Daily Archives: April 9, 2020

NEW YORK, April 9, 2020 /PRNewswire/ --

The Global Warehouse Robotics Market is expected to grow from USD 3,198.47 Million in 2018 to USD 8,284.29 Million by the end of 2025 at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 14.56%.

Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p05871717/?utm_source=PRN

The positioning of the Global Warehouse Robotics Market vendors in FPNV Positioning Matrix are determined by Business Strategy (Business Growth, Industry Coverage, Financial Viability, and Channel Support) and Product Satisfaction (Value for Money, Ease of Use, Product Features, and Customer Support) and placed into four quadrants (F: Forefront, P: Pathfinders, N: Niche, and V: Vital).

The report deeply explores the recent significant developments by the leading vendors and innovation profiles in the Global Warehouse Robotics Market including are Fetch Robotics, Inc, Honeywell International Inc., Locus Robotics, Omron Corporation, Siemens AG, ABB, FANUC, KUKA, and The Yaskawa Electric Corporation.

On the basis of Type, the Global Warehouse Robotics Market is studied across Fixed Robots, Gantry Robots, Mobile Robots, and Stationery Articulated Robots.

On the basis of Application, the Global Warehouse Robotics Market is studied across Automotive, Consumer Electronics, E-commerce, Food & Beverage, Healthcare, and Packaging.

For the detailed coverage of the study, the market has been geographically divided into the Americas, Asia-Pacific, and Europe, Middle East & Africa. The report provides details of qualitative and quantitative insights about the major countries in the region and taps the major regional developments in detail.

In the report, we have covered two proprietary models, the FPNV Positioning Matrix and Competitive Strategic Window. The FPNV Positioning Matrix analyses the competitive market place for the players in terms of product satisfaction and business strategy they adopt to sustain in the market. The Competitive Strategic Window analyses the competitive landscape in terms of markets, applications, and geographies. The Competitive Strategic Window helps the vendor define an alignment or fit between their capabilities and opportunities for future growth prospects. During a forecast period, it defines the optimal or favorable fit for the vendors to adopt successive merger and acquisitions strategies, geography expansion, research & development, new product introduction strategies to execute further business expansion and growth.

Research Methodology:Our market forecasting is based on a market model derived from market connectivity, dynamics, and identified influential factors around which assumptions about the market are made. These assumptions are enlightened by fact-bases, put by primary and secondary research instruments, regressive analysis and an extensive connect with industry people. Market forecasting derived from in-depth understanding attained from future market spending patterns provides quantified insight to support your decision-making process. The interview is recorded, and the information gathered in put on the drawing board with the information collected through secondary research.

The report provides insights on the following pointers:1. Market Penetration: Provides comprehensive information on sulfuric acid offered by the key players in the Global Warehouse Robotics Market2. Product Development & Innovation: Provides intelligent insights on future technologies, R&D activities, and new product developments in the Global Warehouse Robotics Market3. Market Development: Provides in-depth information about lucrative emerging markets and analyzes the markets for the Global Warehouse Robotics Market4. Market Diversification: Provides detailed information about new products launches, untapped geographies, recent developments, and investments in the Global Warehouse Robotics Market5. Competitive Assessment & Intelligence: Provides an exhaustive assessment of market shares, strategies, products, and manufacturing capabilities of the leading players in the Global Warehouse Robotics Market

The report answers questions such as:1. What is the market size of Warehouse Robotics market in the Global?2. What are the factors that affect the growth in the Global Warehouse Robotics Market over the forecast period?3. What is the competitive position in the Global Warehouse Robotics Market?4. Which are the best product areas to be invested in over the forecast period in the Global Warehouse Robotics Market?5. What are the opportunities in the Global Warehouse Robotics Market?6. What are the modes of entering the Global Warehouse Robotics Market?

Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p05871717/?utm_source=PRN

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The Global Warehouse Robotics Market is expected to grow from USD 3198.47 Million in 2018 to USD 8284.29 Million by the end of 2025 at a Compound...

