Robotics And Artificial Intelligence: Everything You Need to Know

The advent of Artificial Intelligence and its availability through free-to-use platforms has brought about a revolution. Applications of AI have changed the way technologies and processes evolve. Speaking of evolving technologies, Robotics happens to be one most affected by the recent explosion of Artificial Intelligence. One can say that nowadays, Robotics and Artificial Intelligence go hand in hand. Major spheres such as Healthcare, Manufacturing, Military, and Agriculture have already started encapsulating robots into their core processes. 

With close to 3 million robots serving in industries across the globe, it has become more evident that they’ll be around in a much larger capacity. Stick around as this article will guide you through the ins and outs of Robotics and Artificial Intelligence in detail.   

Table of Contents 

1) What is Robotics? 

2) What is Artificial Intelligence? 

3) What is the role of Artificial Intelligence in Robotics? 

4) Applications of Robotics and Artificial Intelligence 

5) Conclusion 

What is Robotics? 

Let’s get to the basics by answering this question first. Robotics, as the name suggests, is a branch of engineering that caters to the development and understanding of robots. These robots are often designed to assist humans in situations or places that are hard to access. Their usage becomes obvious when the workload on humans becomes immense. For the most part, they’re designed in such a manner that they’re able to work on repetitive tasks without fatigue. 

The application of Robotics has generated numerous examples that you come across almost on a daily basis. Some notable ones are smart voice assistants like Alexa, Siri, and Cortana. If you take a closer look, you’ll find further applications such as manufacturing robots, smart toys, and much more. The world of Robotics and Artificial Intelligence is vast and new applications are being developed and deployed almost frequently. 

Fun fact: The global Robotics industry market size is expected to reach a staggering 129.5 billion GBP by 2028. This market size isn’t only indicative of the technology’s usage as the Fourth Industrial Revolution considers Robotics as a major catalyst. While Robotics has been around for quite some time, its conjunction with AI has given the field a major boost. You can simply connect the dots and trace back the use cases. It’ll give you a complete picture of the way Robotics has advanced and has become a part of life. 

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What is Artificial Intelligence? 

Now that you know what Robotics is all about, let’s take a look at its famous companion, Artificial Intelligence. Artificial Intelligence, although a buzzword these days, is a branch of Computer Science that deals with the creation of intelligent machines. These “machines” are trained on a variety of data sets to understand the environment they’re going to be a part of. Once trained adequately, they’re then tested in the said environment, and the process is repeated again.  

This loop of sorts continues to function, with each cycle generating a better understanding than the last one. That’s how AI systems are modelled. For the most part, AI can be classified into three types:
 

1) Narrow AI: This type of AI particularly deals with a specific list of tasks. They’re well-trained and, over a certain period of time, can develop a limited understanding of additional tasks. The AI models at work here aren’t severely complex; hence, they don’t possess human-like intelligence. Also, they’re quite new to the way human understanding of things works, so they don’t have any idea about it as well. Notable examples include Alexa, Siri, Cortana, and numerous chatbots.  

2) General AI: An advanced version of AI, General AI refers to systems that are capable of understanding, reasoning, and learning. They’re almost on par with the way a human mind works. As of now, humanity doesn’t possess enough technical prowess to create such a system as it has a lot of complexity to it. Hence, you won’t come across examples for now. One has to understand the intricacies of cognitive science and human consciousness to create such a system. 

3) Superintelligent AI: Now you’re stepping into pop-culture-like territory. These AI systems not only understand the way a human mind works but can transcend the perceived threshold. They’re some of the most complex constructs and have the ability to not only mimic but understand human emotion. They’re obviously way more intelligent than humans and possess the ability to shape the way civilisations function. For obvious reasons, such systems are far from completion as humanity doesn’t possess the resources required to construct them. 

The present-day understanding of AI models has allowed Robotics and Artificial Intelligence to conjure promising technologies. Just like Robotics, AI has been considered a crucial component of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Close to 77% of devices have already started using AI in some form. This proliferation is only going to expand exponentially as more systems will inherently be inculcated with AI systems.  

