Service Robots: Opportunities, Possibilities and Potentials for the Next Decade

Currently, first robots are being introduced into the service sector. Further considerations regarding profitability, saving of resources and human working conditions will spawn a further mechanisation of services. It can be assumed that a fraction of services are suitable for automation. In order to develop systems which are both innovative and of significant benefit to the user or customer, the planning and conceptual work takes on a crucial role. For few applications only it will be possible to adopt the service robot to new tasks by just changing or modifying its peripheric components as it is common practice with industrial robot. This will lead to new structural and technical approaches for service robots. Efforts have to be undertaken to further develop key components of these robots towards efficiency, performance, miniaturization and cost. Here the collaboration of research institutions, service industry and robot and component manufacturers has the potential to create valuabl e synergies.