"Mobile robots have traditionally operated in industrial settings to transport parts throughout the factory or feed machines," says Milton Guerry, president of the International Federation of Robotics. "Today, AMRs also work in applications where contact with the general public is intended. They provide information to shoppers, deliver room service orders in hotels or support police officers by patrolling city areas. IFR´s mobile revolution paper gives an overview of the main use cases for mobile robots and their most significant impacts."

History of autonomous mobility

While researchers have been working on autonomous mobility technologies since the 1940s, autonomous mobile robots have only become commercially viable in the past decade. This is primarily because far more powerful and cheaper computers have become available since then. This has led to the rapid development of sensing, image processing and analysis technologies that enable robots to network with their environment in real time. Today, AMRs are experiencing double-digit growth. They now navigate autonomously and perform tasks in industrial and service sectors autonomously.

The future of autonomous mobile robotics

"Mobile robotics is a dynamic field of development and we expect exciting advances over the next decade," says Guerry. These advances are expected in hardware and software alike. Mobile robots are becoming lighter and more flexible. AMR and service robots will be able to navigate in more and more indoor and outdoor environments. Advances in sensors and algorithms mean that navigation and visual capabilities are becoming more accurate.

The whitepaper "A Mobile Revolution - How mobility is reshaping robotics" can be downloaded here:https://ifr.org/papers