NEW YORK, April 9, 2020 /PRNewswire/ --

Global Intelligent Soft Robotics Market to Reach $2.16 Billion by 2024

Key Questions Answered in this Report:

Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p05881512/?utm_source=PRN

Why should an investor consider venturing into the intelligent soft robotics market, and what are the future growth opportunities? For a new company looking to enter into the market, which areas could it focus upon to stay ahead of the competition? How do the existing market players function to improve their market positioning? How does the supply chain function in the intelligent soft robotics market? Which companies have been actively involved in innovation through patent applications, and which products have witnessed maximum patent applications during the period 2016-2019? Which product and technology segments are expected to witness the maximum demand growth in the intelligent soft robotics market during 2019-2024, and how is their growth pattern across different regions and countries? Which are the key application areas in the intelligent soft robotics market? Which regions and countries are leading in terms of having robotic setups, and which of them are expected to witness high demand growth during 2019-2024?

Global Intelligent Soft Robotics Market Forecast, 2019-2024

The global intelligent soft robotics market analyzed is expected to showcase healthy growth.The intelligent soft robotics market is anticipated to grow at a robust CAGR of 37% on the basis of capacity during the forecast period from 2019 to 2024.

The demand for intelligent soft robotic solutions has massively grown in the past years.High environmental concerns have resulted in the transformation of various industries and led to innovation of multiple technologies that enable the usage of renewable sources of energy.

Intelligent soft robotics addresses the ongoing issue of handling delicate objects that able to present an extensive amount of opportunities to revolutionize the working principle of different end-user industry such as food & beverage, logistics, space, defense and healthcare.

The intelligent soft robotics market is currently in its upscaling phase.The concept of soft robotics has been gaining traction owing to the rising need for automation.

However, even though the technology is theoretically much researched and studied, the practical operation is still upscaling and has not reached the stage of full-fledged commercialization.Most of the intelligent soft robotics are being operated on a pilot basis with the help of government funding and subsidies.

Currently, the establishment of intelligent soft robotic manufacturing is expensive, but with the materialization of learning curves, the high capital cost is anticipated to decline.

Expert Quote

"Rising demand for logistics in the e-commerce industry for the order fulfilment is one of the primary drivers for the adoption of robotics. E-commerce players such as Amazon Inc. (U.S.), and Walmart (U.S.) have substantial opportunities to adopt intelligent soft robotics in their warehouses. Moreover, the adoption of robots in the food industry has been significantly growing over the years in every step of food processing for enhanced operational efficiency. Other industries such as defense and healthcare are among the early adopters of intelligent soft robots boosting the growth of the intelligent soft robotics market."

Scope of the Intelligent Soft Robotics Market

The Intelligent Soft Robotics Market provides detailed market information for segmentation such as type, end user, component, mobility, and region. The purpose of this market analysis is to examine intelligent soft robotics in terms of factors driving the market, trends, technological developments, and competitive benchmarking, among others.

The report further takes into consideration the market dynamics and the competitive landscape, along with the detailed financial and product contribution of the key players operating in the market. While highlighting the key driving and restraining forces for this market, the report also provides a detailed study of the industry that has been analyzed.

The intelligent soft robotics market is segregated by region under four major segments, namely North America, Asia-Pacific, Europe, and Rest-of-the-World.

Key Companies in the Intelligent Soft Robotics Market

The key market players in the Intelligent Soft Robotics Market include Cyberdyne Inc. (Japan), Ekso Bionics Holdings Inc. (U.S.), Empire Robotics, Inc. (U.S.), F&P Personal Robotics (Switzerland), FANUC Corporation (Japan), Franka Emika GmbH (Germany), GLI Technology Limited (China) and Soft Robotics, Inc. (U.S.), among others.

Countries Covered North America U.S. Canada Europe Germany U.K. Switzerland Italy Sweden Rest-of-Europe Asia-Pacific China Japan South Korea India Rest-of-Asia-Pacific Rest-of-the-World Middle East and Africa Latin America

Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p05881512/?utm_source=PRN

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The intelligent soft robotics market is anticipated to grow at a robust CAGR of 37% on the basis of capacity during the forecast period from 2019 to...

From 2016-2019, a team from the Australian Centre for Field Robotics at the University of Sydney undertook projects focusing on advancing the application of robotics, intelligent sensing systems, precision agriculture automation and more in Australias vegetable industry.

In November 2019, Vegetables Australia spoke to Project Lead Professor Salah Sukkarieh about the research, and the potential impact it has for the future of on-farm robotic automation.Over the past three years, many vegetable industry members would have seen the LadyBird and RIPPA (Robot for Intelligent Perception and Precision Application) robots in both trial-farm and commercial-farm settings.

