Robotics: the challenges they face in manufacturing

Manufacturers face a host of operational and financial challenges on a day-to-day basis – and one of them is the implementation of new software into factories and the impact this may have on robotics.

Such software can include anything from reliable and high-speed Internet to costly machinery and so far, Germany has a handle on the situation. The country has been pushing its manufacturing sector to improve since as far back as 2011. Thankfully, huge developments have already been made, with the industry waiting for other countries to follow suit. Will the UK be the next to oblige – and how exactly can robotics work seamlessly with humans to ensure work processes are boosted?

A collaborative concept

The concept of Industry 4.0 has long been deemed a buzz phrase in manufacturing, since it was first utilised by the German government some seven years ago. In Layman’s terms, it means updated production methods which sees machines and products collaborate to ensure greater performance and reduced downtime.

Its aim is to transform the traditional manufacturing plant into a smart factory, making use of the Internet of Things (IoT), Artificial Intelligence (AR) and Cloud computing as it does. As ever, there is a challenge – and in this instance it’s one of cost.

In order to implement smart packaging, automation and robotics, mass-customisation, E-commerce and big data and cloud computing into the manufacturing industry, the sector bosses need to address how they operate and, more importantly, how they can change.

Why is a human-robotics collaboration so challenging?

It comes down to the threat of injury, according to Automation World – and this has been remedied in pre-industry 4.0 manufacturers simply by ‘not letting humans and robots share work spaces’.

Is it possible for the two to coexist, though?

Automation World suggests that this is likely to change, as superior AI evolves. This will allow for truly collaborative operations between people and ‘a new generation of co-operative robots’ known as ‘cobots’.

While safety comes first, this robot-human relationship needs to be nurtured, allowing the two to work in a way that is flexible yet still productive.

But that’s not all; a new line of cobots are in the making. Known as chatbots, they can assemble data from backend systems, in a bid to assist knowledge workers. Such information might include anything from the arrival time of a shipment. These details may be accessible via AR glasses, online via desktop or laptop, or even by way of a mobile phone app.

• New fabrication methods and materials
• Improved power sources
• The creation of bio-inspired robotics
• Artificial intelligence that is able to reason
• Robots that are programmed to be social

Taking a look in more detail, new fabrication methods and materials include the need for actuators, motors and gears, all of which are critical in robotics of today.

Work on a new generation of robots is already underway; robots with artificial muscles, for example, ensure boosted operations in factories and a workforce that is equipped to suffer minimal to no downtime.

Improved power sources may mean that robotics can work harder, as they’re typically energy-inefficient for the moment. For drones, for example, battery life is a huge complication – but the increasing adoption of new systems is swiftly leading to innovation in this area. The next step will no doubt be robotics which work wireless -and in manufacturing specifically.

Nature-inspired robotics, meanwhile, are still in development. In short, bio-inspired robotics perform like the efficient systems found in nature, but materials that combine actuation, computation, couple sensing and communication still require development before this is to take off.

Next on the list is AI that is able to reason, but the industry is still a long way off exceeding ‘all the facets of intelligence that we see in humans’ – states The Robot Report.

Robotics can struggle when it comes to the interpretation of social behaviour – and the report outlines a trio of challenges when building social robots. These include robots ‘that truly interact with humans, are modeling social dynamics, learning social and moral norms, and building a robotic theory of mind.’

So, why is Germany leaps and bounds ahead?

First, millions of euros have been invested into Industry 4.0. On top of that, the country has the third-highest robot density around the globe.

In terms of its robotic-led innovations, Germany has introduced a swarm of robot spiders that can 3D print objects together, while also setting ‘benchmarks for industrial automation and supporting technologies’. The key is in ensuring software and robotics work collaboratively – not separately.

As Germany is pushing forward for ‘more than €350 million ($391.9 million) to jump start Industry 4.0’, this looks set to advance manufacturing via the application of robotics, AI and the Industry of Things. A lack of coherent policy, though, is a key issue in the global robotics industry – and is perhaps the reason why other countries haven’t been too swift to get on board.

“As governments debate how to regulate an emerging and important sector, laws will need to go beyond worker safety and energy consumption. Nations must be ready for cyber security, liability for autonomous and semi-autonomous systems, and potential job displacement.” states The Robot Report.

Below are just a few laws already in place in relation to German robotics. Meanwhile, the rest of the world is still waiting to make its move.

• Self-driving cars can be tested on the autobahn, providing a human is present in the vehicle and ‘black boxes’ are present to record operations
• Property damage always takes precedence of personal injury’, in regard to the use of robotics
• The issue of surveillance gadgets, such as the doll known as My Friend Cayla and acts in a similar way to Amazon’s Alexa device, is being investigated.

While some industry insiders say robots might eventually replace jobs, proposals which address this are already in place. These include a tax on robots and a labelling of robots as ‘electronic persons’. The proposal has been challenged by VDMA – a German industry association – and the development is believed not to take effect for at least five decades.

Interestingly in the UK, there are just 71 robots per 1,000 manufacturing employees, compared with close to 500 in South Korea. Patrick Schwarzkopt, managing director at VDMA tells The Telegraph: “Humans have a ‘inherent’ or ‘tacit’ knowledge which they make judgements on and it is very hard to communicate this, especially when it comes to it into programming machines.

In the car industry in Britain alone, though, productivity is soaring, with 734 robots per automotive employees.

Elsewhere, Medium.com highlights robotic process automation (RPA) as a milestone for the development of the car industry, championing everything from the robotic ‘Tentacle Arm’ to the first industrial robot ‘the Unimate’ for future advancements in the industry.

DZone brings to light an interview in 2001, in which Kevin Prouty, research director of automotive strategy for AMR Research in Boston, suggested that artificial intelligence would become an attractive concept for the manufacturing industry. He was right, of course.

Suggesting that, “…Eventually, it could eliminate quite a number of the inefficiencies in the [automotive] industry, from planning and design to sales and maintenance.”, he went on to say that it will ‘revolutionise things’.

Quartz reports otherwise, saying: ‘…in the long-run, we’re [humans] going to be just fine.’ Interestingly, ‘automating a job can result in more of those jobs’ – the author continues, with the ‘optimist’s viewpoint’:

A manufacturing company which reduces its costs as a result of saving money on labour will ultimately lower its prices. This means its products are ‘more appealing’ and ‘creates an increased demand that may lead to the need for more workers’. Increased investment or consumption may also be the by-product of higher profit generation.

So, while we humans may feel threatened, could it be that the robots should be quaking in their metallic boots?

Again, The Robot Report sums it up perfectly: “…as the software becomes more sophisticated with artificial intelligence and neural networking, as the hardware becomes faster, more capable, as the communication between these things becomes more ubiquitous, and easier, and we have things such as swarms of flying drones, and warehouses these autonomous robotic systems that are navigating independently of one another, autonomous cars. All of this is exciting, and it shows the value of these robotic systems and specifically the value of the software that enables these robotic systems to do what it is that they’re able to do.”