Digital Lifescapes

For decades, industrial automation has followed a predictable, programmed path. Robots have excelled at repetitive, high-speed tasks within structured, static environments. However, the next leap in business technology hinges on moving past this paradigm. The integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) into physical systems, often termed "Embodied AI" or "Physical AI," is not just an incremental improvement; it represents a fundamental shift that is finally delivering on the decades-old promise of truly adaptive, intelligent automation. Embodied AI Market Development ABI Research recently underscored the criticality of this pivot, confirming that AI-augmented industrial and collaborative robots have achieved the necessary technological maturity for widespread commercial adoption. This moment marks the successful closing of the persistent "sim-to-real" gap, where promising algorithms in a virtual environment failed to cope with the unpredictable nature of t...

Robotics have become the cornerstone of modern manufacturing, revolutionizing many industries across the globe. The applications span from automating repetitive tasks to enhancing precision and efficiency in complex operations. With the relentless pursuit of operational excellence, and the increasing need for production agility and cost-effectiveness, the demand for industrial robots continues to surge. Based on current estimates, there are already well over three million industrial robots installed worldwide, and the pace of installation is increasing rapidly. Industrial Robotics Market Development Moreover, robotics use cases are proliferating from shelf stacking, to cleaning, and various forms of manufacturing. Robots are important to economic growth, as nations struggle with labor shortages and aging populations. Against this growing applications backdrop, the robotics market is forecast to reach $218 billion by 2030, according to the latest worldwide study by GlobalData. Numerous ...

The Internet of Things (IoT) will impact all industries, including farming. As an example, robots and drones have already started to transform parts of the global agriculture sector. According to the latest worldwide study by IDTechEx Research , it's already a $3 billion market in 2016, and it will grow to reach $10 billion by 2022. IDTechEx analysts believe that agricultural robots and drones encompass many different technologies -- each serving a different sub-market, and each enjoying a different degree of technology and market readiness. Dairy farms: Thousands of robotic milking parlors have already been installed worldwide, creating a $1.9 billion industry that is projected to grow to $8.5 billion by 2026. Mobile robots are also already penetrating dairy farms, helping automate tasks such as cattle feed pushing or manure collection and removal. Autonomous tractors: More than 300 thousand tractors equipped with auto-steer or tractor guidance will be sold in 2016, risi...

The International Consumer Electronics Show (CES 2016) is happening this week in Las, Vegas. It's the world's gathering place for all who thrive on the business of consumer technologies. One of the exciting emerging product categories featured at this year's event is the Internet of Things (IoT). The key IoT segments that are likely to gain the most attention at CES 2016 is personal robotics and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) -- also known as drones. According to the latest worldwide market study by ABI Research, the consumer robotics market reached approximately 33 million unit shipments with total revenues of $3.5 billion during 2015. By 2025, both shipments and revenues are expected to increase dramatically. ABI Research has forecast that total shipments will increase to 165 million and total revenue could quadruple, reaching $17 billion. "In 2015, robotic toys accounted for more than half of the year's total shipments, but consumer UAVs is proving to ...

The Internet of Things (IoT) will have numerous home-related use cases. One application that may seem futuristic is residential connected robots. In this context, a consumer-oriented robot can be programmed by the owner via an interface to the device. Besides, consumer robots will be controlled through a mobile software app or by a link to a personal computer. In some cases, the robot will also incorporate embedded connectivity to enable it to communicate directly with an online service. As a general rule, the more complex the function of the robot, the greater reliance it will have on parallel processing and storage capabilities offered by cloud computing infrastructure. It's forecast that one in ten American households will own a consumer robot by the end of the decade, that's up from under one in twenty-five this year, according to the latest market study by Juniper Research. At this early stage in the market, shipments are expected to be dominated by relatively simp...

Will 2013 be the year that robots make their mark in mainstream society? The growing market for consumer robots has already reached $1.6 billion in 2012, which is dominated by the task and entertainment segments. According to the latest market study by ABI Research, it will grow to $6.5 billion in 2017 and will still be dominated by the same segments, with security and telepresence becoming more of a significant third segment. iRobot is still the main player, but more Asian-based companies are coming out with competing products and newer products like window-cleaning robots. "We are seeing more personal robot R&D from Western companies and more task robot development from Asian companies," said Philip Solis, research director at  ABI Research . That's an apparent reversal of past development trends. Application processors and the array of sensors used in smartphones and media tablets have achieved great economies of scale for components that consumer robotic...