The Stages for Mobile Robots Implementation into Real Applications

According to a research study conducted by ABI Research, it predicts that the number of robot shipments will increase from around half a million units in 2020 to 7 million units in 2030. The robot market value is expected to reach 277 billion USD in 2030. According to the prediction, about 75% of the robot shipments in 2030 will be for Mobile robots. ???

For a long time, robots had been used in manufacturing; mostly in a form of a manipulator arm mechanism. However, in recent years we have started seeing many robots being implemented into new types of applications such as logistics and cleaning. Unlike the classical manipulator arm, most of those robots are in a form of mobile vehicles.

Looking at the implementations of those robots, we can see that there are been operated in different environments. Some environments are well structured and tightly operated like warehouses, and some other environments are heavily dynamic with many uncontrolled moving obstacles like the open streets. So how are those mobile robots are been entering into real applications?

The latest data from the International Federation of Robotics shows that the highest percentage of service robots are been implemented into the logistic application, which is mostly mobile robots. Followed by cleaning, medical, hospitality, and finally agriculture. The data shows that a huge percentage of mobile robots are been used in a structured working environments, such as warehouses and malls. But if we look at the percentage of mobile robots that are been used in an unstructured or dynamic environment, such as streets; it is much smaller. This show that when more mobile robots into an unstructured and less organized environment, it gets much harder to operate the robot.

Based on the current data on mobile robot applications and the history of their development, I can categorize the implementation of mobile robot applications into three stages based on two factors, Environment structure and readiness of the people around to deal with robots.

Stage 1: Structured Environment with Trained People:

Mobile robots delivering materials inside a factory is something that is been going on for more than 3 decades. However, recently it is been used for transporting goods inside warehouses. Implementing robots in warehouses operation had grown rapidly during the last decade, making the logistical robot application the largest non-industrial robotic application.

Although the development of the logistic robot technology had gone through several challenges. But the scenarios of the robot operations were predictable. The warehouse environments are well structured and the people working inside the warehouse are trained to deal with all sorts of operation tools and devices. Therefore, it wasn't that difficult for robot developers to develop robot systems for such applications.

Stage 2: Structured Environment with Untrained People:

When developers thought of developing robots for performing services, such as cleaning and delivering food inside restaurants; they had to keep in mind that the robot will operate in an unpredictable environment. In such places, there will be people who are not familiar with robots and will not know how to deal with such devices. This has pushed the consideration of adding safety features such as avoiding moving obstacles and giving warnings to people around. It is hard to predict all the scenarios of people dealing with robots in public areas such as malls and airports, but it is not that hard to keep track of the robot and resolve any problem by sending one of the staff. With the advancement of AI technology and increasing awareness about robots, it is expected to see more mobile robots operating in restaurants and shopping malls in the coming years.

Stage 3: Unstructured Environment with Untrained People:

In recent years, we have started seeing mobile robots operating on the streets delivering goods to homes. Starship Technologies is one of the first companies to successful introducing home delivery robots. Having a robot operating on the public road is a huge challenge. There are many unknown issues that might face the robot while moving on the street. And in case a problem occurs, it might not be easy to send someone to resolve the problem in such a short time. Moreover, the robot operators will have to deal with traffic rules and regulations. It might take quite some time to have a law that controls the robot movements on the public street. Even though there is a rapid development of home delivery robot technology, it is expected to take a long time before the technology becomes reliable.