturing, logistics and laboratories," adds Segura. "Robots equipped with ABB's new Visual Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (Visual SLAM) technology, for example, have advanced mapping and navigation capabilities. This enables greater autonomy and reduces the infrastructure required by previous generations of driverless robots. This in turn paves the way for the transition from linear production lines to dynamic networks. This can achieve significant efficiency gains and free human workers from monotonous, dirty and dangerous tasks so that they can devote themselves to more fulfilling activities."

2 AI opens up new areas for the use of robots

The potential of AI-supported robotics goes far beyond the manufacturing sector. By 2024, these technologies are expected to enable significant efficiency gains in more dynamic sectors such as healthcare, life sciences and retail. Another example is the construction industry. Here, AI-supported robotics can make a significant contribution to increasing productivity, improving safety and implementing sustainable processes, while also promoting growth.

"The construction industry is a good example of a sector where AI-powered robots will prove transformative. They can provide real added value by helping to solve many of the problems the industry is facing today - including skills shortages, safety risks and stagnating productivity," explains Marc Segura.

"AI-based capabilities such as better recognition and decision-making as well as advances in the field of collaborative robotics enable robots to be used safely alongside humans. Thanks to these advances, robots can perform core tasks such as bricklaying, module assembly and 3D printing with greater precision and speed. At the same time, they contribute to sustainability by reducing emissions, for example by enabling on-site concrete mixing and reducing long-distance material transportation through on-site assembly."

3 AI will create new opportunities for learning and working with robots

The progress made in AI and robotics is of great importance for education and training. This is because they are helping to close the skills gap in automation and make robots more accessible to people and companies. As AI simplifies programming through lead-through techniques and natural language, training can focus on how robots can support humans more effectively than just teaching programming skills. This change makes robots accessible to a wider target group, opening up new job prospects and helping to counteract the shortage of labor and skilled workers.

"The lack of workers with the necessary skills to program and operate robots has long been a barrier to robotic automation, especially in small and medium-sized manufacturing companies," says Marc Segura. "This will increasingly change as advances in the field of generative AI lower the barriers to automation and the focus of training moves beyond programming. AI-supported developments in the field of natural language programming, which allow robots to be controlled using voice instructions, will create a new dynamic in human-robot interaction."