Industry executives and experts share their predictions for 2024. Read them in this 16th annual VMblog.com series exclusive.
The Dawn of the Robotic Era
By Felix Zhang, Founder and CEO of Pudu Robotics
Human-robot collaboration will become increasingly commonplace in the next few years. By continuously engaging with humans and observing their behavior, robots can better cater to human needs.
In 2024, robots will transition from mere tools to productive partners in human workplaces. They will have stronger perception, learning and decision-making capabilities and will be able to better adapt to complex work environments and complete tasks. Instead of needing assistance, robots will do more work autonomously, reducing the burden on humans and providing them with more advanced services.
Read on for four predictions from Felix Zhang, founder and CEO of Pudu Robotics, on the future of the robotics industry and the technology’s real-world impact in the next 12 months.
2024 will be the dawn of the robotic era
If 2023 is the year of Gen AI, 2024 will be the year of the robot. As autonomous technology becomes more advanced and the integration of gen AI makes robots more intelligent, we can expect to see robots in even more applications and places than just restaurants, warehouses, and factories. We are only years away (and in some cases months) from seeing robots in stores that can greet shoppers with personalized recommendations, clean and traverse large venues like casinos and outdoor spaces like amphitheaters, carry medicine in hospitals, and even monitor the elderly in senior living facilities. As robots gain more IoT-related controls, we anticipate architecture will follow, enabling robots to use elevators, control lights and other smart home devices, and literally open new doors.
Your grandparents might befriend a robot.
More than 1 in 6 Americans are now 65 years or older, and life expectancy continues to grow thanks to medical advancements. Our aging population is contributing to a major healthcare staffing crisis. The next 12 months will see the increased adoption of robots in healthcare as short-staffed hospitals and senior-living facilities employ the technology to complete tasks, monitor daily routines, provide reminders for medication schedules, detect changes in body temperature and warn medical professionals and families of any abnormalities. Robots can also provide emotional support for the elderly and robot-assisted living will become a crucial asset for the growing elderly population.
LLMs will accelerate the development of human-like robots.
Large language models can effectively enhance human-robot interaction, particularly in semantic understanding. Take, for instance, a robot serving as a shopping guide in a supermarket. Previously, to find a specific brand of electric toothbrushes, customers needed to navigate through “personal care,” then “toothbrushes,” followed by “electric toothbrushes,” and finally the brand. With significant improvements in voice recognition and semantic understanding, it’s now possible to locate the item directly through a single command. Large models are highly beneficial for advancing end-to-end algorithms in modules such as positioning, navigation, and perception, significantly enhancing the efficiency of their evolution to achieve global optimization. In 2024, the development of human-like robots will progress rapidly.
The U.S. is ripe for commercial service robots in restaurants and beyond.
The prospects for the development of commercial service robots in the U.S. market are tremendous – and not just limited to restaurants. Robots are well-suited for various industries in the U.S. for several reasons. Customer sites across different sectors tend to have large areas, with relatively wide corridors. Many fast-food restaurant aisles are wider than those in high-end restaurants in other countries. Plus, there is an emphasis on equality, with many facilities – designed to be accessible for individuals with disabilities – featuring large spaces, wide corridors, and flat floors conducive for robot navigation. The degree of chain operation in various industries in the U.S. is very high, which means lower sales costs. Finally, the country has advanced technological levels, and there is a relatively high acceptance of tech products.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Felix Zhang is founder and CEO of Pudu Robotics, the world’s leading commercial service robot manufacturer. Felix studied mechanical engineering as an undergrad and attended Hong Kong University of Science and Technology’s master’s program for computer science. At the early age of 20, Felix placed first in a prestigious Asian-Oceanian college robot competition, and second overall in the APAC region. This was the catalyst for Felix to launch a series of startups including the leading tech news outlet in China (leiphone.com), Elrobotics, a producer of robotic developer kits and telepresence devices, and his current company, Pudu Robotics, in 2016. Under Felix’s stewardship, Pudu grew into the leading maker of commercial service robots with nearly 70,000 units deployed globally in 60+ countries, and over one billion yuan in funding from Tencent, and Sequoia Capital China, among others top investors.
