Trendlines: Rise of the (service) robots

Reaping the benefits of human and robot collaboration

At Avanade, we’ve been watching the next evolution of automation accelerate out of the back office into the store, the hospital, the airport floor. We’re seeing the augmentation of a human and robotic workforce through the power of physical automation. Autonomous Mobile Robots (AMRs), also referred to as “service robots,” are stepping in to fill the gaps where humans can’t or shouldn’t go; they’re inspecting equipment and assets, cleaning store floors, moving items safely from one place to another.

What we initially saw as a trend slowly evolving over two to three years is much closer than that – in fact, it’s scaling rapidly. Businesses are already reaping the benefits of reduced operational labor, increased productivity, and safer jobs and workplaces.