Robotics in Business

How Robotics Can Benefit Your Business in 2018

Influence of Robotics Goes Far Beyond Manufacturing

Robots, once the subject matter of science fiction, have had practical applications in American business for decades now, since General Motors introduced Unimate, in 1961. Until the last 10 years, though, most business use of robot technology has been in manufacturing, where machines were built and run to handle a wide range of routine assembly and fabrication jobs. In 2018, business analysts expect robots to make important contributions in a diverse array of roles, from health care to materials handling, from increased involving in manufacturing and industrial concerns to retail operations. We’ll robots on our streets and in our skies, in warehouses, banks, restaurants and hospitals.

Robots and Cobots

The word “robot,” from the Czech term robota, meaning “forced labor,” was first coined by playwright Karel Capek in his 1920 play R.U.R. (Rossum’s Universal Robots). For the lay person, “robot” can often be used to describe any mechanical device that performs a function. Under that rubric, an electric dishwasher or a lawnmower qualifies as a robot. A more commonly acceptable definition identifies a robot as a “programmable machine physically interacting with the world, capable of carrying out a complex serious of actions either autonomously or semi-autonomously.

In 1996, two professors at Northwestern University developed robots that were designed to work side-by-side and in communication with humans in the same work environment. They termed these devices “co-robots,” eventually shortened to “cobots.” Unlike robots, which technically perform the same function every time, cobots are designed to work with humans, instead of for humans. For example, a machine which autonomously installs the same part in the same product time after time, hour after hour, is a robot. A machine which is controlled by a human, and can pick up different objects or conduct different operations with human direction, is considered a cobot.

New Ways that Robots Will Be Used in 2018

There are a number of good reasons to consider integrating some form of robotics into your business model in 2018. First, the technology is advancing almost geometrically, thanks to open source development, where programmers and developers all have access to tools and information. In addition, the hard costs of robotics are decreasing, as key component prices (primarily sensor prices) are coming down. There have also been great strides in the miniaturization of robotics technology over the past few years.

Businesses across a wide spectrum of industries have embraced the application of robot technology:

• Medicine and healthcare services—Of course, robots have been key players in many types of complex surgical procedures for years now, but there are other ways that robots and cobots are revolutionizing medical treatment. Robots are being used as diagnostic tools, to aid with rehabilitation, to provide surgical assistance and even to help with keeping operating rooms germ free.
• Materials handling—Robots are taking over the loading and unloading of trucks, trains and boats, moving goods in and out of warehouses, and helping manage the distribution and handling of goods within warehouse and even retail facilities. One of the most important benefits of robotic materials handling—there’s never a workers’ compensation claim from a warehouse employee with a sore back.
• Monitoring systems—Though drones are most commonly thought to be a consumer gadget, they have vast business applications. For example, they’ve been used in agribusiness to inspect and monitor crops to determine appropriate harvest times. They’ve also been used extensively in security operations, monitoring crowds and traffic. Famously, they’ve also been used in warehouses, such as Amazon.com, to locate and deliver goods.
• Customer service applications—Robots and cobots are being used in restaurants to perform routine food assembly tasks, and in a wide range of retail establishments, such as banks, hotels and consumer goods stores, to handle routine customer service.

Manufacturing Sector Still Leads Advance in Robotics

Though robots and cobots are found more and more in businesses outside the manufacturing sector, that’s where their most explosive and effective growth remains. Here are some of the industries that are leading the charge:

• The construction industry—Construction sites are among the most dangerous places in the world to work. Robotics has helped reduce the risk of injury by taking some tasks away from the job site and having them done by robots in a warehouse or controlled environment. For example, robots are being used to pre-build walls for construction projects, eliminating risk of injury during that process. The pre-constructed wall are then delivered to the job site, allowing onsite construction to move at a much faster pace, with less risk of worker injury.
• Furniture—For a long time, it’s been cheaper to manufacture furniture that the purchaser is required to assemble. It eliminates the manufacturer’s costs of assembly, but it makes the project more challenging for the consumer. Such products also typically require special tools to assemble, an additional burden for the purchaser. With robots, many furniture manufacturers can assemble home and office furniture without the risk of worker injury.
• Not surprisingly, the automotive industry remains at the forefront of the robotics revolution. Automakers use robots for a variety of jobs, from painting and welding to assembly and removal of certain materials. Robots are also used in historically dangerous tasks, such as pouring molten metal for an engine block.

Why Cobots Are Better for Your Business than Robots

According to Online Robotics Trade Magazine, an investment in cobots is better for your business—here’s why:

• Cobots are safer than robots—Cobots require human involvement and often can’t function at all without human input. Accordingly, you and your employees are at less risk that if you had an autonomously functioning machine. The cobot won’t do anything until you tell it to.
• Cobots typically produce a higher ROI—Because cobots maximize your efficiency and flexibility, they can help you eliminate non-productive activity during your hours of operation.
• You can use cobots in small and mid-sized business operations—Autonomous robots produce the best return in high-volume businesses. Cobots, on the other hand, don’t usually entail a significant startup cost, and are available for a wide array of tasks, making them highly suitable for mid-sized and even small businesses.
• Cobots allow your entire operation to be more efficient—With a robot, it’s typically one or the other—the robot or the human worker—actively engaged at one time. With cobots, both the cobot and the human worker are working simultaneously, a more efficient use of resources.