Technological trends in the development of industrial robots

The main articles are:

• Industrial robots
• IT market trends in Russia

2024:5 Top Trends in the Global Robot Market

The volume of the global industry of industrial robotic installations by the end of 2024 reached a historic maximum of $16.5 billion. The demand for such products is due to a number of factors, including the need for automation, labor shortages and technology development. In a review published at the end of January 2025, the International Federation of Robotics (IFR) outlined five main trends in the market under consideration.

1. Artificial intelligence

Thanks to the introduction of AI, the capabilities of robotic complexes are expanded and their efficiency is increased. In particular, AI algorithms allow machines to process and analyze huge amounts of data coming from sensors and cameras. This makes it possible to optimize operations in real time and adapt to environmental changes. For example, robots equipped with machine vision systems are able to study tasks that have already been completed to identify patterns and improve their skills: this helps to increase performance and accuracy. Machine developers are increasingly investing heavily in specialized hardware and software that mimics real-world environments. This so-called physical AI allows robots to learn in virtual spaces and act on the experience gained rather than programming. The introduction of generative AI is also growing.

2. Humanoid robots

In the future, such machines can turn into universal assistants capable of performing a wide range of tasks both in everyday life and in production. However, industrial manufacturers as of early 2025 are focused on creating humanoid robots focused on a specific set of operations. Most of these projects are implemented in the automotive industry, as well as in the warehousing sector. However, there are many applications that can greatly benefit from the introduction of universal humanoid machines.

3. Sustainability and Energy Efficiency

Compliance with UN environmental sustainability goals and compliance with relevant regulatory requirements plays an important role in the development of the business of companies operating on a global scale. Robots, thanks to the high accuracy of operations, help to minimize the volume of waste and thereby reduce the negative impact on the environment. Automated systems provide a stable level of quality, which is important for products designed for a long service life with minimal maintenance. Robots allow manufacturers to rapidly ramp up production to meet growing demand without compromising quality or sustainability. At the same time, robotics itself is being improved, becoming more energy efficient.

4. New areas of business

In the manufacturing industry, there is great potential for further automation, especially in the segment of small and medium-sized enterprises. However, the introduction of industrial robots among such companies is constrained by high initial investments and significant ownership costs. A robot-as-a-service (RaaS) business model that allows businesses to benefit from robotic systems without raising the funds to install them can help solve the problem.

5. Labour shortage

Robots help partially compensate for the lack of specialists in production. By automating monotonous, dangerous or heavy operations, machines reduce the burden on people who can focus on more interesting and high-value tasks. Robots effectively perform routine operations such as visual quality control, cargo movement, etc.^[1]

2021: Key technological trends in industrial robotics

Industrial robots are becoming more intelligent, skillful, finding new areas of application. As you know, the success of robotization of industry in the world is much more noticeable than in Russia: the average robotization density is almost 20 times higher (113 versus 6). And this is understandable, because in Western countries the processes of development and introduction of robotization in production have been non-stop, starting from the 60s of the last century. And our production enterprises, as a result of well-known socio-economic shocks, found themselves in a situation where for a long time they had no time for innovation.

But for 10 years now, Russia has shown very high growth rates of robotization, the last 2-3 years about 40%. This became possible due to a number of factors and, of course, due to the development of a variety of robotization technologies.

Safe Cobots

Traditional industrial robots have been used, as is known, for the most part in the automotive industry. Robots there, as a rule, stand behind the pipeline, are configured to perform one task, they are distinguished by high performance. They can be dangerous for a person who finds himself in their working area, therefore, during their operation, it is necessary to observe safety measures, in particular - with the help of fencing.

Collaborative robots (cobots) are much safer. Their appearance became possible thanks to the development of robotics - a component base (drives, controllers, various sensors, etc.), special software. Cobots are easily reconfigured to perform other scenarios and solve new production tasks. Operators are able to do this directly in production. Among the unconditional advantages of cobots, in addition to flexibility and multitasking: a relatively low price and, accordingly, a short payback period.

Safe interaction with humans in production is a very important advantage of cobots over traditional industrial robots. According to experts, the collaborative robot was originally created so that it could stop if a person appeared in its coverage area. Therefore, they work slower than traditional industrial ones, although they are technically capable of working faster.

