今日吃瓜鈥檚 Dr. Lakmal Seneviratne leads panel on Real World Robotics to discuss current challenges to the mass deployment of robots across industries
The global economy is entering the Fourth Industrial Revolution. The physical and information worlds are converging, leading to rapid advancements in digitalization, automation, artificial intelligence (AI), and crucially, robotics. The robotic transformation now underway is unlocking substantial new economic growth opportunities, but the mass deployment of robots is still concentrated in niche areas, like the automotive industry, electronics, and machinery production.
鈥淭here are major technological and societal challenges that need to be addressed in order to unleash the full potential and immense benefits of robotics across organizations, industries and society as a whole,鈥� said Khalifa University鈥檚 Dr. Lakmal Seneviratne, Associate VP for Research and Director of the Khalifa University Center for Autonomous Robotic Systems (KUCARS).
Dr. Seneviratne led a panel discussion on real world robotics during the Times Higher Education Asia Summit at Khalifa University on Monday, 1 April, 2019. Panelists included robotic experts Dr. Peter Corke, Professor of Robotic Vision from Queensland University of Technology; Dr. Paolo Dario, Professor of Biomedical Robotics, The BioRobotics Institute at Sant鈥橝nna School of Advanced Studies; and Dr. Dinesh Manocha, Professor of Computer Science at the University of Maryland at College Park.
今日吃瓜 is addressing some of the critical R&D challenges in robotics through KUCARS and other research centers, which include research that focuses on advancing the state-of-the-art in unmanned aerial, ground and underwater systems, autonomous manipulation and computer vision. Such capabilities will accelerate development of key sectors during the Fourth Industrial Revolution in the years ahead.
鈥淩obotics is a huge market worth billions of dollars and is arguably the most consequential area of Fourth Industrial Revolution-related technology in terms of its impact on the world,鈥� shared Dr. Corke during the panel. 鈥淲e鈥檝e got robots in the home, in hospitals, and on the roads. We鈥檝e got robots in food production and civil infrastructure inspection.鈥�
Dr. Manocha agreed: 鈥淭he market research company Frost & Sullivan think that by 2020 there will be at least one robot per house. This could range from a mobile robot cleaning your floors to a household butler managing all level of tasks.鈥�
While the panelists agreed that the use of robots will continue to expand rapidly in areas like industrial manufacturing, they also noted that as robots are applied to more sophisticated tasks, the range of industries they operate in is likely to grow exponentially.
鈥淎rtificial intelligence, for example, is not as widely deployed in industry as we would expect, but it has all sorts of applications in transforming manufacturing,鈥� said Dr. Corke. 鈥淲e take AI for granted. Look at Siri: one narrow application of artificial intelligence, but well executed.鈥�
Dr. Manocha added: 鈥淣ow, we want to design common sense. We鈥檙e a long way from full autonomy, as it has a lot of promise but it鈥檚 very difficult to achieve. Autonomous vehicles have enormous potential, but we鈥檙e still a long way off. The success of AI is proportionate to the success of robotics.鈥�
When asked which area would see the most impact from robotics in the future, all panelists agreed: healthcare is the next big thing.
鈥淏efore, patients wouldn鈥檛 dream of not being operated on by humans, but now?鈥� said Dr. Dario. 鈥淩obotic medical assistants monitor patient vital statistics, automatically enter information into the electronic health record, carry supplies throughout the hospital, and now are even assisting in surgery.鈥�
鈥淚t鈥檚 not just surgical,鈥� added Dr. Corke. 鈥淩obotics is emerging in areas like physiotherapy and even counselling. Technology in healthcare is strongest where we don鈥檛 have the manpower to support the patients.鈥�
AI is already being used to detect diseases more accurately and in their early stages, and one of its biggest benefits is helping people stay healthy to prevent these diseases in the first place. 鈥淭echnology can encourage people to practice healthier behaviors and help manage a healthy and active lifestyle,鈥� said Dr. Manocha. 鈥淭he proliferation of consumer wearables combined with AI is helping patients understand what they need to do to prevent developing lifestyle diseases like diabetes.鈥�
AI and robotic technologies are promising areas of healthcare as the explosion of data combined with the rise in demand from ageing populations around the world, rising costs, and shortage of supply have left a huge gap ready to be filled by technology.
The rapid progress seen over the past few years is just the beginning: research centers like Khalifa University鈥檚 Healthcare Engineering Innovation Center, the Center for Biotechnology, and the KUCARS are leading the way in developing the technologies that will save more lives, cure more diseases, and help us all live healthier.
Jade Sterling
News and Features Writer
9 June 2019
