Ward Broom is one of the many experts working at Georgia Tech’s Enterprise Innovation Institute, where he serves as the automation and robotics catalyst for the Advanced Technology Development Center (ATDC). In addition, he is co-founder of the medical device company EnOPrep, an operational advisor at NEMO Therapeutics, and a founding board member of RoboGeorgia. Below, he answers some basic questions about robotics, charting the technology’s progress while addressing common public misconceptions.
What is robotics?
When people think of robotics, the first thing that probably comes to mind is the robots used in automobile manufacturing plants and also possibly some of the humanoid robots seen on social media outlets: the two-legged robots walking around and doing amazing things.
I would define robotics as any kind of physical mechanism that can perform the dull, dirty, and dangerous type jobs individuals prefer not to do. As artificial intelligence (AI) data sets expand and AI models become more capable, robots get smarter. It’s an endless cycle of learning.
How do we make the distinction between robotics and AI?
A lot of people tend to merge them together, but robotics incorporates AI into its capabilities. This allows robots to learn and act independently. AI, as it applies to any industry, is a tool for improving the capabilities of robots, making them more autonomous.
Part of AI is machine learning. Without machine learning, you simply have traditional robots performing pre-programmed tasks, over and over again. Some of these robots will have sensors that, for example, detect potential collisions or sense that an object is out of place. With this information, the robot will respond based on pre-programmed decision trees. There is no learning.
With AI, you get to the point where you are interpreting the environment, becoming better at decision making based on past experiences, and building that database to become a smarter and more autonomous system.
Besides manufacturing, in what other contexts do you see robotics being implemented?
I think robotics will be in every industry and in people’s households, as well. Some basic examples outside of manufacturing would be agriculture: tilling the soil or eliminating weeds or picking crops.
Then you think about healthcare and robots that now perform surgery with the help of a physician; these are not completely autonomous at this point, but that’s coming. An ATDC company called RIF Robotics uses robotics, vision systems, and AI to create and assemble surgical instrument kits, and by doing so eliminates costly errors and infection problems that we see in healthcare today.
You’ve got supply chain material handling: autonomous mobile robots that are moving materials around in warehouses, palletizing robots that are putting together your Amazon box with all the things that you’ve ordered. Another startup we are working with is developing an autonomous plane that will allow logistics companies to transport goods from one airport to another, eliminating the need for pilots. This just touches the surface of the capabilities that we are seeing.
Can you give some examples of what household robotics might entail?
Broadly, it’s robots that potentially could handle different duties around the house. They might be there for security reasons. I think there are already commercial facilities using security robots to monitor perimeters. Another significant application is with assistive robots for people who are disabled or elderly. Socialization robots are big, as well. There are lots of possibilities.
What trends is ATDC seeing in terms of robotic startups?
We’re trying to build the ATDC portfolio of robotics companies which represent all industries. In distribution warehouses, Sliprobotics offers an autonomous platform for loading and unloading trucks quickly and safely. You no longer have to worry about a forklift going on and off the truck multiple times. The gains in efficiency are significant.
Marauder Robotics offers an underwater robot for monitoring the ecosystem health of coastal regions.
Robocosme has developed an AI-based robotics platform that can cost-effectively manufacture personalized cosmetics. Think about face creams; everybody’s skin is different, so it uses an AI application to scan your skin and then it will create a face cream specifically for your situation.
What makes Georgia an ideal location for innovation in this area?
First of all, when you look at Georgia, you have fantastic technical institutions that have great robotics programs. Georgia Tech is at the forefront with its Institute for Robotics and Intelligent Machines and GTRI.
In general, Georgia industry is very diversified. You have strong industries in health care, agriculture, manufacturing, supply chain, food processing, and defense. Supporting logistics in all of these industries, the Savannah port is one of the largest in the world, and Atlanta Hartsfield Jackson International Airport is the largest airport.
Then you also have a lot of Fortune 500 companies in Georgia that use robotics or are ripe for robotics implementation: Home Depot, UPS, Georgia Pacific, Delta. Finally, you have a lot of OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) for robotics that are locating their North American headquarters in Georgia. This includes Mujin, Hai Robotics and Geek+. ABB Robotics has opened its packaging and logistics hub in Atlanta, and Intuitive Surgical, manufacturer of the DaVinci Robot, has moved its manufacturing to the Atlanta area.
The cost of living in Georgia isn’t too bad either.
So all those things are coming together to create a great ecosystem that’s really ripe for robotics innovation and deployment.
This is why we created the nonprofit RoboGeorgia to unite all those different elements. RoboGeorgia was inspired by the Pittsburgh Robotics Network and Mass Robotics, which is in Boston. Both of those are nonprofit organizations that have built a fantastic culture of robotics, and they have a large number of robotics startups that they support in their ecosystems.
What are some common misconceptions about robotics that you’ve observed among the general public?
People often have this Terminator view of robots: it’s going to be the end of the world and the end of their jobs and that sort of thing.
In reality, robotics automation and AI are all about supporting job functions, removing the dull, dirty, dangerous tasks people don’t want to do. This gives individuals the opportunity to do things that are more enlightening or more rewarding in their jobs. We’re a long way off from fully autonomous robots. It’s going to take decades to get to that point, but I will say technology is rapidly progressing.
One other item that people are often concerned about is safety. People are afraid they’re going to be injured around robots. There is a huge effort to develop safety standards as robotics become more autonomous and more mobile and more capable. There are people in organizations like ASTM International (formerly known as the American Society for Testing and Materials) addressing issues with safety. There are many industry applications where people and robots are working side by side.
By the way, the biggest reason you’re hearing so much about robotics these days is because of the huge labor shortages. Even if everybody in the U.S. was employed, there would still be millions of open jobs out there that need to be filled.