Kobots are very convenient - they can work next to a person thanks to a well-thought-out security system, - states Igor Knyazev, Fruktonad Group. - There is no need to install fences, electronic locks and expensive security systems for which the client pays. Despite their small size and carrying capacity, they are also versatile, like their older counterparts - industrial robots and perform monotonous work with small weights - welding, painting parts and blanks, shifting blanks, selecting product items, picking up an order. Thanks to modern software, the cobot can be entrusted with almost any monotonous operation. Cobots are quite easy to program and maintain - these characteristics bribe our customers.

Cobots are able not only to stop if a person appears in the coverage area, but also to interact productively with him. There are different levels of cooperation between the cobot and the person, let's list them by the degree of increase in contact productivity:

• the working areas intersect, but the useful actions of the robot and the human are time-separated;
• interaction in one working area and at the same time (the robot delivers the part to a person);
• robot and human interact in real time, when the robot is able to read human actions and respond to them.

Cobot can be created by the manufacturer, but it happens that the integrator uses a traditional industrial robot and makes it collaborative. For example, the APAS robot created by Bosch is based on the FANUC robot.

Everything is simple: the kobot is more modern, - concludes Ilya Sedogin, development director of Enerkom. - Sooner or later, all brands producing industrial robots will introduce a line of cobots. And in our opinion, kobot is not a separate unit, but just a subspecies of a robot that reduces professional requirements for both the integrator and the employees of the company operating this technique.

Machine vision

Machine vision (it is also called "technical") has long been used in robotic systems. In particular, the use of robots in conveyor production to move workpieces requires high positioning accuracy. This is not always possible and then machine vision comes to the rescue. The digital camera receives an image of the workpiece in the working area of ​ ​ the robot, the software analyzes it, formulates a task in front of the robot, and he performs it. Tasks that can be solved using machine vision: monitoring the product assembly process, counting objects, measuring their parameters, and many others.

Experts confirm the growing interest of manufacturers in this technology, the emergence of new tasks where it can be used.

Machine vision has been used in robotic solutions for a very long time, but still for a long time it was quite poorly distributed, "says Mikhail Zotov, General Director of DS-Robotics. - There were limitations on the part of the hardware, and in terms of cost. At the moment, there are available 2D- and 3D cameras, there is good software that allows you to work with the received images and use these solutions in real tasks, which are becoming more and more complicated. This necessitates the use of robots in new fields, and technical vision greatly helps this. A good example is sorting and further manipulation of parts randomly folded into containers or fed to the conveyor.

At the same time, as Artem Lukin, General Director of TECHNORED states, machine vision has not yet received widespread use, since the robotic complex is becoming more expensive, and the use of this technology is not always advisable for purely economic reasons.

If we talk about industrial robotic complexes, then this technology has not yet been presented everywhere, "says Artem Lukin, TECHNORED. - At the end of 2020, we used machine vision only in every fifth - sixth project. This is due to the fact that most tasks can be solved with more reliable and affordable means, which significantly reduces the cost to the end customer. However, the situation is rapidly changing, technical vision is becoming more accessible and easier to implement and operate. Therefore, machine vision has great prospects, especially in the tasks of loading equipment and welding. We invest in the development of our own components, in the so-called 'Plug & Play' kits. They are very simple and quickly integrated into industrial and collaborative robots. The leading manufacturers of gripping devices, vision systems and welding equipment are also actively moving in this direction.

Konstantin Tolstoy, Universal Robots Sales Development Manager for Russia & CIS, agrees with the limited use of cobots with machine vision.

If you look at projects with collaborative robots, then the share of such tasks - with technical vision - no more than 10%, - notes Konstantin Tolstoy. - Basically, these are tasks for reading marking codes. Also, technical vision is involved in assembly tasks, or when the robot needs to take the product from the conveyor or from the tray.

Olga Boytsova, product manager for Robots at Omron Electronics, emphasizes the great possibilities and prospects of machine vision in robotics.

Technical vision makes it possible to significantly simplify the solution of problems related to the orientation of the product, its shape and labeling, says Olga Boytsova. - For example, thanks to machine vision, the tasks of shifting objects have become universal. Based on Omron cobots with built-in technical vision, you can solve the problem of quickly changing the work area with a mark orientation, and this does not require additional calibration of the robot.

Andrei Danilov, head of the business development department of industrial robotics FANUC, states that machine vision is used to solve the problems of adaptive control of the production process when performing such production operations as robotic laying, sorting and assembly, welding. The share of robotic systems with machine vision is not yet large, the expert says, but the trend for the growth of implementations can be traced.

Artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies

Experts talk about the close relationship between the development of robots and artificial intelligence, while recalling that not every controlled robot has AI elements. If the robot only executes operator commands, then there is no AI here. But when the algorithms are implemented at the software level, which is the control element of the robotic system, here artificial intelligence is present. Such a robotic system has a greater degree of autonomy, recognition of changes in the environment and variability in reactions to these changes.

But not all situations can be predicted with a high degree of accuracy, laying down the right reactions at the level of software algorithms, and here machine learning comes to the rescue. For industrial robots, artificial intelligence and machine learning have gained special importance due to the appearance in the production of cobots that can interact productively with humans. These technologies are also required to directly perform production tasks - quality control, sorting and others. Experts are confident in the prospects for the use of cobots with AI in Russian production, although they state that this market niche is just beginning to develop.

Following the increase in the use of technical vision, the tasks for the use of artificial intelligence are also updated, - Mikhail Zotov, DS-Robotics, is sure. - They are closely related, since the data received from digital cameras must be interpreted correctly. With the existing complexity of tasks and an increase in the amount of data processed, basic software tools are no longer enough. First of all, such solutions are used for quality control, detection of defects, during sorting. In addition, artificial intelligence technologies are in demand in welding and painting when it comes to piece or small-scale batches. The cost of developing software for such tasks is still high, and the number of implementations is very small. This market is just beginning to take shape.

Despite the fact that robotics supplemented by AI is just beginning to be introduced in Russia, there are already examples of successful cases, recalls Konstantin Tolstoy, Universal Robots.

There are still a lot of simpler, more routine tasks in Russia that need automation, and only then it will be possible to move on to complex tasks where the use of artificial intelligence is necessary, says Konstantin Tolstoy. - Although we have several cases where AI is used. For example, the Sberbank Robotics Laboratory has developed a solution that allows the robot to determine the type, shape of the object and, using this data, choose a convenient capture point for further movement. They plan to use such systems in warehouse logistics.

Andrei Danilov, FANUC, is sure of the great potential and good prospects of robots with AI elements.

In industrial robots, the use of machine learning with AI elements is relevant for those tasks where there is a need for autonomous self-learning - working with randomly arranged volumetric parts, detecting and correcting defects, says Andrei Danilov. - At the moment, such robots are not very in demand, but we see a growing trend and interest in such equipment among new customers related to logistics.

Cyber security

The creators of robots pay a lot of attention to the physical security of human interaction robot and in production, sometimes forgetting about. The main cyber security reason: the information environment of the enterprise in which the robot works is supposed to be initially safe. But this is not always the case, since sometimes robots connect directly to the Internet - for example, to update the firmware from the manufacturer. And the enterprise's internal IT environment itself is not always sufficiently secure.

The researchers highlight several types of attacks on industrial robots: an attack on the control system, a change in the logic of operations, and a number of others. Obviously, this can lead to damage to parts, and even to injuries to a person interacting with a robot. Experts say that the cybersecurity of industrial robots is important to consider as an element of an integrated safety system at work.

We believe that security is one of the main vectors of the work of any companies in the information and technical sphere, "says Grigory Shkolkov, TRIZ ROBOTICS. - Speaking about cybersecurity of industrial robots, we talk about the security of the entire production complex as a whole, not forgetting about other important things, for example, about commercial and production secrets, about the protection of intellectual property. For us, the issue of security becomes only more relevant, attracting the increased attention of our specialists. Today we are ready to offer a number of solutions to protect client technologies.

Representatives of vendors assure that they pay great attention to cybersecurity today.

Our company takes cybersecurity issues very seriously, "emphasizes Konstantin Tolstoy, Universal Robots. - Therefore, in our robots with each new update there are more and more built-in functions that allow you to set up a security policy for remote control of the robot without installing external devices or involving third-party specialists.

Igor Knyazev, head of the marketing department of Fruktonad GROUP, talks about the cybersecurity of robotic complexes as one of the challenges to be dealt with. He states that hacking the system as a whole or a separate industrial robot is a big potential threat today, which can lead to large economic losses.

