Robotic Automation and the Future of Robotic Actuators
Overview
The evolving world of robotics automation is poised for remarkable advancements, primarily due to the advancement of robotic actuators. This guide provides key insights into their future — comprehensive statistics, potential challenges, viable opportunities, and strategic insights into enhancing safety and reliability.
Robotic Automation and Future Trends
Robotic automation has seen unparalleled growth in the last decade, with industrial robot sales surging by 19% annually according to the International Federation of Robotics. The primary driving force behind this transformative progress is the advancement in robotic actuator technology. Actuators, as the principal engine for robotic movement, are continually being enhanced, facilitating robotics to cover an exponentially larger gamut of applications. The global robot actuator market is expected to reach $15.8 billion by 2026, exhibiting the growing significance of actuator technology in driving robotics automation.
Challenges with Robotic Actuators
Despite their expanding market, over 60% of robotic failures are attributed to actuator faults. This alarming statistic underscores the urgent need to increase their reliability and efficiency, to ensure the smooth operation of robotic systems. Currently, actuator breakdowns present a significant hurdle to widespread adoption. Actuator quality, material selection, and compatibility with various environmental stressors are all areas ripe for improvement and research. As such, companies focusing on maintenance, troubleshooting and actuator-life-span maximization are likely to reap the highest benefits.
Opportunities for Actuator Advancements
As we look to the future of robotic actuators, several opportunities begin to emerge. Foremost among them is the development of soft robotics actuators, which are being hailed as a transformative technology. According to Technavio, the global soft robotic actuator market could grow by 15% annually through 2025. Soft actuators are leading the way in creating robots that can interact safely with humans and navigate unstructured environments, both of which were previously challenging areas. The integration of sensory feedback, smart materials, and adaptable architecture holds great potential for the future of robotic automation.
Key Takeaways
- The robotic actuator market is expected to reach $15.8 billion by 2026.
- More than 60% of robotic failures can be traced back to actuator faults.
- The Soft Robotic Actuator market is poised to grow 15% annually through 2025.
Introducing 3Laws Robotics
As an innovative force in the robotics industry, 3Laws Robotics is dedicated to enhancing safety and reliability for robotics systems. Our focus centers on addressing the certification challenge, a significant hurdle for robotics companies.
Our software, 3Laws Supervisor, simplifies this process by offering robust safety features and evidence of system robustness, effectively easing the certification path. Built on Control Barrier Functions, a technology developed at Caltech, our software provides mathematically provable safety.
3Law's technology spans diverse industries and applications:
- In warehouse automation, we helped an autonomous forklift customer achieve a 40% efficiency gain, resulting in a 6-month payback period.
- In human-robot interaction, 3Laws enables safe and uninterrupted operation of robots near humans.
- In dynamic environments, 3Laws' reactive collision avoidance capabilities enable robots to navigate unpredictable surroundings effectively.
3Laws aims to enhance operational efficiency by minimizing downtime caused by unnecessary e-stops or collisions. Providing real-time guardrails for autonomy stacks, our technology delivers peak capabilities while maintaining safety.
Regardless of the platform - be it mobile robots, cars, drones or manipulators - 3Laws' software is adaptable. Compatible with popular robotics middleware such as ROS and ROS2, we aim to provide a next-generation safety solution that goes beyond traditional e-stop methods.
Domiciled in the commitment to proactive safety, 3Laws Robotics unlock the full potential of robotics with dynamic, predictive safety that can be safety certified for ISO 3691-4 and ISO 26262.