Robot Learning – An Industrial Perspective on Challenges and Opportunities

Abstract:
Robot Learning has been a very active field of research recently with a lot of impressive scientific results especially in the application of reinforcement learning to robotic tasks. From an industrial perspective, the rapid scientific developments in Robot Learning come with a number of promises including reduced commissioning times, simplified programming, increased productivity, and cost reduction. In this paper, we attempt to put the potential of this promising but in the media sometimes hyped technology to perspective by matching it to industrial requirements. Key challenges and opportunities on how to potentially tackle them are presented.