A strategic levy investment under the Hort Innovation Vegetable Fund, Using autonomous systems to guide vegetable decision making on-farm (VG15003) was undertaken to research and develop novel sensors, algorithms and robotic technologies that would help reduce production cost and increase on-farm productivity in the vegetable industry, in particular brassica, lettuce and baby leaf.

The project was awarded to the Australian Centre for Field Robotics at the University of Sydney and, led by Professor Salah Sukkarieh, started in January 2016. It was divided into four themes: Sensing, Automated Decision Support (ADS), Crop Interaction and Farm Automation Standards.

The project used the LadyBird robotic platform, designed and developed by the Australian Centre for Field Robotics under a previous investment entitled An Intelligent Farm Robot for the Vegetable Industry (VG12104). The robot was fitted with a number of different sensors including Thermal, Hyperspectral, Vision and Laser, and experiments were conducted on the University of Sydney farm.

Evaluating and testing autonomous systems developed in VG15003 in Australian vegetable production systems (VG15059) started in June 2016 and focused on Evaluation, Market Analyses, Economic Viability and Industry Engagement of the four themes in VG15003. The project used the RIPPA robotic platform, also designed and developed under project VG12104. It was customised for testing and evaluation of these technologies on commercial operational farms.

The two projects worked together: VG15003 focused on the research and demonstration of novel sensing and algorithms, and VG15059 operationalised that research and it demonstrated to growers on-farm, Professor Sukkarieh explained.

Both investments drew to a close in February 2019, having supported and progressed the development of new technologies for the vegetable industry.

Key findingsThe experiments undertaken during project VG15003 collected large amounts of data and analysed for evaluation of plant health and estimation of water index.

Initially experiments were done for lettuce and the scope was expanded to cauliflower and broccoli. Machine learning algorithms were developed that could observe plant structure, distinguish weeds from crops, detect water stress or damage, and map soil properties such as conductivity and moisture, Professor Sukkarieh said.

The data collection exercise demonstrated the capacity to rapidly collect high spatial and spectral resolution data on a routine basis (weekly), as well as the software pipeline that could extract this data and make meaningful representations of the plants and environment in general.

A number of important characteristics were determined from these results, including the ability to get close to 100 per cent confidence in the machine learning systems extracting plant information (shape and size), as well as greater than 90 per cent accuracy in detecting weeds green-on-green when in uncluttered environments (using spatial and shape differences), and greater than 75 per cent in cases where weeds were similar to early established plants.

During VG15059, Professor Sukkarieh and his team ventured on-farm to demonstrate RIPPAs capability for detecting weeds in real-time among crops and real-time weeding using mechanical prongs as well as directed spraying technologies that minimised chemicals.

The software pipeline developed was also used to detect foreign objects and we retrofitted an industrial vacuum cleaner that could suck up those foreign objects. We demonstrated the capability of actively sampling water conductivity near plant roots. A user interface was developed that not only allowed growers to control the robot, but also to see results of plant statistics, history, weed pressure and water availability, Professor Sukkarieh said.

Both projects went through continuous cycles of experimentation and design improvements; especially for operational envelope enhancements.

Most of prototype tests were conducted at the University of Sydneys Lansdowne farm, and operational trials were conducted in Gatton, Cowra, Griffith, Werribee, Gippsland and Launceston. More than 660 growers attended, and feedback was collected through end-to-end demonstrations.

Addressing issuesThis was the first time extensive full production, autonomous data collection of individual plants in the field had been conducted which posed challenges to Professor Sukkarieh and his team.

There were are a number of technical challenges that we overcame, including registration of changing plant data over multiple weeks and the effect of lighting and weather on autonomous data gathering, Professor Sukkarieh said.

Plant biology means that the algorithms that were developed had to deal with changing plant architecture over time which hadnt been dealt with before in the research community.

This was also the first time that the robotics and automation work extended beyond just automating a platform for operation on-farm and moved into crop intelligence. Grower input also contributed to the program, as Professor Sukkarieh explained.

We received very positive feedback in our trials as well as a number of suggestions on operational improvements that were incorporated into the program. As the project moved through its various stages of development, the growers became very interested in the capability that the system could also provide in the future for pest/disease detection.

