At the beginning of this year, the AGMA Robotics Committee published a white paper, Gear Backlash in Robotics Applications. The paper is available for download from the store on the AGMA website or reach out to me directly. A consensus was being built among experts that over the next 10–15 years, personal and collaborative robots will exceed the industrial robot market and be common in homes. As a committee, we wanted to address this change in the marketplace. The paper addresses the issues of gear drives in robotics. If this space grows exponentially, we should address intrinsic problems of backlash, wear, unpredictability, size, and high cost. Gear drives for robots that are in non-industrial settings will need to be different.

Instead of waiting until the beginning of next year to make a resolution to learn more about emerging technologies, I suggest taking advantage of the learning opportunities available right now. Engaging with AGMA’s emerging technology (ET) initiatives will help you stay current, expand your knowledge base, and potentially add to your itinerary for IMTS.

I just returned from two information-packed days in Detroit, running the 2024 AGMA Emerging Technology Forum and the AGMA Technical Committee meeting on standards development for electric vehicle technology. AGMA provided attendees with high-level presentations on materials, advanced IIoT experiences, interactive sessions on the future of robots, and initial standards work for EV technology.

I fly out west to Los Angeles later this month. It will mark the fourth time AGMA will provide a curated tour on the RAPID+TCT show floor. Each year brings more clarity on developed technologies, I am always looking for one or two tweaks that move the needle on the next possibility for additive manufacturing to impact traditional manufacturing processes. Are we looking for mass-produced 3D metal gears? The short answer is: no. But we are always watching indicators that may change that answer.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has gotten a lot of buzz lately, and rightly so—as James McQuiggan put it in our December emerging tech webinar, “I’ve never seen a technology advance and change so much in one year than I have with AI.” While AI is not new, recent advancements in computing power have allowed developers to unleash very powerful AI tools to the public. Our IIoT Committee is exploring how this technology is being utilized in manufacturing in everything from task automation, predictive maintenance, and fraud detection to chatbots and other customer service-style tools. We hope you join us in these discussions.

This new column is designed to provide information on the forward-thinking tech that is being reviewed and discussed in AGMA emerging technology committees. What should we be watching in the specific topic areas we cover? How will that impact the future of the gear industry? What are people discussing, specifically in the manufacturing space? I hope to be able to provide some of these answers in the coming issues.