Beyond the lurid headlines about the loss of human jobs in the hands of robots, the business around robotic components - as parts of a larger automation system - goes today through artifacts that can solve some task at home and, at industry level, the investment that the multinational automotive companies decide to allocate. From the Austrian company Robart, which develops navigation solutions for robots, believe that the greatest development of artificial intelligence for this type of machines is turning to residential products, and then it will move to factories.

Industrial-scale automation encompasses the entire manufacturing process, in a kind of complex system, and the robot is one more component, with certain physical function, in interaction with other components. In general terms, automation may consist of control systems (which control such robotic parts), or engine power or motion systems.

As Luciano Marazzo, Rockwell Automation's End User Sales Manager told Convergencialatina, in Latin America the level of implementation varies according to the industry, and the progress of each one per country. The automotive sector leads the way, especially in the area of ??welding, and decisions are taken from the multinational companies, so in general a certain homogeneity is achieved. "In the petroleum sector, automation has advanced in plants and refineries, but in separation plants (oil must be separated from the water and sediments from which it is extracted), it is somewhat flimsy, since there are no well extraction technologies. In the gas sector, there was no alternative but to automate, because the liquid that is now handled in imports is volatile. In steelmaking processes, automation in furnace management is high. In countries like Chile, Peru, Bolivia, with more dependence on the mining industry, the market for power systems or motor movement is greater", he said.

The company ABB, headquartered in Switzerland, provides modular solutions for automation systems, either robots, or robot "arms", as well as for the preparation of devices of this type for a particular application (eg painting of a car, welding or placement of a product on pallets). Alejandro Provost, manager of the firm's Robotics Business Unit for Argentina, Bolivia, Uruguay and Paraguay, considered that robots are being incorporated because they no longer see technology as too expensive and with limited functions. The reduction in the price of the equipment was in the order of 10% to 15% in average in Latin America, in the last seven years, and added functions that the industries are beginning to see as necessary.

Behind the automotive segment, ABB sees a growth sector throughout Latin America that of robotic end-line automation applications, ie the final phase of manufacturing, in the area of food and beverages. "We especially see it in Bolivia, Peru, Costa Rica. Everything that has to do with the improvement of the primary picking process, the boxing, is growing, because they are tasks that demand a type of intensive work in an employee", said Provost.

As a next step in the development of robotic technology, ABB is focusing on the Internet of Things and the possibilities it opens for the interaction among the deployed robots. "It seeks to progress in manipulation and advanced sensitivity forms, so that the machine can identify and manipulate an object", said the executive.

Asia leads the adoption

ABI Research figures foresee that the Asia-Pacific region will be responsible for the growth in industrial automation - with built-in robotics - in the coming years, with local manufacturers turning to that alternative to compensate for the hike in wages of Chinese employees, and to address the drop in workers of appropriate age for the workforce. The consultant's forecasts indicate that commercialization of industrial automation equipment will exceed 55 million units this year, and will reach 146 million by 2025: by that time, the segment will generate US$298 billion in equipment revenues, of which US$45 billion will correspond only to robotics.

In terms of adoption of robots in the private sector, Asia also leads the way, not only of devices that perform basic activities but with examples of the tone of Pepper, the famous softbank robot that has sold more than 1,000 units for US$1,700, whether for social accompaniment or customer care - at Nescafé stores and Nissan dealerships, for example. Robart explained that the Asian company - in particular the Japanese one - is more open to incorporate innovations, while in the West it becomes necessary to convince the user of the functionality of the robot.

At home, playful, useful and social robots

From the existing portfolio for home robotics today, three types of machines can be distinguished: social (voice assistants such as Alexa from Amazon), useful (related to service provision) and playful (toys or accompaniment for older adults, for example ). Harold Artes, co-founder of Robart, explained to Convergencialatina that "the trend is toward the" butler robot ", that is, a machine that can take over the house, to take responsibility for certain typical daily tasks. But in turn a "robotic convergence," is taking place, unifying the three types of robot, with the goal that there is a machine at home to which activities can be delegated.

The best-selling product today is the robot that sweeps the floor, which, according to Artes, has already sold 5 million units worldwide. "It has not taken off yet because it is not a device to which tasks can be delegated. The robots that will be successful in the home will be those capable of understanding the environment. For that, the "machines navigation intelligence" is being developed, with which a robot of this type could understand where to sweep and where not, or to remember if there is a specific space where it can not go. The lack of this capability is what is inhibiting the usability of the robot in the house", he said.

At the CES 2017 fair last January, the Austrian company introduced its own navigation technology, which will be launched in the fourth quarter of 2017. It will enable the robot to close a door or turn off a light, and will include a map to click on permitted or prohibited places for it to go. "Thus, we will move from a human era, in which tools are used to solve problems, to a new "tools"generation, in which the tool itself is told to do something.