Common Types of Robots

As robotics manufacturers continue to deliver innovations across capabilities, price, and form factor, robotics solutions are being implemented in an ever-increasing number of industries and applications. Advancements in processing power and AI capabilities mean we can now use robots to fulfill critical purposes in several ways.

While robotics applications vary greatly—giving directions, stocking shelves, welding metal in dangerous environments, and much more—today’s robots can generally be grouped into seven categories.

Autonomous Mobile Robots (AMRs)

AMRs move throughout the world and make decisions in near real-time as they go. Technologies such as sensors and cameras help them take in information about their surroundings. Onboard processing equipment helps them analyze it and make an informed decision—whether moving to avoid an oncoming worker, picking the right parcel, or selecting an appropriate surface to disinfect. They’re mobile solutions that require limited human input to carry out a task.

Automated Guided Vehicles (AGVs)

While AMRs traverse environments freely, AGVs rely on tracks or predefined paths and often require operator oversight. These are commonly used to deliver materials and move items in controlled environments such as warehouses and factory floors.

Articulated Robots

Articulated robots (also known as robotic arms) are designed to emulate the functions of a human arm. Typically, these robots can feature anywhere from two to 10 rotary joints. Each additional joint or axis allows for a greater degree of motion—making them ideal for arc welding, material handling, machine tending, and packaging.

SCARA Robots

Selective Compliance Articulated Robot Arm (SCARA) robots are a particular type of robotic arm made for fast, precise movements in a cylindrical workspace, perfectly suited for vertical assembly tasks where components need to be inserted from above. They are often used in packaging, assembly, and pick-and-place operations.

Humanoids

While many mobile humanoid robots may technically fall under the domain of an AMR, the term is used to identify robots that perform human-centric functions and often take humanlike forms. They use many of the same technology components as AMRs to sense, plan, and act as they carry out tasks such as providing directions or offering concierge services.

Cobots

Cobots, or collaborative robots, are designed to function alongside or directly with humans. While most other types of robots perform their tasks independently or in strictly isolated work areas, cobots can share spaces with workers to help them accomplish more. They often help eliminate manual, dangerous, or strenuous tasks from day-to-day workflows. In some cases, cobots can operate by responding to and learning from human movements.

Hybrids

The various types of robots are often combined to create hybrid solutions capable of more complex tasks. For example, an AMR might be combined with a robotic arm to create a robot for handling packages inside a warehouse. As more functionality is combined into single solutions, compute capabilities are also consolidated.

Fixed vs. Mobile Robots

Robots can be broadly categorized into two groups: those that are fixed or stationary and do not move, and those that are mobile and move around their environment.

How Robots Are Used Across Industries

Businesses and government agencies use robotics in various ways. All common robot types are deployed to enhance outcomes and reduce the burden on employees so they can focus on the most valuable and critical tasks.

Manufacturing

The manufacturing industry has long been at the forefront of using various types of robots to achieve industrial automation. AMRs, AGVs, articulated robots, and cobots are all deployed on factory floors and in warehouses to help expedite processes, drive efficiency, and promote safety—often in conjunction with programmable logic controllers. They’re used across a variety of applications, including welding, assembly, materials transportation, and warehouse security.

Healthcare

Various types of robots are used in the healthcare industry to enhance the patient experience. AMRs are used to deliver medication, disinfect surfaces, or provide mobile telepresence functionality. Cobots are also used to assist medical professionals during rehabilitation or to help nurses better serve their patients.

Retail and Hospitality

Robotics can enhance the customer or guest experience in various ways. Retail and hospitality companies use robotics to automate inventory processes, provide concierge or way-finding services, clean environments, and assist customers with luggage handling or valet parking.

Automotive

Robots are widely used in the automotive industry to enhance production, improve efficiency, and standardize precision. Articulated robots and SCARA robots are particularly helpful with large and small assembly tasks, while cobots work alongside people to help with quality assurance.

Agriculture

AMRs are helping farmers harvest their crops more quickly and efficiently with impressive intelligence capabilities. Agricultural robots can assess ripeness, move branches or leaves out of the way, and pick crops precisely and delicately to avoid causing any harm to the produce.

Government and Defense

AMRs have helped revolutionize personnel safety in the field while aiding in reconnaissance and surveillance. Additionally, AGVs and SCARA robots can perform necessary logistics functions in warehouse and supply chain operations.

Challenges of Deploying Robots

While robots have come a long way in their industrial use cases, there are still a number of challenges when it comes to implementation. Addressing these challenges requires careful planning, ongoing training, and a willingness to adapt to new technologies.

Deploying Robots

Deploying robots can require high initial costs and infrastructure upgrades, which can be significant for small and medium-sized enterprises. Additionally, integrating robots into existing systems can be complex and costly, especially when combined with the need to acquire and train workers with technical expertise.

Many of these initial costs can be offset by the increased productivity, improved quality, and higher volume output achieved through robotics deployments. The efficiency of digital transformation technologies required to support robotics can also positively impact the bottom line. Some solution providers may also offer Robotics as a Service (RaaS) subscription models to help organizations pilot a robotics initiative with low up-front costs.

Maintaining Robots

Robots also require regular maintenance and software updates, which could result in downtime. By converging information technology (IT) with operational technology (OT), organizations can use the data generated at the robotics edge to help inform their analytics and enable predictive maintenance for smoother operations.

When planning robotics deployments, choosing hardware designed for durability in harsh environments can also help mitigate the effects of extreme temperature, shock, vibration, and electromagnetic interference.

Robots Working Alongside Humans

While robots are useful tools when paired with human workers, safety will always be a top concern and priority. Functional safety (FuSa) standards mandate integrated safety protocols related to timeliness, control, and hazard mitigation for robotic systems to help keep workers safe.

Ensuring Return on Investment (ROI)

It’s important to run a comprehensive cost-benefit analysis when deciding to update or introduce industrial robots, keeping in mind hidden costs like training, maintenance, and downtime in relation to potential long-term savings and cost advantages. The digital transformation technologies that allow organizations to gather data on their robotics investments can also help drive their ROI analysis.

The Future of Robotics

While many modern robotics are powered by AI in the form of machine learning, the future of robotics will likely integrate more sophisticated capabilities such as GenAI. This can enable robots with the ability to not just carry out a specific task, but also adapt to unexpected changes in their environments or even respond to people who communicate with the robot visually or verbally.

For example, intelligent AMRs will be better equipped to navigate complex settings by using AI to create digital maps of their surroundings and identify hazards such as spills or human workers who enter their path of travel. By embracing AI in robotics, business owners can discover newfound efficiencies, advantages, and safety measures to enhance their operations.