According to Professor Sukkarieh, VG15003 and VG15059 both demonstrated that a continuous cycle of research and development through to operational demonstration with the growers was key.

This is to ensure that the research aligned with the grower interests, and that continuous feedback was provided to the research. The next steps in robotics would include better crop intelligence algorithms for detecting pests/diseases and novel tools for precision action on plants and ultimately harvesting and these should follow the same approach, he said.

There are technologies that are ready for commercialisation, including automated platforms for weeding and crop intelligence (plant size and distribution). These should now transition into the hands of the growers for end-user feedback.

The bottom lineProfessor Sukkarieh said that the three projects VG12104, VG15003, VG15059 have placed the Australian vegetable industry at the leading edge of on-farm robotic automation.

We are now in position to commercialise many of the technologies developed in these programs. The industry now should look further forward to understand what future vegetable farm operations would look like with the belief that on-farm robotic solutions are coming, he said.

This will help provide a vision on how best to use these technologies (beyond weeding and crop intelligence), how intelligent on-farm systems should work with each other, and how these intelligent assets will support supply chain optimisation.

For more information:Professor Salah Sukkarieh Email: salah.sukkarieh@sydney.edu.au http://www.sydney.edu.au

Read more:

Advancing robotics in the Australian vegetable industry - hortidaily.com

San Francisco Long maligned as job-stealers and aspiring overlords, robots are being increasingly relied on as fast, efficient, contagion-proof champions in the war against the deadly coronavirus.

One team of robots temporarily cared for patients in a makeshift hospital in Wuhan, the Chinese city where the COVID-19 outbreak began.

Meals were served, temperatures taken and communications handled by machines, one of them named Cloud Ginger by its maker CloudMinds, which has operations in Beijing and California.

It provided useful information, conversational engagement, entertainment with dancing, and even led patients through stretching exercises, CloudMinds president Karl Zhao said of the humanoid robot.

The smart field hospital was completely run by robots.

A small medical team remotely controlled the field hospital robots. Patients wore wristbands that gathered blood pressure and other vital data.

The smart clinic only handled patients for a few days, but it foreshadowed a future in which robots tend to patients with contagious diseases while health care workers manage from safe distances.

Patients in hospitals in Thailand, Israel and elsewhere meet with robots for consultations done by doctors via videoconference. Some consultation robots even tend to the classic checkup task of listening to patients lungs as they breathe.

Alexandra Hospital in Singapore will use a robot called BeamPro to deliver medicine and meals to patients diagnosed with COVID-19 or those suspected to be infected with the virus in its isolation wards.

Doctors and nurses can control the robot by using a computer from outside the room, and can hold conversations with the patient via the screen and camera.

The robot reduces the number of touch points with patients who are isolated, thereby reducing risk for healthcare workers, the hospitals health innovation director Alexander Yip told local news channel CNA.

Robotic machines can also be sent to scan for the presence of the virus, such as when the Diamond Princess cruise ship cabins were checked for safety weeks after infected passengers were evacuated, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control.

Additionally, hospitals are turning to robots to tirelessly rid room, halls and door handles of viruses and bacteria.

U.S. firm Xenex has seen a surge in demand for its robots that disinfect rooms, according to director of media relations Melinda Hart.

Xenexs LightStrike robots have been used in more than 500 healthcare facilities, with the number of deployed bots rising due to the pandemic, Hart said.

We are getting requests from around the world, Hart said.

In addition to hospitals, were being contacted by urgent care centers, hotels, government agencies and pharmaceutical companies to disinfect rooms.

Shark Robotics in France began testing a decontamination unit about a month ago and has already started getting orders, according to co-founder Cyril Kabbara.

The coronavirus pandemic has caused robotics innovation to accelerate, according to Lesley Rohrbaugh, the director of research for the US Consumer Technology Association.

We are in a time of need for some of this technology, so it seems like benefits outweigh costs, Rohrbaugh said.

Artificial intelligence, sensors and other capabilities built into robots can push up prices, as can the need to bolster high-speed internet connections on which machines often rely, according to Rohrbaugh.

Innovations on the horizon include using drones equipped with sensors and cameras to scan crowds for signs of people showing symptoms of coronavirus infection.

A team at the University of South Australia is working on just that, in collaboration with Canadian drone-maker Draganfly.

