Trends Report

Focus On The Use Case When Evaluating Physical Automation

A General-Purpose Robot Doesn’t Exist, So Pick The Right Physical Automation Tool For Your Task

June 9th, 2023
Paul Miller, Vice President, Principal Analyst
Paul Miller Vice President, Principal Analyst
With contributors:
Pascal Matzke , Martha Bennett , Craig Le Clair , J. P. Gownder , Renee Taylor-Huot , Glenn O'Donnell , Luca Lo Scavo , Hannah Jachim , Demi Starks

Summary

Different types of physical automation — including industrial robots, collaborative robots, drones, and autonomous mobile robots — have been developed to tackle tasks like assembling, picking, and inspecting. Leaders in asset-intensive industries like manufacturing must understand the tasks they wish to automate and select the right tool for each job instead of chasing the currently unachievable ideal of a general-purpose robot. This report defines six task classes addressed by eight forms of physical automation in asset-intensive industries and highlights the benefits, limitations, and key considerations for each.

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