Companies and their employees are under growing pressure to perform more effectively and efficiently. Increasingly, they are turning to artificial intelligence (AI) and robots to go beyond the limits of human capabilities and build their competitive edge. And it is easy to understand why: Robots can operate at 100% without being affected by fatigue or burnout.

While early advances were focused on hardware, with intelligence hardwired or hard coded into the robot, focus is shifting to developing deep-learning software algorithms to perceive and learn from the physical world, with the goal of doing what they were designed to do more efficiently and effectively.

With an estimated 88% of businesses worldwide planning to adopt robotic automation into their infrastructure, there is ample opportunity for organizations to secure and monetize their AI-related patents today.

In this post, we discuss how AI-powered robotic inventions are driving productivity and efficiency in the distribution, healthcare, surveillance, hospitality, and customer service industries, and why companies should patent their AI software innovations now. (For more information, you can watch our webinar on AI in robotics.)

Which Industries Are Ripe for Robotics?

As mentioned, 88% of businesses worldwide plan to adopt robotic automation into their infrastructure. Some of the industries already incorporating and relying on robotics include:

• Distribution: Robots provide increased value to logistical and supply chain aspects of distribution centers and factories. They can learn to quickly stock, sort, and select inventory, allowing for optimal workforce planning and performance management.
• Healthcare: Robots can perform delicate procedures with higher accuracy than their human counterparts. There also is considerable value in the AI software these robots use, which helps them learn and become more accurate over time.
• Surveillance: The U.S. Department of Defense, and state and federal law enforcement agencies use drones, remote vehicles, and robots to survey large areas, get up close to dangerous targets, and track moving objects and people. Additionally, farmers are ditching their trucks and using drone technology to survey their crops and farmland.
• Hospitality: Most recently during the Beijing Olympics, robots were used to prep meals and feed athletes and others during the games. The robots were able to recognize, sort, cook, and distribute food faster than their human counterparts, thanks to their deep-learning AI software.
• Customer service: Many people reading this have likely encountered AI software when contacting customer service for banking and other online needs. At first, the technology was awkward and frustrating for users, but that is changing. Realistic aesthetic design, rich personalities, and increased capabilities are replacing the creepy, uncanny valley presentation of earlier robots. Additionally, deep-learning language and pattern recognition allow robots to learn from interactions as well as build social awareness and conversation skills, increasing the ability for humans to connect with them.

Patenting AI Software Innovations

We can’t talk about robots without talking about artificial intelligence. The use of AI in business has exploded, touching on a wide variety of sectors. (To learn more, watch our free webinar “The State of AI.”).

Whether your company uses AI to operate robots on a factory floor or your sales team is using AI to parse your data to learn more about your customers’ purchasing behaviors, AI is only going to grow in importance. You must consider IP protection strategies for your AI software if you want to avoid losing access to your own technology or missing out on monetizing your innovations.

If you are interested in learning more about how to maximize the value of your software innovations, including those involving artificial intelligence or robotics, you’ll want to work with lawyers who are well-versed in this unique niche of patent law, such as those at Blueshift IP. To learn more about how they can help you, contact them at this link.