The use will be to identify the possible presence of the virus by observing humans, said university professor Javaan Singh Chahl.

It might form part of an early warning system or to establish statistically how many people are afflicted in a population.

His team is working on computer algorithms that can spot sneezing or coughing, say in an airport terminal, and remotely measure peoples pulses and temperatures.

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Much-maligned robots may become heroes in war on coronavirus - The Japan Times

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These four architectural employers offer everything from a cutting edge robotics lab through craftsmanship in design to innovative structures -...

One of the consequences of people being told to stay home to slow the spread of coronavirus is loneliness. And a collection of 13 robotics experts from around the world have a suggestion for how to solve that: a robot pal.

The innovation is just one of many mentioned in an open letter by the global contingent of robotics experts who suggest that the coronavirus pandemic should serve as a catalyst for the increased use and development of robots.

"Now the impact of COVID-19 may drive further research in robotics to address risks of infectious diseases," says the statement, published March 25 in Science Robotics magazine.

The statement aims to inspire more funding to develop these varieties of robots, many of which it became clear were needed during the 2015 Ebola crisis.

"[W]ithout sustained research efforts robots will, once again, not be ready for the next incident," says the statement. "By fostering a fusion of engineering and infectious disease professionals with dedicated funding we can be ready when (not if) the next pandemic arrives."

Here are some of the ways robots are being used and could be used in future pandemics.

One of the ways people can be infected with coronavirus is by touching a contaminated surface and then touching their face, as the virus can live on metal, glass or plastic surfaces for days. According to the scientists' statement,ultraviolet light has been shown to "be effective in reducing contamination" on surfaces in hospitals.

In fact, according to other experts, the intensity of UV light needed to kill coronavirus can be harmful to humans. But, the scientists say large and small autonomous or remote-controlled robots could be developed to locate and constantly sterilize frequently touched surfaces with ultraviolet light.

Fever is an overwhelmingly common symptom of COVID-19. Automated camera systems used in conjunction with thermal sensors and vision algorithms on autonomous or remotely operated robots could be used to monitor temperatures of patients in hospitals, the scientists say.

CNBC Make It previously reported on robots used in a field hospitala In Wuhan, China, the epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic. Beijing-based robotics company CloudMinds sent 14 robots to help with patient care, and one of those systemsmeasured people's temperatures as theyentered (video below).

While there will no doubt be privacy concerns with any tracking technology, the roboticists say combining existing security systems with facial recognition software could allow authorities to retrace the steps of patients who tested positive for COVID-19 and contact others who might be at risk, which is known as contact tracing.

Testing for coronavirus involves inserting a swab fairly deep into a patient's nasal cavity.

There are parts of the process that puts humans at risk of contracting the virus, including collecting the sample, handling the sample, transfering the sample to the test location and the test itself.

"During a major outbreak, a key challenge is a lack of qualified staff to swab patients and process test samples," the scientists say. "Automated or robot-assisted nasopharyngeal and oropharyngeal swabbing may speed up the process, reduce the risk of infection, and free up staff for other tasks."

Patients can test positive for COVID-19 before they have symptoms. A blood test for antibodies (the protein produced when a pathogen is detected in the bloodstream that are used by the immune system), would enable testing before symptoms present, what the scientists called a "silent infection."

Robots that automate the process of drawing blood could reduce the risks to frontline medical personnel. Research is already being done on systems that use ultrasound imaging to identify veins in the forearm for blood draw.

Autonomous drones and ground robots can be used to deliver medicine to patients who have coronavirus.

Also in the field hospital in Wuhan, China, CloudMinds robots were used to deliver food, drink and medicine to patients.

People staying home to "flatten the curve" of the pandemic can mean less social interaction for some, "which may have a negative impact on mental health," the scientists say. "Social robots" would provide social stimulation and interactions, in addition to providing reminders to follow treatment regimens.

Developing a social robot is complicated, though. "This is a challenging area of development because social interactions require building and maintaining complex models of people, including their knowledge, beliefs, emotions, as well as the context and environment of the interaction," the scientists say.

Link:

COVID-19 pandemic proves the need for 'social robots,' 'robot avatars' and more, say experts - CNBC

Opinion: fromhospitals to shops and policing, the use of drones and robots to carry out critical services can save lives during an epidemic

By Boris Galkin, TCD

As the world is rocked by the coronavirus crisis, governments everywhere have come together with the same safety instructions: stay home and avoid close contact with other people. For many, this lifestyle change simply entails taking their workload home and balancing it with their domestic chores: bookkeeping while babysitting, coding while cooking.