A considerable problem can be caused not by hacking and causing momentary damage, but by such a form of industrial espionage as surveillance of production processes and obtaining commercial information on the production of products for the use of it for selfish purposes, Igor Knyazev also notes. - Today, the problem of cybersecurity is solved mainly by ensuring the autonomy of industrial robots, the integrator, as it were, "cuts off" them from the rest of the world. They work without access to the Internet and, if necessary, turn on remote control (for example, for remote debugging of the program) they are specially connected to the network, and then, accordingly, they are taken back offline.

Andrei Danilov, FANUC, recalls the inevitability of using cloud services in future industries and the increasing relevance of cybersecurity support in this regard.

Cybersecurity questions arise, first of all, in the event of equipment working with external networks and Internet access, says Andrei Danilov. - Most Russian customers using industrial robots are quite conservative, they are in no hurry to connect equipment to the network. Nevertheless, the use of cloud services in the future is inevitable and with the growth of production, the relevance of ensuring cybersecurity will only grow.

Trends in the development of the component base

As you know, the component base robot includes drives, angle sensors, controllers, inertial sensors and systems and a number of others. Western manufacturers are leading in this market, of course. But Russia it also has its own manufacturers. According to the map of industrial robotics prepared by TAdviser and, NAURR 10 companies in, 5 in, To Moscow St. Petersburg one company each in,, Perm Yekaterinburg Taganrog, Mtsensk and Fryazino near Moscow are engaged in the production of components for robots.

Unfortunately, today this issue remains open, but even here I try to find advantages, "says Grigory Shkolkov, TRIZ ROBOTICS. - Yes, not all component base can be covered with our production. But this means only that we have time, initiative personalities and skillful hands that will help create something unique, taking as a basis basic samples. Completely normal practice. With the growth of robotization, technical support will come!

Igor Knyazev, Fruktonad Group, considers the advantages of the Russian market for components for robots to be a strong foundation in the form of a strong design school that has remained since Soviet times. Among the disadvantages, the expert calls a strong bias towards the defense industry, weak cooperation between market participants, low speed of implementation, staff shortages and weak support from the state.

Konstantin Tolstoy, Universal Robots, notes the development of controllers towards controlling not only the robot, but also peripheral devices.

Already, the cobots of our company are equipped with full-fledged software and logic controllers, - emphasizes Konstantin Tolstoy. - In addition to controlling the robot, such a PLC can take on the tasks of managing third-party devices and peripherals.

Olga Boytsova, Omron Electronics, also speaks about the special attention that vendors pay to controllers.

Recently, we have a new series of controllers of the NJ series with built-in robot control functionality up to 8 pieces, says Olga Boytsova. - Such controllers provide synchronization of automation technology, which allows customers to increase production speed and accuracy, model the entire production line, simplify maintenance and reduce time to market.

The multiplicity of vectors for the development of the component base is emphasized by Andrey Danilov, FANUC.

Mechanically, industrial robots are developing quite conservatively, here the changes are more related to optimizing the design for ease of maintenance and repair, as well as minimizing dead zones, says Andrey Danilov. - The development of controllers is primarily in the direction of improving system performance, unifying and standardizing the component base, as well as to improve the user interface, both in terms of simplifying programming and from the point of view of switching to alternative platforms.

About the future

How likely is completely deserted production when robotization technologies - all together and each individually replace a person in any position? The future is vague, the points of view are predictably different.

In serial production with a full product manufacturing cycle, robotization should replace absolutely all stages with difficult working conditions and processes that require high accuracy, "suggests Andrey Mukhametzyanov, director of BFG Robotics. - The simplest, constantly repeated tasks should also undergo robotization. The world already lives in areas of deserted production. This gives maximum quality, flexibility, quick readjustment and independence from emergency situations such as a pandemic.

At the same time, we must not forget about the economic effect, Andrei Mukhametzyanov is sure, robotization is not needed for the sake of robotization, and a payback model must be calculated for each project.

But as Artem Lukin sees the technological model of ideal production, he noted that already in the present his company has implemented several projects with a high degree of complex robotization.

First of all, production should quickly adapt to the needs of the market and remain profitable, for which flexibility is important, - recalls the main thing Artem Lukin, TECHNORED. - The following concept is most interesting: production consists of universal robotic sections that are not tied to a specific product or operation, while successfully performing a wide range of tasks in automatic mode. Training time, readjustment is reduced to several minutes. And autonomous mobile robots move between these sites, carrying out all the logistics of materials, tools and finished products. Our company has already implemented several similar projects, and their number will only grow.

