News Briefs for the Week: Robotics Forecast, Cobot Merging with Chatbot, MODEX & Smart Cobots, and Staples Tabbing RightHand Robotics
This week’s news briefs highlight the International Federation of Robotics (IFR) forecast for Top 5 Trends in Robotics for 2024, Covariant’s innovative approach to marrying a ChatGPT-like chatbot to a smart cobot, MODEX showcasing eight cobot debuts, and Staples contracting with RightHand Robotics to revolutionize its warehouse operations.
IFR: Big Year for Cobots!
The IFR has made five big predictions for robots in 2024, with four of them featuring cobots. This is remarkable, given that annually for the past decade, cobots have only sold over 7% of worldwide robotics annual totals. The IFR’s Top 5 trends include AI & Machine Learning, Cobots in New Applications, Mobile Manipulators, Digital Twin, and Humanoids.
Cobots expanding to new applications is already shaping up for a big year. Aside from its well-known manufacturing uses, the cobot has moved into key positions with lab discoveries, assisting with new medicines, and joining with AMRs as new work buddies. According to the IFR, “human-robot collaboration” continues to be a major trend in robotics.
Cobot Combined with Chatbot
Covariant, an Emeryville, CA-based startup, has built what it calls the Covariant Brain, a universal AI platform for robots and cobots. The Covariant Brain, which is used to control robots and cobots, is trained with large amounts of text, video, and hardware control and motion data from tens of millions of examples of robot movements.
The company has introduced RFM-1, a kind of universal AI to give robots the ability to see, reason, and act on the world around them. RFM-1 can control a robot or cobot arm to create machines that can be more helpful in the physical world.
MODEX & Smart Cobots Together
MODEX, the giant biannual supply-chain tradeshow, hit the Georgia Dome this week with 1700-plus exhibitors. Robots, cobots, and AMRs have overtaken a show that back 12 years ago exhibited very few of anything in robotics.
Eight new cobot product lines debuted, all of which were “smart” cobots. This is a significant shift from the dumb cobots and robots of the past. Schneider Electric’s Lexium lineup is a great example of this trend, with its digital twin software allowing businesses to create a virtual copy of the cobot and optimize its operation.
Staples Taps RightHand Robotics for Help
Staples, the #14 largest online retailer in the U.S., with $8 billion in sales, needs help in its warehouses. Framingham-MA-based RightHand Robotics has entered into a multi-year agreement with Staples to deploy its RightPick robots across the floors of Staples fulfillment centers. The robots will perform item handling with the underlying goal of shortening delivery times.
Conclusion
This week’s news briefs highlight the exciting advancements in robotics and artificial intelligence. From the IFR’s forecast for Top 5 Trends in Robotics for 2024 to Covariant’s innovative approach to marrying a ChatGPT-like chatbot to a smart cobot, the future of robotics is looking bright. Stay tuned for more updates from the world of robotics!
Frequently Asked Questions
Q1: What is the IFR’s forecast for Top 5 Trends in Robotics for 2024?
The IFR’s Top 5 trends include AI & Machine Learning, Cobots in New Applications, Mobile Manipulators, Digital Twin, and Humanoids.
Q2: What is the Covariant Brain?
The Covariant Brain is a universal AI platform for robots and cobots built by Covariant, an Emeryville, CA-based startup.
Q3: What is MODEX?
MODEX is a biannual supply-chain tradeshow that hit the Georgia Dome this week with 1700-plus exhibitors.
Q4: What is Schneider Electric’s Lexium lineup?
Schneider Electric’s Lexium lineup is a series of “smart” cobots paired with its digital twin software, allowing businesses to create a virtual copy of the cobot and optimize its operation.
Q5: What is RightHand Robotics and what does it do?
RightHand Robotics is a Framingham-MA-based company that builds intelligent machines for automating pick-and-place tasks in warehouses. The company’s RightPick robots were deployed across the floors of Staples fulfillment centers to perform item handling and shorten delivery times.
