Rise of the robots: They are all around us

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Robots are all around us. We have all read the articles about agricultural, delivery, and industrial/warehouse robotics and robots that flip hamburgers, traverse the ocean floor, fight fires, assist in surgeries, and, coming soon, vaccinate autonomously. Some can even hop, fly, and skateboard, but let’s stay away from the creepy robot dogs. Have you watched the Black Mirror episode “Metalhead”? You’ll understand why.

But what makes robots perform the way they do? It takes a lot of product innovation to develop the technologies that make these robots smart, safe, and secure, encompassing a host of sensors, motors, processors, controllers, and artificial intelligence.

The November/December 2021 issue looks at some of these new and improved component designs and technologies that can help product designers develop smarter, safer, and more efficient robotic designs. These advancements will help drive the growth of the smart robot market, which is projected to to reach $26.3 billion by 2026, growing at a compound annual growth rate of 23.6% from 2019, according to Verified Market Research.

With robots working in greater proximity to humans, they must be autonomous, mobile, and energy-efficient and meet functional safety requirements. Sensors, processors, and control devices can help designers reach the rigorous requirements of functional safety standards, according to Texas Instruments.

In particular, it requires several types of sensors, and the strengths of those sensors are leveraged through sensor fusion to solve the more complex autonomous robot challenges, said TI. It also requires the use of AI at the edge to help robots intelligently perceive, make decisions, and perform actions.

Sensor fusion is the key to achieving optimal autonomy in robotics, said Giovanni Campella, TI’s system manager for robotics. “Using sensor fusion allows for data to be collected by the different sensors to enable robots to navi­gate safely through any environment.”

Specifically looking at autonomous mobile robots, there are three challenges that designers need to resolve for effective autonomous navigation, said Campella, and those are safe human presence detection, mapping and localization, and collision avoidance.

There are similar challenges with commercial and consumer drones and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), which are expected to see significant growth over the next few years, said Nitin Dahad, editor-in-chief of Embedded. A key hurdle has been marrying drone technology with the advancements in AI along with 5G and long-range Wi-Fi connectivity, he reported.

Qualcomm has developed a new platform, called the Qualcomm Flight RB5 5G, that pairs 5G and AI capabilities to boost the utility and usefulness of drones, said Dahad, which will open up new possibilities in the development of commercial, enterprise, and industrial drones across sectors including film and entertainment, security and emergency response, delivery, defense, inspection, and mapping.

What’s powering these robots and UAVs? Brushless DC motors (BLDCs) are finding homes in robotic applications thanks to their better performance. But they require special consideration for the motor controllers and drivers. A significant part of a robotic system is the motor controller, and several control strategies can be used to operate a robotic manipulator, or robotic arm, said Maurizio Di Paolo Emilio, editor-in-chief of Power Electronics News. However, the technology used and how it is implemented can have a considerable impact on the manipulator’s performance, he said.

This month’s issue also showcases DC/DC converters used in high-reliability applications, including railway, space, and industrial. These devices, either isolated or non-isolated, come in a variety of form factors, including SIP and DIP packaging, DIN rail, and chassis-mount, and are segmented by input/output voltage, power, and isolation working voltage. DC/DC converters often need to meet different requirements, depending on the application, but they share the need for higher efficiency and meeting safety regulations.

We also look at the top 10 inductors and transformers introduced over the past year. As energy efficiency becomes a prime directive across industries, together with new industry standards, the need for inductors and transformers also increases, driving changes in size and packaging as well as industry-specific requirements.