Two faces of automation: cobots and autonomous mobile robots in action

By introducing collaborative robots (cobots) and Autonomous Mobile Robot (AMR) technologies into a company’s production and logistics processes and fostering effective human-machine interactions, businesses can unlock the full potential of Industry 4.0 and strategically position themselves for the innovations of Industry 5.0. This paper aims to identify development trends of cobot and AMR technologies, invention patterns, the technological maturity of both solutions, and key application sectors. The study utilised a literature review, analysis of market reports, and patent analysis. A parallel analysis of patent collections obtained for cobots and AMRs was conducted, taking into account development trends, leading patent applicants, technological influence, patent power index, invention S-curve, and patent-based maturity rate. The results show that both cobot and AMR technologies have been developing extremely dynamically over the last ten years, and the rapid growth in interest in these technologies coincides with the popularisation of the Industry 4.0 concept. Comparing the dynamics of knowledge development for both solutions, cobots take the lead in this race. For cobots, the technical knowledge accumulated, defined by the number of patent families, is greater, and its annual growth is more dynamic. The development of technological knowledge and the increase in the use of cobots stimulate each other. AMRs, on the other hand, characterise a greater continuation of research and higher spillover of inventions to various technological fields. Both technologies are on the rising arm of the S-curve, and the saturation level is still far away, which means that further research in both areas is recommended.