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“ Cloud robotics is a game changer that can enable mass-market automation by providing robots with access to vast amounts of processing power and storage resources in the cloud.”– ericsson

Cloud robotic arms can be controlled remotely and securely through cloud computing and network technologies. Cloud robotic arms can perform various tasks such as welding, painting, assembly, inspection, material handling, and object manipulation.

The benefits of using Cloud robotic arms are:-

• Cost reduction and complexity of the robotic hardware and software by offloading computation and storage to the cloud.
• Scalability and flexibility increased by enabling access to multiple robotic arms and resources on demand.
• Performance is enhanced and functionality also by leveraging advanced artificial intelligence and machine vision algorithms in the cloud.
• Improve collaboration and coordination among multiple robotic arms and human operators through cloud-based communication and data sharing.
• Greater innovation and customization by allowing users to create and deploy new applications and services for cloud robotic arms.

The major examples of cloud robotic arms are:-

• FANUC, a leading robotics supplier in the automation industry, uses cloud robotics to enhance its manufacturing processes, such as welding, painting, assembly, and inspection. FANUC’s cloud robotics platforms known as FIELD systems, enable data collection, analysis, and optimization across multiple robots and machines.
• Ericsson is a global leader in telecommunications and network technologies that uses cloud robotics enabling remote control and monitoring of robotic arms for various applications such as education, healthcare, and entertainment. Ericsson’s cloud robotics platform, called 5G Cloud Robotics, leverages 5G technology providing low-latency and high-bandwidth connectivity between the cloud and the robots.
• OpenAI’s cloud robotics platform, called RoboNet, uses self-play and reinforcement learning techniques to enable the robotic arms to learn from each other and generalize to new tasks.

The Challenges of Cloud Robotic arms are:-

• The reliability and security of the network connectivity, affect the performance and safety of the robotic systems.
• The privacy and ownership of the data raise concerns about data protection, confidentiality, and intellectual property rights.
• The ethical and social implications of robot autonomy impacting human dignity, responsibility, and trust.
• The lack of standardization and interoperability among different cloud robotics platforms, technologies, and systems, hinders the scalability and compatibility of the robotic solutions.
• The skills gap and the need for reskilling and upskilling the workforce, affect the adoption and acceptance of cloud robotics.

Sources:- Ericsson, Robotics and automation news, work of the future, techopedia, MIT Technologyreview, 3D Insider, Intel, Universal Robots