Robot vs Automation – what’s the difference?
When we say ‘robot’, we are referring to a singular entity designed to replace a task carried out by a person. The word ‘automation’, on the other hand, describes larger self-operating machinery, consisting of numerous moving parts and control mechanisms that carry out a sequence of operations. Due to the overlap, the terms are often used interchangeably, but there is a subtle difference.
Logic-based automation began to emerge towards the end of the 19th century, bringing significant advancements to the automotive and textile industries. Digital robotics took a bit longer to materialise with George Devol credited with inventing the world’s first digital robotic arm, called the Unimate, in 1954.
Since then, the underlying technologies, ranging from control electronics to sensors and actuators, have seen a near endless evolution, becoming more efficient, powerful, and smarter. In turn, this has driven a significant divergence in the types of systems on offer and this trend is only set to continue.
Cobots
Enter cobots, short for collaborative robots. These are designed to work safely alongside humans rather than completely replacing them. Traditionally, robotics and automation are about speed, precision and efficiency, which generally means fast moving and powerful electronic and pneumatic systems that you really don’t want to mix with people.
So inevitably to keep employees safe, you end up with a very confined, inflexible system protected by guards and light gates. But for environments like car assembly lines and distribution centres where you need flexibility as operations might change, this rigidness can impact the overall efficiency.
Thanks to innovation in perception technologies and control electronics, the latest cobots can work harmoniously and in close vicinity with humans. Image sensors, accelerometers, and location systems, such as GNSS and radar, provide positional and movement information. While advanced control electronics, often enhanced by AI, ensure that all movements are carried out safely and make necessary avoidance manoeuvres when needed.
Robots In Unstructured Environments
Another area where robots and automations are seeing increased deployment thanks to enhanced perception and intelligent decision making is in unstructured or unpredictable environments.
Historically, automations and robotics have been restricted to controlled environments like a factory line or laboratory. Here, they can undertake preset tasks knowing their surroundings are effectively a fixed entity. But just as advances in technology are allowing cobots to work near unpredictable humans, it is also allowing robots and automation to expand into challenging and changeable environments.
From farming and agriculture to underwater exploration and complex road networks, the combination of enhanced perception and near instantaneous intelligent control is continuously creating new novel implementations for robots and automation.
And really, we are just seeing the start of this trend. Many of the underlying technologies at the centre of the latest applications are relatively immature. This is especially true for AI, and we should see even more groundbreaking automations and robots hitting the markets in the next few years. Although Sci-Fi creations like HAL 9000 and C3PO might still be a way off yet, your next car might well be a robot, because what is an autonomous vehicle if not a robot!
