Sunday, February 11, 2018
The integration function in robotics
The role of integrators is essential to the deployment of different forms of robotics. It relies on a precise knowledge of the application domain, the company concerned, and of course on a set of skills to cover all the underlying technical issues.
- The application areas covered by robotics are diversifying considerably (Industry 4.0, surveillance, logistics, digitization of environments, agriculture, etc.).
- Technologies are evolving rapidly (sensors for environmental perception, interactive programming, data processing, environment, etc.)
- The scale of complexity of robotic systems and the environments, particularly digital ones, in which they must be integrated is increasingly high.
The new needs
Faced with these technological developments, and the economic, organizational, societal, etc. challenges they entail, new needs related to the integration function are emerging, particularly in the areas of:
- mastery of emerging technologies and techniques (collaborative robots, integration software architectures and tools, sensor-referenced commands, environmental perception, data processing through learning, "natural" interfaces, etc.),
- systems engineering, interoperability, operational simulation, supervision, human/system interaction, etc.
- support in addressing issues of ergonomics, safety, security, and even ethics,
- training in the professions and techniques of needs analysis
The “Integrators Action” project led by the DGE and the New Industrial France
Robotics is a driver of innovation for industry and services, impacting numerous sectors, each with its own specific needs (competitiveness, new products, new services, agile production, etc.) and unique characteristics (innovative technologies, significant evolution of techniques and technologies, small production volumes, etc.). To address these needs, robotics requires integrators more than ever, and it is within this context that the Robotics Plan of the New Industrial France initiative is rooted. This project is implemented through the Robolution Capital investment fund (public/private – €80 million), robotics competitions (collaborative and outdoor robotics), Techdays (3 in 2016), particularly those focused on agricultural robotics, robotics challenges such as ROSE, and the "New Integrators" initiative.