How the UK can seize the robotics opportunity | Computer Weekly

"Few fields are currently as fertile and fast moving as robotics. Across the globe, companies are developing a new generation of robots that are more intelligent, connected, and advanced than ever before. Powered by significant advances in artificial intelligence (AI), sensing, connectivity and advanced materials, these robots are poised to transform industries as diverse as health and social care, defence, logistics, and agriculture. Examples include robotic arms that assist surgeons by performing intricate medical procedures or sorting robots that fulfil customer orders by autonomously picking and moving goods."

"The good news is that the UK possesses world-class strengths in robotics research and development. Some of our universities, from UCL to Heriot-Watt, are recognised as global leaders in robotics and AI, and our tech ecosystem is producing fast-growing scaleups that are pushing boundaries in areas such as humanoids, computer vision, and collaborative robots."

"At the heart of this transformation is the combination and convergence of emerging technologies. Most notably, the UK's AI expertise, arguably the strongest in Europe, is converging with robotics to unlock new frontiers. Examples include autonomous systems - robots acting independently of humans; dexterous manipulation, where robots skilfully handle complex objects; unsupervised learning, which involves robots learning patterns without guidance; and human-robot collaboration."

Robotics are rapidly advancing through improvements in AI, sensing, connectivity and materials, enabling more intelligent, connected, and capable machines. Robots are transforming sectors such as health and social care, defence, logistics and agriculture with applications like surgical robotic arms and autonomous sorting systems. The UK holds world-class robotics research and development capacity, with universities such as UCL and Heriot-Watt and a growing tech scaleup ecosystem pushing work in humanoids, computer vision and collaborative robots. Large aerospace, energy, manufacturing and healthcare firms are already deploying robotics to improve safety and productivity. The convergence of AI and robotics is enabling autonomous systems, dexterous manipulation, unsupervised learning and human-robot collaboration, but adoption challenges remain.

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