Robotics: Road Ahead for Mechanical and Physical Necessities, Bridging Artificial Intelligence, and Integration Challenges

Abstract On behalf of the ASME Robotics Technology Group and its Working Groups, this paper provides a preview of their recently published 2024 ASME Robotics Roadmap. The onset of Industry 5.0 and its coexistence with Industry 4.0 are moving robots and manufacturing from traditional automation into the “smart manufacturing” realm. With conflicting priorities of productivity and safety, building mutual “trust” between robots and humans will require bridging the sensing and artificial intelligence (AI) with the mechanical-n-physical necessities to successfully augment the robot's awareness and intelligence. To this end, the ASME Robotics Technology Group convened several working groups to produce a robotics roadmap that embodies the mechanical engineering aspects. The roadmap was written with the aim (1) to embody mechanical and physical necessities and bridge the gaps between AI and integration challenges; (2) to identify critical trends, top-of-market challenges, and knowledge gaps; and (3) to identify opportunities in the journey path to get there and in strengthening the mechanical engineering footprint in robotics technology. While robotics cuts across many techno