IFR Report: Top Robotics Trends Heading into 2020
国际机器人联合会报告：迈向2020年的机器人大趋势
From 2020 to 2022 almost 2 million new units of industrial robots are expected to be installed in factories around the world. New technology trends and market developments enable companies to react to changing requirements. The International Federation of Robotics shows top trends to innovate.
从2020年到2022年，预计全球工厂将安装近200万台新的工业机器人。新技术趋势和市场发展使公司能够对不断变化的需求做出反应。国际机器人联合会（IFR）指出了主要的创新趋势。
“Smart robotics and automation are vital to deal with new consumer trends, demand for product variety or challenges from trade barriers”, says Dr. Susanne Bieller, General Secretary of the IFR. “New technological solutions pave the way for more flexibility in production.”
IFR秘书长Susanne Bieller博士表示：“智能机器人和自动化对于应对新的消费趋势、产品多样化需求或贸易壁垒带来的挑战至关重要。新技术解决方案为提高生产灵活性铺平了道路。”
Simplification, Collaboration and Digitalization are key drivers that will benefit robot implementation.
简化、协作和数字化是采用机器人的关键驱动因素。
Robots get smarter
机器人变得更聪明
Programming and installation of robots become much easier. How this looks in practice: Digital sensors combined with smart software allow direct teaching methods, so-called “Programming by Demonstration”. The task that the robot arm is to perform is first executed by a human: He literally takes the robot arm and hand-guides it through the movements. This data is then transformed by the software into the digital program of the robot arm. In future, machine learning tools will further enable robots to learn by trial-and-error or by video demonstration and self-optimize their movements.
机器人的编程和安装变得更加容易。实际情况应该是：数字传感器与智能软件相结合，可以采用直接的教学方法，即所谓的“演示编程”。机器人手臂要完成的任务首先由人来完成:他实际上抓住机器人手臂，用手引导它完成动作。然后通过软件将该数据转换为机械臂的数字程序。将来，机器学习工具将进一步使机器人能够通过反复试验或视频演示来学习并自我优化其运动。
Robots collaborate with workers
机器人与人协作
Human-robot collaboration is another important trend in robotics. With the ability to work in tandem with humans, modern robotic systems are able to adapt to a rapidly changing environment. The range of collaborative applications offered by robot manufacturers continues to expand. Currently, shared workspace applications are most common. Robot and worker operate alongside each other, completing tasks sequentially. Applications in which the human and the robot work at the same time on the same part are even more challenging. Research and Development (R&D) focuses on methods to enable robots to respond in real-time. Just like two human workers would collaborate, the R&D teams want them to adjust its motion to its environment, allowing for a true responsive collaboration. These solutions include voice, gesture and recognition of intent from human motion. With the technology of today, human-robot collaboration has already a huge potential for companies of all sizes and sectors. Collaborative operations will complement investments in traditional industrial robots.
人机协作是机器人技术的另一个重要趋势。具有与人类协同工作的能力，现代机器人系统能够适应快速变化的环境。机器人制造商提供的协作应用程序范围不断扩大。当前，共享工作区域应用程序是最常见的。机器人和工人并肩工作，依次完成任务。人与机器人同时在同一地方工作的应用更具挑战性。研发主要致力于使机器人能够实时响应的方法。就像两个人协作一样，研发团队希望他们根据环境调整动作，从而实现真正的响应式协作。这些解决方案包括语音、手势和人类动作意图识别。借助当今的技术，人机协作对于各种规模和行业的公司都具有巨大的潜力。协作运营将补充对传统工业机器人的投资。
Robots Go Digital
机器人迈向数字化
Industrial robots are the central components of digital and networked production as used in industry 4.0. This makes it all the more important for them to be able to communicate with each other - regardless of the manufacturer. The so called “OPC Robotics Companion Specification”, which has been developed by a joint working group of the VDMA and the Open Platform Communications Foundation (OPC), defines a standardized generic interface for industrial robots and enables industrial robots to connect into the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT). The digital connectivity of robots with e.g. cloud technology is also an enabler for new business models: Robot leasing for example - called Robots-as-a-Service - has advantages that might be especially attractive for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs): no committed capital, fixed costs, automatic upgrades and no need for high-qualified robot operators.
工业机器人是工业4.0浪潮中使用的数字化和网络化生产的核心组件。对于他们而言，无论制造商是谁，能够彼此通信就显得尤为重要。由VDMA和开放平台通信基金会（OPC）联合工作组开发的所谓的“ OPC机器人技术规范”定义了工业机器人的标准化通用接口，并使工业机器人能够连接到工业物联网(IIoT)。机器人与云技术的数字连接也是新商业模式的推动因素，例如，机器人租赁（所谓的“机器人即服务”）具有对中小型企业特别有吸引力的优势：不需要投入资本、固定成本、自动升级，也不需要高素质的机器人操作员。