But leaving the house is still a necessity for purchasing food and essentials, which carries a risk of infection. Even worse off are those people whose jobs cannot be taken home and who must be in contact with potentially sick individuals.

The good news is that possible solutions for many of these issues are just around the corner, as the crisis has given a boost to a number of emerging technologies. The last 10 years have seen a technological revolution occur in the robotics and autonomous vehicle sectors. Largely invisible to the layperson, this crisis has pushed the technology out of its niche into the public sphere like never before.

From CGTN, a Chinese hospital is using robots to deliver medicine

So how are robots and drones playing a key role in containing the spread of the Covid-19 virus - and what changes we can expect to see in Ireland in the near future?Among those most at risk of contracting the virus are healthcare personnel such as doctors and nurses, who spend prolonged periods of time in areas with potentially infectious patients. Recognising this, several hospitals in China have begun adopting autonomous robots for many of their day-to-day tasks, such as delivering foodand medicineto patients, as well as disinfecting the hospital environment.

In Singapore, doctors are using telemedicine robots to remotely interact with patients from a safe distance whenever possible. These robots take the form of electric carts carrying cameras, video monitors and health measurement equipment. The medical personnel using these devices have the opportunity to increase the frequency of their patient interactions without having to resort to wearing PPE such as gloves and masks, which are in short supply.

Another key service which is seeing a robotic transformation is the delivery sector. With individuals staying home, the demand for online shopping and home delivery has skyrocketed. This puts delivery staff in a difficult situation, as any contact with the end-client puts both parties at risk.

From New China TV, autonomous delivery robots delivering goods in Wuhan

While leaving packages on doorsteps is an option, Chinese company JD.com has a better idea. Already a big player in autonomous delivery systems, this company has used the quarantine conditions to push their autonomous ground vehicles from the lab to the street. Taking the form of miniature electric vans, JD.com's delivery robots are safely driving along Wuhans roads and carrying out the last-mile stage of package delivery (that is, the stage where a package is sent from the local storage hub to the clients address). Capable of piloting themselves around complicated road conditions day or night, these robots are reported to be making the majority of the companys medical deliveries at the time of writing.

Law enforcement has not been left behind by this technological trend. With the lockdown come new laws which need to be enforced, and police organisations around the world are turning to remotely-piloted tools. These devices most often take the form of commercially available drones carrying loudspeakers or other communication equipment. Using them, police officers are able to remotely patrol city streets and public areas, identify the locations of non-compliant individuals and directly engage them. Not only do these devices allow the police to maintain their physical distance when carrying out their patrols, but their speed allows the police to oversee much larger areas than what they could achieve from the ground.

From ABC News, Madrid police are using drones tobroadcast messages during the coronavirus outbreak

While China has emerged as the leader in adopting these robotic tools, other countries are following closely. Ireland is currently lagging behind with this technology, due to a combination of economic and legislative issues. Current legislation prevents many of the applications of autonomous vehicles described above, particularly those used outdoors in public areas.

By law, autonomous or remotely piloted delivery vans are not permitted on Irish roads, and drones are heavily restricted in how they can use Irish airspace, even in the hands of the emergency services. Fortunately, the legislation on autonomous vehicles and drones is gradually changing to allow for more expanded use cases, such as food delivery in selected parts of the country.

The automation revolution was visible on the horizon for a while, but thiscrisis has suddenly brought it into full view

It is unlikely that we will see the technologies described above become adopted in Ireland during this current crisis, but the existing global trends unanimously point towards a near future where this technology is a daily part of our lives. Economists, scientists and tech experts worldwide are predicting that the virus will create an even greater demand for automating parts of the economy from the factory to the office.

When the virus outbreak comes to an end, the world will return to a new normal, with robots and autonomous devices appearing in various workplaces in increasing numbers. Working from home will become available to more people, while others will find aspects of their jobs taken over by machines, whether remotely piloted by the workers themselves or controlled by artificial intelligence. New business opportunities will emerge to cater to these automation demands, with new jobs created in the process. The automation revolution was visible on the horizon for a while, but thiscrisis has suddenly brought it into full view, and showed just how important the technology is for saving lives.

