Robotics and Automation in Industry 4.0

Abstract

In aiming to achieve better productivity, a prominent hallmark of the various phases of the industrial revolution (IR) has been the increasing use of automation, through technological advancements, recurrent in I4.0, for example, through breakthroughs in wireless sensor networks and cloud computing. With machine learning, it has now been possible to automate the decision-making process itself through the fourth IR. A key technological solution has been the field of robotics as an automation solution and the closely associated area of robot vision and tactile sensing. Robotics was actually the prominent component of I3.0 but remains a key technology for I4.0 as well given its huge potential to improve productivity in several sectors. Moreover, the integration of automated robotic systems with emerging technologies such as sensor networks has led to the development of a whole range of manipulator and mobile robotic systems able to operate autonomously or semi-autonomously, including collaborative systems able to work safely with humans. The latter, typically referred to as cobots, has opened several new avenues for man–machine interoperability, which would have been considered impossible in the I3.0 framework.