What's next? The World in 2050.

In 2050, our city streets hum with electric chargers, while drones zip through the air on delivery missions. With AI and robotics at the helm, the dynamics between humanity and machines have shifted. But what does the future hold for factories? B. Turgut Ulutürk, CEO and co-founder of Bottobo, offers a glimpse into the next quarter-century.

Manufacturing landscapes are on the brink of a profound transformation, as pioneering technologies redefine production methods. Rather than relying on mere speculation, we can draw insights from current innovations to forecast the future. Here, he outline some pivotal technological trends that will revolutionize manufacturing over the next quarter-century:

Human-like Cobots

We are already in the era of collaborative robots. By 2050, robots demonstrate remarkable proficiency in navigating real-world environments and handling a diverse array of 3D objects. Unlike their predecessors confined to rigid movements, this new generation boasts enhanced dexterity and adaptability. They excel in swiftly adapting to novel scenarios and tackling dynamic challenges, drawing from their experiences and exchanging knowledge thanks to ultra-fast wireless internet speeds and vast data gathered from sensors.

These robots possess the capability to swiftly recognize objects, assess situations, and determine appropriate actions in near real-time, facilitating more human-like responses. The "Social Navigation" project, funded by Tübitak, is one of the steps we have taken in this direction for our robots.

Automated Warehouses

In the upcoming decades, automation technologies will spearhead a pivotal shift in the warehouse sector, automating processes related to storage, retrieval, and distribution of goods, thereby revolutionizing traditional practices.

Future factories are expected to integrate automated warehousing systems, leveraging robots, AI, and advanced logistics management to boost efficiency. This integration not only optimizes inventory handling but also paves the way for lights-out manufacturing, where factories autonomously operate around the clock.

Incredibly Cheap and Clean Energy

By the early 2040s, solar and wind power dominate energy provision globally. Solar energy costs plunged by 82% and wind energy by 46% between 2010 and 2020, now constituting only a quarter of their early 2020s expenses. Surplus energy from renewables is efficiently utilized for various purposes, slashing costs for water, materials, manufacturing, and computation. Switching to clean energy reduces over 50% of greenhouse gas emissions, the leading cause of climate change.

Quantum Computing

It has the potential to revolutionize technology much like how mobile phones have surpassed workplace computers in just 30 years. In another 25 to 30 years, quantum computing could render today's AI obsolete, paving the way for systems surpassing human intelligence in numerous aspects.

By 2025, over 4 million AMRs will be installed!

Lately, AMRs (autonomous mobile robots) have transitioned from being a novelty solution, adopted by only a few major corporations like Amazon, to becoming a widely accepted technology with the potential to provide significant advantages to various operations, regardless of size. By 2025, over 4 million commercial robots will be installed in over 50,000 warehouses, up from just under 4,000 robotic warehouses in 2018, according to ABI Research.

Why AMRs are so important?

AMRs operate independently within their environment, relying on a combination of sensors, computers, and software to navigate warehouses autonomously. This advanced technology streamlines warehouse operations, enhancing efficiency by accelerating product delivery. By delegating specific tasks to these bots, productivity increases as order picking times decrease.

However, these developments only begin to uncover the vast potential of AMRs in industry. As technology evolves, AMRs are poised to transform numerous operational facets. Enhanced with state-of-the-art AI software, they intelligently adapt their actions, foreseeing and sidestepping congested zones, obstacles, and areas frequented by workers during breaks or shifts.

3 things to convince you of the necessity of AMRs:

1. Cost Savings

AMRs revolutionize warehouse operations by automating material handling tasks, cutting labor costs, and increasing productivity. They optimize workflows, enhance space utilization, and improve inventory management through real-time tracking.

Equipped with collision avoidance systems, they reduce product damage and are energy-efficient, leading to long-term cost savings. Their scalability and flexibility enable seamless adaptation to changing operational needs, minimizing infrastructure changes and capital expenditures.

2. Efficiency Improvements

AMRs offer clear advantages in efficiency and productivity. By autonomously performing repetitive tasks like picking and transporting goods, they free up human resources for more complex duties. Operating seamlessly in large, cluttered spaces without fixed conveyors or edges, AMRs eliminate the need for manual labor and mitigate workplace injury risks.

3. Scalability and Flexibility

In the past, warehouse automation relied on fixed systems, limiting flexibility and scalability. However, with the rise of AMRs, the focus has shifted towards adaptability and scalability.

Unlike conventional fixed systems, they autonomously traverse dynamic warehouse settings, seamlessly adjusting to evolving layouts, inventory setups, and workflow variations. With cutting-edge sensors, cameras, and mapping capabilities, AMRs intelligently assess their surroundings, dynamically charting the most efficient paths and maneuvering around obstacles on the fly.

Scalability is another distinctive feature of AMR-based warehousing automation. Unlike traditional solutions requiring hefty initial investments and lacking scalability, AMRs provide a cost-effective and easily expandable method for enhancing warehouse operations.

AMRs empower warehouses to adjust their fleets as needed to match fluctuating demands or business expansion goals. Whether it entails deploying more robots during peak seasons or expanding warehouse capacity for growth, AMRs enable rapid and cost-effective scalability of operations.

Warehouses are undergoing a profound transformation, and Bottobo plays a crucial role in this evolution by offering unique solutions that address both technological requirements and cost concerns, providing significant advantages.

