Today the industry associates robotics and automation as one industry. So a prudent idea would be to study some of the sectors dealing with automation and examine the business growth these sectors give for automation. In this context we can go for the following
Industrial Robots
The adoption of industrial robots throughout the world is a clear example of how the industrial automation industry goes for automation with use of industrial robots.
Today the technology is not limited to just to those smartphones. It’s offering you many end products right from smart watches to health monitoring wearables, autonomous delivery vehicles or cars. So whatever may be the end product, some sort of robotics and automation technology is applied to make these products with smart features for the customer.
Exoskeletons
This technology may not be seen in the industrial use context directly due to the feature it has in store for the use in the industry. The reason for that probably goes to the benefit this technology provides to the people. This technology basically helps those workers in the industry who are not able to walk properly or walk not at all. So now numerous factories and various construction sites are now adopting this exoskeleton technology for their workers. Thus the workers in the factories with the help of exoskeleton technology would have to apply less energy and the average time will be saved for the whole week.
Logistics Robots
This basically caters to those people who are looking for their warehouse automation and logistics automation needs. The small robotic vehicles or automatic guided vehicles come into the picture for meeting the warehouse automation needs. The demand for the robotics and automation system is not restricted to just logistics company, even the material handling companies which are contracted by the logistics company require the same technology.
The use of logistics robots extends to the manufacturing companies also which go for the use of logistics vehicles within their existing facilities for meeting their requirements.
Building automation
It’s a fact that buildings generally consume a massive amount of energy which goes for consuming electricity, gas and oil basically. So the more is the automation more the buildings will become efficient. By integration of automation a significant amount can be saved for an average building.
Home automation
This sector also provides a large market share for the automation industry. It is similar to building automation except, the fact that it’s more towards consumer orientation, and is on a much smaller scale as compared to building automation. A good example of home automation can be studied with the example home automation technology which is used by Google home. Google home has this facility of smart speakers which can connect with the smart system of your home for managing the lighting controls and as well as controlling the doorbells of your home. The home automation sector is not limited to just for using the stationary devices as mentioned in this example. It has a movable category also for example like robotics vacuum cleaners which come in very handy as a home automation device.
Home robots
Home robots can go in various forms. It can take the form of a humanoid a brand launched by the Bosch company, which looks like more of a robot on wheels with dots on its face for integrating the cameras in place of eyes and integrating its ears with microphones, and it just behaves like a human.
Customer service robots
They are larger in dimensions as compared to home robots, but quite similar to home robots in terms of features and shape. The example of this kind of robot is a NAO robot launched by the company called Softbank robotics. The robot developed by this company has got legs and feet similar to humans and as such it’s finding its place in variety of businesses for example in hotels and industry exhibitions’.
Autonomous Drones
Most of the people may not have seen a drone at work in recent times, but there a number of sectors where they are working as a matter of fact. They are being used as hi-tech robotics in space. In fact, they are being put to test in the urban areas to find out if they can be used in mining and construction sectors. At present there are some hurdles for the use of autonomous drones, the main hurdle is that the drone is required to be within the sight of its operator which may act as a deterrent in controlling the fleet of drones if every drone needs a separate operator. But this may not be the case with reference to checking of agricultural fields which may be a hundred meters apart in distance. So here the drones provide an ideal situation for its use.
Autonomous vehicles
There is no doubt in the fact that since automation technology is developing at a rapid pace the day is not far when autonomous cars will take on the roads. To achieve this some of the established automakers have already launched vehicles with self-driving capabilities and will be able to implement his feature in all the cars in less than a decade. Similarly, driverless trains are also being tested, despite the fact it may not be that easy to move a driverless train along a railway line.
So whether it’s autonomous trucks, cars, or trains or even drones or planes they would certainly become a norm and will be able to create a big market for themselves over a period of time.
Additive manufacturing
This refers to the fact that all printing that is being done is 3d printing. That is, for example, the old newspaper presses are putting three-dimensional ink into three-dimensional paper. The fact is that this process was never applied to making industrial components. In the past small pieces from a block of steel used to be taken out to make a required part. But now the new additive manufacturing systems can 3d print the parts by adding one layer upon other to create a part.