Grigory Shkolkov, TRIZROBOTICS, emphasizes the flexibility of production processes and the need to minimize the human factor.

I think that in the coming decades flexible production systems (GPS) will become the foundation of any production, "says Grigory Shkolkov. "In terms of application, first of all, we are talking about optimizing flexible," intelligent "and self-learning industries that belong to almost any area in which the minimization of the human factor is required, associated with an increase in the overall efficiency of the production line.

And the ideal future representative of TRIZROBOTICS sees in optimal robotization production, the main purpose of which is to create comfortable conditions for an employee, and not a complete replacement of a person in production.

We talk a lot about robots, about machines, but we always want to think about people, "says Grigory Shkolkova. - For me personally, the ideal production model is minimized risks of economic and physical nature, increased productivity to the maximum level and, of course, comfortable conditions for employees of enterprises. Who knows, perhaps in the coming years we will be able to manage entire production complexes without leaving the home office.

2019-2020

During the introduction of robots into production, domestic integrators use a number of technologies - image processing, orientation in space, cloud technologies, etc. For example, Abagy Robotic Systems creates a system that can program a robot based on drawings and an external sensor - without human input. The Slam navigation system of the mobile KUKA robots used in Skolkovo allows the robot to independently navigate in space and "see" the changes taking place around. The current direction of technological development is interaction with elements of the Industry 4.0 and the Internet of Things (IoT).

Let's consider in more detail several technological directions in the development of industrial robotics, which experts spoke about in late 2019 - early 2020.

Increasing use of machine vision technologies

Integral components of Industry 4.0 are machine vision and radio-frequency identification chips built into the technological equipment of robots.

A good example is matrix manufacturing, in which robotic platforms can bring robots not only workpieces, but also tools and accessories. All this is determined through radio frequency identification chips and machine vision, which allows robots to become a universal production unit capable of producing completely different things without human participation in the changeover. For example, a factory that produces cars can, without the participation of a person, rebuild to the production of motorcycles in a day. Such technologies are already actively used by KUKA in industry, - said Dmitry Kapishnikov, General Director of KUKA Russia.

The BFG Group agrees with Kapishnikov. Machine vision, according to the company, is increasingly being used in modern robotic solutions, which are becoming more complex.

Machine vision is actively used in the assembly process, to identify the location of the assembled products, to level the quality of the workpiece production. The use of machine vision allows you to significantly speed up and simplify the above processes, - specified in BFG Robotics.

According to Artem Lukin, founder of TechnoRed, general distributor of Universal Robots in Russia, machine vision is increasingly being introduced into robotics, as this technology is becoming more and more accessible and advanced. In two or three years, according to the expert's forecast, machine vision will completely revolutionize the industrial solutions market and will be introduced in every second project.

Kawasaki Robotics believes that this technology is not yet in great demand in Russia, with the exception of monitoring the weld in welding. At the same time, in developed countries, as noted in the company, the machine vision system is already actively used, especially on production lines in the food industry.

Kawasaki has developed software products for machine vision: K-Finder in the 2D vision system and K-Stereo in the 3D system. K-Finder is a software package that detects an object, checks for compliance with shape and color. The system supports the operation of any cameras. Additional lighting may be required to ensure higher accuracy. Up to eight controllers can be connected to this system via Ethernet, - said Kawasaki Robotics.

The head of the robotics department of FANUC RUSSIA Dmitry Kainov informed TAdviser that the solution of the iRVision vision system is in the company's arsenal. According to Kainov, it can be implemented by the customer without complex programming or expert knowledge, since it is an integrated solution in the robot that does not require an external interface.

The demand for adaptive robot control technologies

According to experts, adaptive robot control technologies are increasingly in demand. Various systems and sensors receive their development, allowing the robot to recognize changes in certain conditions related to its task or affecting its operation.

The robot recognizes objects in real time, adjusts its trajectory, rearranges security zones, etc. Such management methods are increasingly reducing human participation in the production process, "said Arkady Dilman, head of digital production at Prof-IT Group.

Human/Robot Collaboration Security

Recently, very much attention has been paid to the safety of the process of collaboration between a robot and a person. According to Yevgeny Krysanov, chief engineer of the integrator company MDI2B, for more flexible and secure integration, robot manufacturers equip their complexes with security packages such as SAFE MOVE (ABB) and DCS (FANUC).