Our plug-and-play deployment, rapid setup, and seamless adaptability mean less hassle for warehouses. Our technology boasts effortless adaptability, facilitating easy changes as operational needs evolve, all without requiring significant infrastructure alterations. In essence, we don't just provide a product; we offer a seamless transition that minimizes disruptions and maximizes productivity for warehouse operations.

Better Together: Human-Robot Collaboration (HRC)

As warehouse operations increasingly embrace automation, the significance of human employment persists. Tasks like order picking are evolving through collaboration between humans and robots, exemplifying the shift towards Industry 5.0.

This blog explores the evolving dynamics between humans and robots in the context of Industry 5.0.

This Bottobo is one of the best teammates!

The advantages of HRC

With a projected compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5.85% between 2023-2027, the market is expected to attain a volume of US$32.75 billion by the end of 2027. This remarkable expansion can be attributed to the increasing adoption of robotics technologies across various industries, including automotive, healthcare, logistics, and manufacturing.[1]

Due to the ongoing significance of human labor in increasingly automated warehouses, specially designed robots, known as "cobots," seek to blend the repetitive capabilities of robots with the unique skills of humans. Consequently, collaborative human-robot systems are emerging in numerous warehouses.

This trend is accompanied by a rise in job opportunities for human workers in warehouses, fueled in part by the surge in e-commerce during the Covid-19 pandemic. The demand for warehouse workers, particularly those on the front lines of e-commerce, experienced substantial growth in 2020, as indicated by a LinkedIn report on salary data and career trends across 15,000 job titles.

To address the challenge of meeting heightened online demand amidst a competitive labor market, many warehouses are turning to robots that can work alongside and enhance human labor, tackling time-consuming and repetitive tasks like transporting completed orders within the warehouse.

Furthermore, the advantages of this collaboration extend beyond that point. Recent researches into HRC, reveal a tremendously powerful yet unexplored potential for robots to not only serve as substitutes for people in repetitive, hazardous, or demanding tasks but to augment and complement human cognitive and physical capabilities, thereby enabling people to engage in work activities that were previously unsafe, unhealthy, mentally challenging, or unfeasible.[2]

A better understanding of how robots can augment, as opposed to artificially replicate, human cognitive and physical work capabilities, can open new frontiers: for example, performing manual handling tasks while avoiding physical injuries, multitasking in cognitively demanding jobs, or expanding employment opportunities for individuals with disabilities and the elderly.

The Fifth Industrial Revolution (Industry 5.0)

While Industry 4.0 is mainly concerned with the inter-connection of devices together, some futurists argue that Industry 5.0 foresee collaboration between human beings and machines or robots in manufacturing locations.[3] Instead than employing programming languages and compilers, this may entail programming robots to perform a certain activity using direct speech, similar to providing instructions to a worker.

Collaboration can be likened to having a dedicated lab assistant, efficiently handling labor-intensive tasks with precision and accuracy. Achieving this synergy often involves incorporating automation and robotic technologies for effective HRC.

The concept of a fully automated "lights-out factory" solely managed by machine programming and maintenance has proven impractical. Running a factory requires human creativity, learning, and adaptation, especially considering the diverse and customized nature of products tailored to local markets, consumer demands, and specifications. The economics of complete automation are no longer considered sustainable in this context.

The massive technical investments and duration of time needed to erect a fully automated line for a product of complex nature, will never be recouped before product replacement. The optimum option is combining the strength of industrial robots, their precision, as well as speed with human workers' intelligence, their judgement, and their dexterity. This permits the human workers to concentrate on activities which demand flexibility, while robots perform tasks, requiring the most strength and speed.[4] When robots and humans collaborate in performing work as well as duties together, manufacturing processes become more efficient and cost effective.

According to a research done by MIT's Julie Shah, working cooperatively with a human-aware robot reduces idle time by 85% in comparison to working in different allhuman teams. In a case study carried out using Advanced Robotics for Manufacturing (ARM), it was discovered, a collaborative path reduces cycle time by nearly two-thirds in comparison with a totally manual approach.

Moreover, while the current retooling process is intricate and time-consuming due to compelling automation, the adaptability of human-robot collaboration enables businesses to swiftly address evolving demands for new products and procedures.

It’s all about collaboration

The 5th Industrial Revolution focuses on the collaboration between humans and robots, ushering in significant changes. This entails technology mirroring human capabilities to a greater extent than usual. The possibility that these robots will bring about significant change to the human race in its entirety is extremely high. There are a lot of mixed opinions about this as of now and there will be more in the future as many will find this appealing and others will find it threatening to their livelihood. This negative approach toward robots, although mostly unfounded is boosted by the presentation of the robots by the media.

Generational disparities will undoubtedly shape how the next cohort views robots, as they grow up integrating them into daily life and work. This immersive experience is likely to have a positive impact, emphasizing the need to construct an ethical framework for diverse interactions between humans and robots. That's why we need to establish an ethically sound system now, facilitating diverse interactions between humans and robots.

[1] Market Overview Report, August 2023, reportlinker.com

[2] Michalos G., Makris S., Tsarouchi P., Guasch T., Kontovrakis D., Chryssolouris G. (2015). Design considerations for safe human-robot collaborative workplaces. Procedia CIrP, 37, 248–253. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.procir.2015.08.014

[3] Kadir, Gözde, Bülent (2019) “Industry 5.0 and Human-Robot Co-working” In: 3rd World Conference on Technology, Innovation and Entrepreneurship (WOCTINE)

[4] Bekey, George A. (2005) “Autonomous robots: From Biological Inspiration to Implementation and Control” Cambridge, USA, MIT Press.