Robots are moving into the service industries, working collaboratively with people and with each other in logistics, agriculture, medicine, retail, hospitality and more. In Munich, from 19 to 22 June, 2018, automatica will show why the automation industry is getting excited about new developments in service robotics, how these robots are seeing strong growth and are even emerging within some unexpected areas.
World-renowned Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli had some serious competition for star billing last month, when ABB’s YuMi robot joined him on the stage of Pisa’s packed Teatro Verdi to conduct the Lucca Philharmonic Orchestra. “Tonight we’re truly writing history and we’re writing the future of robotics applications,” said ABB CEO, Ulrich Spiesshofer. “YuMi demonstrates how intuitive, how self-learning this machine is, and how quickly such technology can be installed; a robot has learnt to conduct an orchestra in just a couple of days.”
It’s an achievement that showcases the advances made in reducing the engineering effort needed to teach a robot what to do and to enable the technology to fit well with existing teams, warehouses and, now, even an orchestra. These are key elements in bringing service robotics technology into the world of logistics, which forms the biggest growth area in the sector and accounts for more than half the overall market. International Federation of Robotics (IFR) figures indicate that 2016 sales in logistics saw an increase of more than 30% over the preceding year.
TECHNOLOGY