At the same time, certain categories of robots were initially "imprisoned" to work side by side with humans. We are talking about collaborative robots (cobots). This type of device is small in size, while they are easy to program and use, safe for humans.

These robots have many built-in security features that enable them to work side by side with humans in an open space. They do not need to be placed in cages or separated by a barrier. Hence their name - collaborative robots. They act as human assistants who can be with him, "says Katerina Slanska, marketing manager for Universal Robots in Central and Eastern Europe, Russia and the CIS.

Kobots can complement and improve the activities of employees without posing any threats. Many such developments, according to Kawasaki Robotics, are carried out in the field of medicine and pharmaceuticals. KUKA, in addition to medicine, widely uses this type of robot in the automotive industry. Universal Robots is also increasing the use of such devices in various industries.

Collaborative robots allow you to save employees of production departments from routine operations, thereby freeing up their time for more critical tasks.

Palletization is perhaps the most common task for which our cobots in Russia are acquired. This is especially true for the production of food and beverages. They are also often ordered to service Numerical Control (CNC) machines. They are also in demand for tasks like "raise and lay." For example, in a production where there are conveyors, the robot can take a certain amount of product from the belt and place it in boxes. It must be said that palletization, maintenance of CNC machines and "lift and lay" are the most common tasks for which our robots are used around the world. Often, cobots are also used to twist something during assembly, move objects using computer vision. But we have examples of the unusual use of our robots. For example, one of the customers uses a cobot as a barista that brings glasses. There is also an example when a kobot was used as an operator to shoot video on TV. It's great for stabilising the camera. One of the interesting cases is the use of cobots as assistants to medical personnel helping to rehabilitate patients in a coma. The range of industries where cobots can be used depends, among other things, on the legislation of the country in which they are bought. In the United States, for example, the law does not allow the use of a robot in restaurants, [1] "Katerina Slanska, a representative of Universal Robots, told TAdviser in an interview.

Integration of industrial robots with other solutions

An important area of ​ ​ development in the field of industrial robotics is the integration of robots with other software and hardware solutions. For example, Prof-IT Group is ready to offer customers the integration of industrial robots with MES systems - to take into account production progress, QMS - for product quality management, RFID - for traceability of operations and products by the Internet of Things platform with predictive analytics of the state of industrial equipment, says Arkady Dilman.

Kawasaki Robotics sees prospects for expanding the capabilities of the robot with additional means of connection and interaction. Robots receive additional connection modules, including via wi-fi and Bluetooth technologies.

Sergey Litvinov, director of strategic projects at Lanit, believes that cloud robots, which are integrated into the enterprise's production IT systems and can perform certain functions within the framework of common business processes, have the greatest potential.

Ensuring the safety of industrial robots

Protecting robots from various vulnerabilities is another important area. As Dmitry Kapishnikov, CEO of KUKA Russia, told TAdviser, the issues of protecting German robots from exposure from outside the network began to be discussed in Europe 15 years ago. At the same time, KUKA robots, according to him, as of the end of 2019 have the maximum possible protection. However, he clarified that a good specialist will always find a vulnerability in the robot, so the issue of protecting industrial robots should be put at the level of the entire enterprise and have several levels.

There is no need to neglect this issue. Many companies, such as CISCO and IBM, already have ready-made solutions for this, in addition, we know that Kaspersky Lab is also actively developing protection packages for industrial equipment, "said Dmitry Kapishnikov.

Universal Robots believes that the proliferation of robots that have interfaces to access the network will give impetus to the emergence of new classes of viruses.

To avoid the introduction of malicious code and prevent unauthorized remote control, advances in cybersecurity are being actively introduced into robotics. For this, for example, there are several levels of security policies, the company notes.

The problem of industrial cyber systems, according to Arkady Dilman, is the difficult elimination of vulnerabilities by manufacturers. For his reasons, he noted the use of specific software, outdated equipment and the difficulties of interrupting the technological process.

To ensure the safety of industrial robots and cyberphysical systems, first of all, we need qualified personnel, monitoring possible risks 24/7, measures to search for vulnerabilities and, of course, personnel training - since even minimal knowledge in the field of cybersecurity can significantly reduce the risks of threats, - said Arkady Dilman.

Using artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies

In the field of industrial robotics, machine learning technologies are reflected.

