AI Chips and ChatGPT – a look at AI and robotics

Cars that can differentiate between people and signposts are becoming more prevalent on the roads, as electric and autonomous vehicles benefit from advancements in AI and robotics. The use of AI chips and advanced sensors can endow cars with robot-like qualities, enabling them to process sensor data locally and, combined with traffic information from the Cloud, make informed decisions independently for the safety and benefit of the driver or passenger. Interpreting camera data to identify types of obstructions or hazards allows cars to make decisions independently of a driver.

Conversing with the car will feel much more natural with the use of AI chips, as they facilitate more detailed voice recognition, so drivers won’t need to memorise specific commands. Companies like BMW already utilise this technology to create more natural-sounding hands-free interaction with the vehicle to input destinations or play music.

AI chips will also assist in managing the car's battery, considering factors such as temperature, humidity, and usage to maximise the lifespan, range, and performance of the battery. IDTechEx delves deeper into this in their market report, “Software-Defined Vehicles, Connected Cars, and AI in Cars 2024-2034: Markets, Trends, and Forecasts”.

Working robots

Autonomous robots also represent an excellent application for AI chips, where AMRs (autonomous mobile robots) and AGVs (automated guided vehicles) can carry out onboard processing and achieve new levels of spatial awareness.

Exploring harsh environments that could potentially be hazardous for humans is well-suited to robots. Whether mapping out internal or external structures for demolishing or refurbishing buildings, or conducting agricultural work, AI chips can help robots identify doorways or obstructions to avoid damaging themselves. Their capacity to store images allows them to report back data effectively from remote areas without a data connection.

Typical working environments for AGVs include well-controlled settings such as warehouses, where they have access to the internet and data connections. With the use of less powerful AI chips, AMRs can upload images to the Cloud, thereby navigating themselves and achieving additional functions such as object recognition. Driven by Amazon’s Proteus being adopted in its warehouse, the market for AMRs is expected to grow to approximately $100 billion by 2044, presenting significant market opportunities for chips and other components necessary for AMRs. More details are included in IDTechEx’s latest research, “Mobile Robotics in Logistics, Warehousing and Delivery 2024-2044”.

Chat GPT and social

Friendships could evolve in the future as social robots begin to incorporate the popular and accessible AI software Chat GPT, making interactions feel natural and human-like. This software aims to create companion robots, inspired by times such as the COVID-19 pandemic, when people may have struggled with loneliness – these robots could engage in conversation as a human would.

Vacuum robots, which many people use in their homes today, can receive instructions or even communicate themselves, categorising them as AI. With the use of Chat GPT, asking a favour from the hoover will be simpler and may not require specific buzzwords that it recognises.

The applications of AI are expanding globally, and installing chips into vehicles and robots allows a certain level of autonomy, enabling them to operate and think independently without human input or supervision. It might one day be possible to trust the judgement of a vehicle more than a human driver or hold a conversation about the weather with the vacuum as it cleans the kitchen floor.

For more in-depth analysis of the technologies and markets associated with these topics, IDTechEx offers a portfolio of relevant reports, including:

• “Software-Defined Vehicles, Connected Cars, and AI in Cars 2024-2034: Markets, Trends, and Forecasts”
• “Mobile Robotics in Logistics, Warehousing and Delivery 2024-2044”
• “AI Chips for Edge Applications 2024-2034: Artificial Intelligence at the Edge”
• “Service Robots 2022-2032: Technologies, Players & Markets”