Systematic review maps AI robotics advances and persistent challenges

A systematic literature review published in the International Journal of Intelligent Robotics and Applications examines how artificial intelligence and robotics have developed across industries, drawing on studies published between 2018 and 2026. The review, conducted by Muhammad Hasnain, Fazal Ur Rehman, Yu-Chen Hu, Chang-Ming Wu and Saira Shakoor, followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines to identify, screen and select relevant research in a structured way.

The search strategy produced a final set of 119 studies that met the authors’ inclusion and exclusion criteria. Rather than reporting new experimental results, the paper synthesises what this existing literature says about where AI-driven robotics is being deployed, what obstacles remain, and which research directions the field is expected to pursue next.

According to the review, robotics and AI are widely used across manufacturing, logistics, agriculture, e-commerce, finance and entertainment. The reported purposes are consistent across sectors: automating tedious tasks, increasing production and improving efficiency. In production environments, collaborative robots are described as operating alongside human workers, while autonomous drones are used for tasks such as transportation, inspection and surveillance.

Despite the improvements documented in the literature, the authors identify a set of persistent problems. These include data security and privacy, resilience against hostile attacks, the interpretability of AI models, and public acceptance of automation.

Stakeholder participation, teamwork and interdisciplinary research are described as necessary to address these issues.

Looking forward, the authors list several research directions highlighted in the literature: explainable AI, ethical AI, human-centered design, multi-agent systems, bioinspired robotics, and sustainable and resilient AI.

The review concludes that future advances in these areas could improve the capabilities, safety and societal effects of intelligent systems. As a synthesis of 119 studies rather than a single experiment, the paper offers a mapped overview of the field’s state as reported in the literature from 2018 to 2026, along with the challenges and directions its authors consider most pressing for the next phase of AI-driven robotics research.

Subject of Research: A systematic literature review of AI-driven robotics applications, challenges and future research directions

Article Title: Recent breakthroughs in AI-driven robotics: advancements, challenges, and future directions: a systematic literature review

Article References: Hasnain, M., Rehman, F. U., Hu, Y.-C., Wu, C.-M., & Shakoor, S. (2026). Recent breakthroughs in AI-driven robotics: advancements, challenges, and future directions: a systematic literature review. International Journal of Intelligent Robotics and Applications. https://doi.org/10.1007/s41315-026-00582-3

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: 10.1007/s41315-026-00582-3

Keywords: artificial intelligence, robotics, systematic review, PRISMA, collaborative robots, autonomous drones, explainable AI, multi-agent systems, automation, human-centered design, Recent, breakthroughs