Artificial intelligence (AI) mainly develops on the side of personal computers with powerful processors in conjunction with neural networks. And the robot in this context is usually an "actuator" whose controller receives the finalized data after processing by artificial intelligence in the ready program mode or adaptive execution of commands.

From our point of view, in the context of the industrial robot market, it is more correct to talk about machine learning, when using the analytical blocks of the Internet of Things platform, you can more effectively use robots, "Arkady Dilman told TAdviser.

TAdviser was told about the development of a machine learning system, which is intended for small-scale production, in Kawasaki Robotics. The essence of the system lies in the variability of the operation. If necessary, the operator manually trains the robot in a new motion path, after which the robot is able to recognize the signs of variation itself and repeat the new motion. In addition, when robots are combined into a single network, the experience of one robot can be transferred to all robots of its network. Thus, a single knowledge base is created, which can be used by any robot that enters the network. This technology was called "Saxessor" and is being actively introduced at Japanese enterprises, representatives of Kawasaki Robotics explained.

Weber Comehanix believes that machine learning will allow the development of artificial intelligence.

This is what is really needed to implement complex and comprehensive automation projects. Training in algorithmic procedures will eventually replace "hard" programming, which will simplify and accelerate the development of artificial intelligence, the company predicts.

Universal Robots said that the cobots produced by the company are a prime example of the use of AI in industrial robotization:

Thanks to AI, they are able to work side by side with humans. Cobots are specifically designed to interact with humans. Among the advantages of such machines is the ability to learn by imitation. When working with cobots, you do not need deep knowledge in programming. Anyone can train them (after taking two-day courses), these robots are very easy to use. You just need to click on the record and do the necessary actions, and then repeat them several times. The machine will then play the movements offline.

Using Open Source to Expand Your Target Audience

Manufacturers treat the use of open source software in industrial robots in different ways. KUKA robots, for example, do not use it.

In industrial robots, the most important thing is the speed, smoothness and accuracy of movements, which must be repeated thousands of times. How is this achieved within our code? This is the main intellectual secret of any manufacturer of serial industrial robots, - said Dmitry Kapishnikov.

However, other developers consider this direction important and promising. As noted by Artem Lukin, the founder of TechnoRed, one of the first robotic companies to use open source code in creating robots, was Universal Robots.

This allowed hundreds of developers to produce all kinds of applications, solutions, accessories and extensions for robots, "Artem Lukin explained to TAdviser.

According to Ivan Borodin, CEO of logistics robot manufacturer Ronavi Robotics, the use of open source software allows the vendor to expand its target audience. Closed-code industrial robots, as Borodin noted, can only integrate as a turnkey finished project.

We offer partially open source robots. The part of the code that is responsible for traffic safety is completely closed in our country, and the part of the code that is responsible for pairing with artificial intelligence and controlling a swarm of robots is open. This makes it easier to integrate logistics robots into existing business processes and warehouse or manufacturing management systems. Thus, we have simplified the customer's entry into the warehouse robotization, while maintaining a high level of security, Borodin said.

Development of industrial robot controllers

The current trend in the development of industrial robot controllers is the integration of additional "smart" functions - software and hardware options that allow robots to perform much more technological operations. This opinion, in particular, is held in FANUC.

KUKA primarily focuses on the convenience and cost of maintaining controllers. According to Dmitry Kapishnikov, in most cases for an industrial enterprise the size of the controller does not matter much, but the speed of its repair, in case of failure, is paramount.

Preliminary diagnostics programs, remote monitoring and ease of component replacement allow us to give 25 years of support for our products, he said.

The BFG Group notes that controllers are becoming smaller, while their performance is growing. In addition, the amount of additional peripheral equipment that can be connected to them is constantly increasing.

Kawasaki Robotics said that the company has created the most compact and lightest controller for an industrial robot:

The next generation controller has received the letter F and has a number of undeniable advantages. Firstly, it implements the function of power recovery, which gives its savings by about 10%. Secondly, the new controller already has global specifications that support the standards of many countries. In addition, it allows you to connect up to four 32-channel modules.

Speaking about the trends in the development of controllers used for industrial robots, the company noticed that industrial robotics is following the path of simplifying and facilitating the control of the robot, as well as its integration into industrial processes.

Technology is evolving to make the robot available to medium and small businesses. Adapt it for small-scale production, - noted in Kawasaki Robotics.

Read also

• Industrial robots
• Industrial robots in Russia
• Review: Russian Industrial Robotics Market 2019