Boris Galkinis a PhD researcher atCONNECTinTrinity College Dublin

The views expressed here are those of the author and do not represent or reflect the views of RT

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Meet the coronavirus drones and robots Coronavirus / 07 Apr - RTE.ie

Local grocers and big chains alike are deploying robots to clean floors, stock shelves and deliver groceries to shoppers during the coronavirus.

Grocers are searching for ways to reduce pressure on store workers and increase efficiency amid a surge of shoppers visiting stores and ordering online during the crisis. They believe robots and AI offer solutions that can help them bring down costs and improve store operations.

Theres strong interest in moving rapidly in this direction because everyone knows they need to raise their game to stay competitive and its ultimately more cost effective to automate than staff up, especially in todays labor market, said Bill Bishop, co-founder of retail and grocery consulting firm Brick Meets Click.

Experts say the crisis may speed up grocers use of robots in stores.

I strongly believe that the current health crisis will accelerate the adoption of robots in retail, said Steven Keith Platt, research director for the Retail Analytics Council and adjunct professor at Northwestern University. Short-term, this is to address health concerns of workers and customers, he said. In the long term, robots in stores will stock shelves and prepare food.

In Washington, DC,Broad Branch Markethas brought on 44-pound, six-wheel self-driving robots equipped with sensors and AI to ferry deliveries to customers in the area. Broad Branch has closed its stores to shoppers and shifted its operations to delivery and pick-up orders only during the crisis.

We have had them for a little over a week and they are very popular [with customers], said store co-owner Tracy Stannard.

Brain Corp., which supplies autonomous floor-scrubbing robots to grocers, said it saw a 13% jump in the usage of its robots at stores in March compared to a year ago. Grocers staying open during the crisis have shortened their hours to allow for deep cleaning overnight.

Walmart, the countrys largest retailer and private employer, will have Brain Corps self-driving robots in 1,860 of its more than 4,700 US stores by the end of the year. It will also have robots that scan shelf inventory at 1,000 stores and bots at 1,700 stores that automatically scan boxes as they come off delivery trucks and sort them by department onto conveyer belts by the end of the year.

During the crisis, Walmart has continued to roll out robots in stores, a spokesperson said.

The company said the smart assistants reduce the amount of time workers spend on repeatable, predictable and manual tasks in stores, allowing workers to switch to selling merchandise to shoppers and other customer service roles.

At a handful of Schnucks Markets stores in the Midwest, Tally, an autonomous robot, scans shelves to alert employees when products are out of stock or labeled incorrectly, said Brad Bogolea, CEO of Simbe Robotics, which developed the robot.

This massive surge in demand was a major shock to most retailers inventory counts, said Bogolea. The robot has been helping workers restock items on shelves by giving them real-time data on which items are out, he said.

Grocers are also looking to take the process for picking customers online grocery orders out of store aisles. Workers manually picking, bagging and delivering is costly for grocers, and employees picking orders can clog up aisles.

Albertsons, Stop & Shop and other grocers are testing small automated micro-fulfillment centers in the backs of their own stores that are dedicated to fulfilling deliveries and pickups. At two stores, Albertsons is using robots to prepare customers orders, which it says speeds up the picking process.

Takeoff Technologies, one of the companies that has created these mini-warehouses, has seen a double-digit increase in orders since the crisis began.

Robots handle a majority of the leg-work when fulfilling orders, meaning there is limited contact with grocery items, said Jose Aguerrevere, CEO of Takeoff Technologies. The process is well suited for social distancing.

Some fear that this type automation, however, will lead to the disappearance of low-wage jobs.

There are more than 15 million retail workers in America today, and lower-skilled jobs in the industry such as cashiers and clerks are among those vulnerable to technology advances. In the retail industry, margin pressure has made automation a requirement, not a choice, according toMcKinsey. Automation will disproportionately disrupt retail.

TheBrookings Institutionsaid in a report last month that any coronavirus-related recession is likely to bring about a spike in labor-replacing automation.

Automation happens in bursts, concentrated especially in bad times such as in the wake of economic shocks, when humans become relatively more expensive as firms revenues rapidly decline, the Brookings Institution said in its report.

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Grocery stores nationwide deploying robots to reduce pressure on workers during COVID-19 pandemic - KTLA