Robots Pick Up the Slack in Industry

While robots have been used in the automotive industry for decades, their adoption in most other fields has remained relatively minimal.

However, in the past few years with serious advances in both artificial intelligence and hardware, that has begun to change, and the coronavirus has shown the benefits of these working robots in a fresh light.

Here’s a selection of some of the most significant robots in different industries that are either making their use clear now, or are poised to impact an industry in the aftermath of the pandemic.

Retail: Ocado’s grocery bots

Robots may not sound like the most natural fit for retail, but online grocery giant Ocado has proved their benefit through its automated grocery bots.

Image courtesy of Ocado

Operating in robotic swarms connected through the densest mobile network in the world, each bot communicates with the wider system ten times a second. Designed to pick and pack deliveries, these robots move rapidly across a grid of bins containing different products, selecting those requested as part of each individual order.

And they’re quick about it: each bot can pick a 50-item order in just five minutes, speeding past each other with just 5mm clearance.

Image courtesy of Ocado

Amid the initial surge of online deliveries that the UK’s lockdown brought, Ocado was in high demand, although even its biggest fulfilment centre couldn’t match the pace of customers, forcing the company to bring in online queueing.

Security: Knightscope’s ‘robocops’

Vaguely reminiscent of R2-D2, Knightscope’s security robots have been patrolling warehouses, campuses and shopping centres in the US for some years, acting as a deterrent and detecting those believed to be breaking the law.

Image courtesy of Knightscope

However, amid the coronavirus, the robots have also offered friendly reminders about social distancing requirements and hygiene best-practice to prevent the spread of the disease.

Using lidar and 360-degree cameras, robots that have been given the appropriate update can identify humans and give Covid-19 public safety announcements, advising those it sees that “social distancing is in practice and required here” or “please disinfect your hands with an alcohol-based sanitiser and avoid touching your face”.

Image courtesy of Knightscope

Some Knightscope customers have also opted to customise their coronavirus advice, to make it more fitting with brand tone or location.

Last Mile: Starship’s delivery robots

Providing a low-cost, theft-resistant approach to last mile deliveries, Starship’s box-like robots have been used on university campuses in the US for some time, but in March expanded their limited trials in the UK to Milton Keynes town centre.

Image courtesy of Starship Technologies

Providing delivery of prepared food and groceries, the robots offer a strong option for contact-free delivery, with users viewing their progress via an app, before accessing the food directly from the robot when it arrives.

With serious investment and an ambitious rollout plan, Starship robots are set to become a familiar sight in many cities and campuses in the future.

Image courtesy of Starship Technologies

They also promise significant emissions reductions, taking petrol-powered delivery vehicles off the roads in favour of the electricity-powered bots.

Agriculture: Yanmar’s SMASH farming robot

The lack of people available to tend to produce from UK fields is an increasing concern amid the coronavirus, and if a similar problem occurs in the future, the SMASH robot may be able to help.

Currently in development in Florence, Italy, by technology company Yanmar in partnership with the University of Florence agriculture department, SMART – or Smart Machine for Agricultural Solutions Hightech – robots are being developed for all stages of the farming process.

Image courtesy of Yanmar

A modular system that taps into drones, field sensors and a base station from which a farmer can view key data about their product, SMASH robots are designed to be able to prepare fields and monitor and tend to crops.

Image courtesy of Yanmar

Although still in development, the robots could be particularly vital for precision farming, which will become ever-more important as climate change bites.