Navigating the Future of Robotics: A Conversation with Dr. Anatoly Sherman
As Director of Business Innovation at SICK, a global leader in intelligent sensor technology, Dr. Anatoly Sherman brings a strategic and forward-thinking lens to the rapidly evolving world of robotics.
In this interview, Anatoly offers a comprehensive overview of the current trends, challenges, and opportunities shaping the robotics landscape. From the shift toward full autonomy to the transformative impact of generative AI and sensor advancements. Drawing on his experience at the forefront of industrial innovation, Anatoly also highlights the critical role of collaboration, including SICK’s successful partnership with Aitronik, and shares insights into how global forces, including China’s growing influence, are reshaping the industry’s future.
SICK has always been a benchmark in the world of intelligent sensors. In your opinion, what are the main trends currently shaping the field of robotic engineering?
From a sensor perspective, we observe a clear trend shifting from automation to autonomy. This transition demands significantly more intelligence, with growing expectations for robotic systems to perceive their environment and make decisions, including in unpredictable scenarios, and to do so much more reliably and quickly. The road to more autonomy is influenced by global trends like generative AI and industrial metaverse. These are enabling a new level of perception analysis, driven by sensing technologies. These are not just hyped buzzwords, we are already seeing how these technologies are truly pivoting the industry. From industrial and logistics robots to service robots in healthcare, and outdoor robot machines in agriculture and construction, their impact is becoming tangible. As a result, decision-making algorithms based on sensor data can now be developed more easily and rapidly, including edge cases, which are highly important to achieve full autonomy. This allows robots to be trained far more efficiently. At the same time, we are witnessing rapid innovation in sensing hardware, particularly in lidar, radar and camera technologies, which are becoming increasingly precise, capable of capturing more environmental data, and operating at higher speeds.
Looking ahead, what are the most important technological challenges we will face in the next future in the robotics industry?
Achieving full autonomy for robots, especially in unpredictable environments, still faces several technical and legal challenges. A clear example is the automotive sector: we hear about autonomous cars for years, and despite massive investments to make cars to real autonomous “robots”, there’s still a way to go. Coming back to our context of logistics and offroad robots, one of the core issues is reliability aspects that must go hand in hand with efficient productivity.
Another major hurdle is developing perception and navigation software that can adapt to changing environments and handle new tasks without being explicitly programmed for that. You can see this from the currently heavily invested humanoid robot market. For sure you have seen videos showing humanoid robots doing various tasks, but many are trained for very specific actions, like picking up a single cup, and often fail when asked to generalize, such as holding two cups at once or open a door. Additionally, the speed at which robots perform these tasks is still not optimized. Processing large volumes of sensor data in real time while managing power consumption also remains a significant hurdle. These challenges highlight that we still have enough work ahead before robots can operate autonomously in the real world at scale.
How are robotics companies investing in innovation to anticipate the needs of a market increasingly focused on flexibility and efficiency in production processes?
This question should be directed to robotics companies themselves. However, in general, companies shaping the robotics industry tend to invest along the main trends mentioned earlier. For example, more companies are adopting virtual engineering and simulation tools to design, develop, and commission robots. At SICK, we support them on this journey by providing virtual models and related services. AI powered software solutions are now present in almost every product. A good example is Sentio portfolio from SICK, which includes vision software like Nova. Given the rapid pace of market development, companies within the robotics ecosystem are increasingly joining forces to respond to market dynamics. That is why I believe that investment in collaboration between different players is no longer a nice to have, but a must have.
Collaboration with technology partners is now crucial to accelerate the development of complex solutions. How did the collaboration with Aitronik begin?
Collaboration is definitely crucial to continuously deliver state of the art solutions in the dynamic and fast evolving robotics market. In my view, a successful collaboration happens when the involved partners complement each other in such a way that the outcome creates new value for the market, value that wouldn’t be possible without joining forces. Beyond the technical aspects, trust and personal chemistry are essential for a truly effective partnership. My collaboration with Aitronik began when our Industry Sales Manager in Italy, Gabriele Diana, introduced them to me. Since then, I have been actively working to build more connections between SICK and Aitronik, strengthening the relationship and exploring new market opportunities together.
Looking at the results achieved so far with Aitronik, what are the most significant aspects of the collaboration and what potential do you see for the future?
Looking at the results so far, we see Aitronik as a strong partner with deep expertise in developing software solutions for the automation of machines. They are highly capable of handling diverse data from SICK’s advanced sensor technologies such as lidars, cameras and radar, and transforming it into real, working solutions for customers. Together, we have already delivered successful projects in the field of cleaning robots and are now advancing into agricultural applications. Apart from their technical expertise, Aitronik works with great flexibility and speed. What I truly value is their commitment to ensuring that solutions don’t just work 95%, but 100%. I see great potential for continued collaboration. Our shared customers clearly value the partnership between SICK and Aitronik, which is the best sign that we are on the right track.
How do you think the role of China in the robotics industry might influence the medium to long term?
China is already playing a major role in shaping the global robotics industry, and I think its influence is expected to grow further in the medium to long term. As in other hightech sectors, we are witnessing a rise of innovation in robotics coming from China. This complements the strong contributions traditionally seen from Europe, the US, or Japan. A clear example was the recent Automatica show in Munich, where numerous Chinese companies showcased impressive innovations and large, eye catching booths. On one hand, this growing presence increases competitive pressure, but on the other hand, it also raises the quality of innovation and accelerates technological developments in this highly dynamic industry.
