In the rapidly evolving landscape of technology, businesses across every industry are on the cusp of a seismic shift—one driven by the convergence of robotics and artificial intelligence (AI). The mutually reinforcing impact of these technologies is resulting in an acceleration in the pace of innovation, often beyond companies’ abilities to assimilate or even keep up with these changes.

Tesla has disrupted the traditional car manufacturing industry in many ways, and its use of data is no exception. Tesla's cars are equipped with a vast array of sensors and data collection tools. This data is then transmitted to Tesla's servers, where it is analyzed to identify potential issues, optimize performance and improve the user experience.

One of the significant ways that Tesla uses data is through over-the-air updates. Unlike traditional car manufacturers, that require customers to bring their vehicles into the shop for software updates or recalls, Tesla pushes software directly to the cars via a wireless connection. These updates can include improvements to performance, new features and bug fixes, all of which can be deployed quickly and efficiently. The impact is that cars improve over time, helping them maintain their value.

Another year, another prediction. Let’s start with some of the ongoing trends before getting into the less obvious predictions.

Robotic technology is constantly evolving and has made significant advancements in recent years. The use of increasingly advanced artificial intelligence and machine learning algorithms has enabled robots to perform tasks more autonomously and adapt to changing conditions more easily. 

A flock of seagulls. A school of fish. A gaggle of geese. Collective nouns in English are a lot of fun. However, when it comes to a collection of robots, we’re missing the mark, especially in the context of modern, smart robots.

In the industry, the term in wide use is a fleet of robots. In fact, many robotics companies sell a companion “fleet manager” box to control their robots. It’s not that the term is inherently wrong, but it has outlived its usefulness.

We’ve been hearing a lot lately about the metaverse. Though the concept is far from new and the name itself is 30 years old, the hype cycle is in full swing, with headlines like “Everyone wants to own the metaverse, including Facebook and Microsoft. But what exactly is it?” appearing in mass media with increasing frequency.

While people may not fully agree on what it is and when it will get here, one thing is clear: The metaverse is all about virtual avatars in a virtual world doing virtual things. Unless we all end up hooked to machines that keep us alive while we gallivant in a virtual world a la The Matrix, we are still stuck with the real world, climate change and all.

Much has been written about the impact of automation. Since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, when Luddites destroyed textile machinery to protest new technology that impacted traditional practices, there have been fears of humans being replaced by machines.

The reality is more complex. Automation has definitely affected certain professions and tasks, impacting people to a greater or lesser degree (when was the last time you rode in an elevator with a human operator?). This has resulted in workforce disruptions; however, the overall volume of work continues to grow, creating even more opportunities. Many people now wonder what the impact of automation will be over the next 15 years.

Last year I participated in the A3 conference on Autonomous Mobile Robots & Logistics, in Memphis. The location was no coincidence: Memphis is the global headquarters for FedEx, one of the largest logistics companies, with operations around the world. A highlight for me was being on stage with luminaries in the robotics space, including FedEx’s Aaron Prather.

It’s the start of a new year, and it’s customary to look at the year ahead. In addition, February 1st will mark the start of The Year of the Tiger in the Lunar calendar. 

Over here at InOrbit, we believe that it will also be The Year of the Robot. As companies across industries become more comfortable with the use of autonomous robots to augment their workforce, growth in robotics deployments is accelerating.

With all the talk about the metaverse, the 2000 cyberpunk novel Snow Crash that popularized the concept has been in the news. Reality has also been catching up with other key ideas proposed by its author, Neal Stephenson. 

The book paints the picture of a near-future where the pizza business had been taken over by technology-heavy corporations, including a totally legit CosaNostra Pizza, Inc. Deliverators are a sort of katana-wielding DoorDash driver on steroids, driving souped up, battery-powered cars. “Your pie in 30 minutes or it’s free” is the promise, prompting customers to want to lie about when they placed their order.

Today’s cloud was made possible by virtualization technology, which creates a software-based representation of hardware equipment. Virtual machines, such as those popularized by VMWare and the hypervisor technology that manages VM execution, make it possible to run different software on the same machine.