13
SPOTLIGHT ON: AUTONOMOUS MACHINES
SPOTLIGHT ON: DIALOG ALGORITHMS
Based on these characteristics, autonomous machines
enable a degree of automation that has been impossible
with conventional robotics.
3.05 1.37
MILLION
industrial robots are expected to be in use worldwide by
2020 – up from just 1.83 million units in 2016. 13 Robot density
in 2016 was highest in South Korea (631 robots per 10,000
employees in the manufacturing industry), followed by
Singapore (488), Germany (309) and Japan (303). 14
A relatively new development is the collaborative robot: instead
of operating in a fenced-off-workspace, these robots
work side by side with humans and can be fully integrated
into existing production workflows. Using this technology,
Chinese mobile phone manufacturer Changying Precision
Technology has been able to increase productivity by 250%
and reduce production errors by 80%. 15
Speech recognition has made rapid progress in recent years:
BILLION
users will be using digital voice assistants by 2019 – almost
twice as many as two years earlier, with growth rates unlikely
to taper off any time soon. 16
Dialog algorithms based on speech recognition technologies
are used to improve customer service. Telefónica,
for instance, has introduced a chatbot, Aura, which is to
serve as the first point of contact for customer enquiries
and concerns.
Conversational commerce takes this a step further. Here,
digital assistants advise customers in a natural interaction.
The interaction takes place fast and provides callers with
extensive information. This could elevate online customer
service to new levels and increase brand loyalty.