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Modern robots are capable of recognizing and finding their way through unknown surroundings. They can also work with humans and learn abilities to accomplish various tasks. While they are capable of doing more than ever, robots are also becoming simpler to operate, which opens the door to a whole host of new and domestic applications.
All this wouldn’t be possible without semiconductors: They are crucial for all major robotic processes, from sensing to motion control to defending against hacking attempts.
As a field, robotics is presently going through significant change, due to both technological advances and the rise of Industry 4.0. Featuring lightweight designs and smart sensors, the latest robots are designed to increase collaboration between humans and machines. Machine learning technologies are allowing robots to learn about us, often as individuals, without any additional programming. A significant advantage of self-learning robots is they can be implemented right away on a wide range of tasks. Smart, connected robots can learn even more through collective learning by accessing big data.
In addition to being easier to use and deploy, robots are also becoming increasingly mobile. Automated guided vehicles (AGVs) are a major part of manufacturing and industrial operations. Furthermore, AGVs have shown massive potential to bring versatility and efficiency to new sectors, such as e-commerce and logistics.
Robotics Sensors
To do anything, robots need sophisticated sensors that acquire important information. Using semiconductor processing units, sensors can gather external information like images, infrared light and sound, along with internal data on temperature, moisture, movement and position. Robots use this data 'aware of' their operational state and the surrounding working conditions.
While robots cut their teeth on the assembly line, the technology can now be found in a wide range of environments, functioning as everything from farmhands to research assistants. Today, tech start-ups are working on everyday service robots that might be used in both professional and personal settings. Semiconductors will still act as the essential enabler for the robotic applications of tomorrow.
Boosting sensor sensitivity would obviously enhance the performance of the average robot, as would decreasing weight and power requirements. Considering all these factors is essential to developing an optimal, cost-effective sensor.
Furthermore, noise compensation is becoming more crucial in developing sensors as robot applications find their way into various noisy environments. One possible solution is a recent trend called 'active sensing technology' that improves sensors’ performance by actively shifting the position of the sensors in the environment.
Data Processing and Motor Control Devices
Data gathered by robot sensors must be handled by microprocessors or digital signal processors, which produce control signals that are sent to motors and actuators. Those processors have to be able to function in real-time for the effective movement of the robot based on key data. To further enhance robot performance, new processors that integrate artificial intelligence and have the capability to make use of big data from the cloud are needed.
As robotics is tailored to various industry spaces, services, and public areas, the robotics industry will have to respond to a number of considerations. It is anticipated that more field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), integrated circuits designed to be configured after manufacturing, will be used to meet those unique considerations.
In the management of motors and actuators, power devices play crucial jobs. For accurate and lower-power functioning of the robot, high-end power devices using high-bandgap semiconductor materials like gallium nitride will probably be used in the industrial operations.
Networking Devices
It has become standard for industrial robots used in production lines to have internet connectivity. These robots have an internal network to connect its parts, and this means every robot features networking capability as a dedicated IC, FPGA or a function included in microcontrollers.
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