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Today, robots are most widely applied in industrial fields. There are approximately 2.7 million industrial robots globally, with most performing repetitive industrial applications. These robots use software and protocols to communicate with other machines, telling them when to start rotating, when to begin moving, and understanding when jobs are completed. However, when multiple robots and programmable logic controllers (PLCs) work on common tasks, interoperability and communication remain challenging. Without communication through universal platforms, the flexibility to exchange these machines according to changing production requirements is poor.
Just as collaborative work and collective intelligence have played very important roles in human progress, collaboration is key to making robots effective. Various open communication protocols are being developed to simplify robot connections to software systems and improve their collaboration. This ongoing software development is crucial for continued robot evolution.
As demand for robot capabilities increases, robot software will need to evolve. The next development in robot collaboration requires robots to make simple decisions to meet flexible production line requirements. Industrial robots can now operate at low intelligence levels to meet the needs of carefully planned batch production lines. However, when production lines transition to high-mix, small-batch scenarios required to satisfy consumers' growing customization needs, this will quickly change.
Robot software development must consist of flexible modular modules (such as interchangeable high-level architectures) and standardized hardware, enabling easy customization with minimal changes. This is necessary to address various application areas such as automotive assembly lines, white goods testing lines, heavy engineering welding lines, and others. Modular architecture will help developers keep pace with changing requirements.
Like any type of software, robot software faces unique challenges in networking and security. For robots to evolve, they need to remain online within closed networks. But as more robots join networks, protecting those networks becomes increasingly important. Unfortunately, attempts to intrude into robots in the future will increase, and multiple custom security layers will need to be developed for better protection. The next step in robotics will help machine communication develop from early languages to modern languages like Python, Ruby, Scala, etc. Adopting modern languages will provide significant benefits in integration with already-used applications—used for security, communication, and helping robots accept vision, touch, sensing, and thinking at faster speeds.
As hardware becomes commoditized, possibilities for robot applications become endless, and the future of robotics will be as diverse as current mobile computing. The concept of software-controlled robots and automation is in its infancy. However, from 2021 to 2026, the robot software market is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 45.5%. The tendency to maximize flexibility and intelligence through robot software, thereby increasing productivity, will help lay the foundation for next-generation robotics technology.