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What is the role of Artificial Intelligence in Robotics? 

AI plays a crucial role in the development of robots as it helps shape a lot of features. Upon integration, AI in Robotics shapes the way a robot perceives the world to a great extent. Not only that but AI also helps robots to make decisions by ingesting real-time data. Here’s a list of key roles that AI plays in Robotics: 

1) Perception and sensing: With the inclusion of AI, robots can analyse data using onboard cameras and sensors. This not only helps them understand the elements around them but also helps them navigate through the terrain. AI can also help robots combine inputs from multiple sensors like radar and lidar to form a detailed picture of their current environment. Once they’re aware of the surroundings, they can start venturing into the autonomous side of operations.   

2) Planning and decision-making: Finding the optimal path to get a job done is what defines this process. Picture a Mars rover that has just landed on the surface of Mars. First, it’ll deploy its instrument suite and record the data from its surroundings. The second step involves deciding on a path to traverse the Martian surface. Upon compiling streams of data, the rover will then decide on a viable path that poses the least threat. This process of decision-making and planning happens due to the presence of an AI.   

3) Control and execution: Let’s take the previous example again. Now that the rover has decided which path to choose, it’ll then initiate movement operations. AI here is not only helping the rover with decision-making but also with the way it will implement the said decision. Actions are performed upon careful consideration of a gazillion variables.  

4) Communication and interaction: AI algorithms pertaining to Natural Language Processing (NLP) can help robots read languages and generate responses. Features such as facial recognition and emotion recognition can also help robots to assist humans in multiple ways. Any form of communication, be it textual, voice-based, or action-based can be done with the deployment of AI.   

5) Learning and adaptation: Perhaps one of the most rudimentary yet important actions that AI enables is the ability to learn. A robot might make mistakes in the first few iterations or cycles while doing a task. However, with the addition of training data and human input, it’ll improve over time. It’s similar to the way a human being works, by making mistakes and then learning from them.  

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Applications of Robotics and Artificial Intelligence 

Robotics with AI can do a number of tasks much more efficiently than human beings. The applications of Robotics and Artificial Intelligence are many. They’ve covered almost all spheres that comprise the real world. While AI itself hasn’t developed to mimic its pop culture representation, it’s still doing a great job at helping people. The addition of Robotics to the mix has given the world a number of great tools. Here, take a look at some prominent examples:
 

1) Manufacturing: One of the most common examples of Robotics and AI is their deployment in the manufacturing industry. Robots now can not only follow a chain of preset commands but also understand the elements around them. With the addition of image recognition, products are not constructed and assembled using a simple QR code. Furthermore, different robots can now be deployed to keep tabs on the entire process. They can monitor the way processes are done and report any and all anomalies for rectification. 

2) Agriculture: Mechanical tools such as crop dusters, harvesters, and tractors have blended their mode of operations with AI. They can not only take care of the entire operation with minimal human intervention but learn from anomalies as well.  

3) Military defence: Militaries across the globe have already started adapting and deploying robotic assets that use AI. This includes Explosive Ordinance Disposal (EOD) units, reconnaissance units, and even attack units. Prominent examples include organizations such as Lockheed Martin, BAE Systems, General Dynamics Corporation, and many more. 

4) Research and exploration: As discussed in the previous sections, robots and AI are now being deployed to conduct research in inhospitable environments. Recent examples include the likes of NASA’s Perseverance, Curiosity, and Opportunity. These robots have not only enabled humanity to explore uncharted ad uninhabitable territories but have given insights into unknown elements and concepts. Boston Dynamics’s Spot and its variants are also taking the spotlight for their operational capabilities.
 

Conclusion 

Robots have been around humans for quite some time now. They’ve evolved from working on program presets to recording and understanding data from real-world sources. The inclusion of AI has opened a door to endless possibilities. Even though the existing AI models aren’t complex enough to mimic human emotions, they’re capable enough to do basic operations. Robotics and Artificial Intelligence are at times considered the key elements of a new age of technology. Subsequent deployments will result in the development of more complex and robust robots harbouring AI. 

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