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The Large Hadron Collider, the world’s largest particle accelerator, uses a robot called the Train Inspection Monorail (TIM) for inspection and system monitoring, according to The Verge.
While advanced robotics and in some cases, drones, are frequently used to inspect and monitor industrial equipment and other machinery, this is a novel usage that points to opportunities for robotics in advanced scientific applications.
TIM navigates through the 17 miles of the particle collider on a monorail track attached to the ceiling. The monorail was initially installed in the Large Electron-Positron Collider, a predecessor to the Large Hadron Collider, to carry workers and equipment. However, it was moved when the earlier collider shut down operations in 2001.
This represents an intriguing use case for robots that could grow in the future.
TIM could indicate that there is room for IoT applications more broadly in science to grow moving forward. Inspecting and maintaining large industrial equipment is already a prominent usage of advanced robotics, and if this robotic solution proves to be successful such devices could see expanded applications at other large scientific installation sites. That could push IoT further into science, an area that has not to this point seen as high a rate of adoption of IoT solutions as the industrial sector, for example.
But in order to do that, these solutions will have to overcome hurdles related to cost and market size. TIM has a relatively limited and highly specialized use case, which could hold back robotics manufacturers from actively looking to add a robot of this sort to its offerings. Further, a robot of this size naturally is highly expensive to build and maintain; combined with its limited and specialized use case, large-scale adoption could be challenging.
Traditionally, robots have been used primarily in manufacturing. But other industries including healthcare, shipping and logistics, food services, retail, hospitality, and more are starting to also use robots. For example, hospitals are using robots to assist in surgery, retail stores are testing robots to take inventory, and warehouses are using robots help sort packages.
John Greenough, senior research analyst for BI Intelligence, Business Insider's premium research service, has compiled a detailed report on enterprise robotics that examines the rising use of robots across many industries. It examines top use cases, market leaders, growth drivers, potential for workforce automation, the top barriers, and includes market forecasts on shipments and investment in robots between 2015-2021.
Here are some of the key takeaways from the report:
We expect enterprise robotic shipments to nearly triple between 2015-2021.
Manufacturing will continue to be the top adopter of robots. A recent Boston Consulting Group (BCG) survey found 44% of US manufacturers and 66% of German manufacturers plan to install autonomous robots and assistance systems within the next five years.
Rising wages around the world is just one of the key reasons enterprises are beginning to leverage robotics.
Robots have the potential to displace jobs, meaning that while they might take some more labor intensive jobs they have the potential to create new jobs for working on robots.
In full, the report:
Forecasts enterprise robotic shipments
Identifies market leaders
Discusses economic conditions leading to the rise of robots
Examines the advantages of using robots
Identifies five of the top barriers preventing robot adoption
Interested in getting the full report? Here are two ways to access it:
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The choice is yours. But however you decide to acquire this report, you’ve given yourself a powerful advantage in your understanding of the fast-moving world of robotics.
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