🦾 Industrial robots learn new skills on their own

• Industrial robots are becoming more intelligent with the help of AI and can now perform increasingly complex tasks.
• Generative AI enables robots to perform more complex tasks, such as pouring liquids or turning knobs, and to learn new skills faster based on learned behavior.
• Researchers are working on teaching robots to perform multi-step tasks like making pizza from scratch.

Smart robots in the automotive industry

Artificial intelligence (AI) is making industrial robots smarter, enabling more efficient and error-proof manufacturing processes. The automotive industry is at the forefront of testing and implementing this new technology, Bloomberg reports.

Russ Tedrake, professor at MIT and head of robotics research at Toyota Research Institute, has been involved in developing algorithms that allow machines to learn new skills on their own. At MIT's lab, experiments are underway with robots that can walk and fly. The next step is to use neural networks to teach robots to perform more complex multi-step tasks, like making pizza from scratch.

Toyota Research Institute has developed a humanoid robot named Punyo, whose upper body is covered with soft air cushions to conceal hard edges. Another test robot resembles a shopping cart with arms that can navigate a grocery store and pick up items.

Robots in the automotive industry

The automotive industry is leading the way in automating manufacturing processes to reduce labor costs and increase safety. The automotive industry is second only to the electronics industry in terms of robot use in factories globally. About a quarter of all new robot installations in 2022 were in the automotive industry.

China leads the development and accounts for almost 40 percent of the world's total stock of industrial robots, followed by Japan. Japanese automaker Denso plans to build a factory that can operate unmanned around the clock, significantly increasing production efficiency.

The transition to electric vehicles creates new opportunities for automakers to increase productivity with the latest robotics technology. Electric vehicles require fewer parts and can be assembled more easily with prefabricated modules.

Progress and challenges

Experts say that great progress is being made in next-generation robotics, but the idea of fully automated assembly lines with autonomous androids putting together entire cars is still more science fiction than reality.

Mike Cicco, head of Fanuc's American operations, explains that AI is about simplifying complicated processes for factory workers, not about robots taking over the world.

Industrial robots have been used in car factories for decades, mainly for heavy and dangerous tasks such as spot welding and sheet metal stamping. More recently, robotic arms have been integrated into assembly lines to lift heavier parts and tighten nuts and bolts with precision.

Collaborative robots, or cobots, equipped with cameras can handle tasks such as final inspections and simple retrieval of items used on the assembly line. The price of these smart machines has halved over the past decade, accelerating their use.

The next wave of automation helps with more difficult tasks such as unpacking delivered parts and placing them on trays. This requires a higher level of spatial reasoning.

Generative AI enables robots to perform more complex tasks, such as pouring liquids or turning knobs, and to learn new skills faster based on learned behavior.

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