Recent Advances and Industrial Applications of the Synergy Between Robots and Artificial Intelligence Globally in the Era of Industry 4.0

This paper presents an in-depth and comprehensive analysis regarding the integration of robots and artificial intelligence in the automated production processes crucial for modern society, especially in the field of digitized and automated Industry 4.0, with a particular focus on contemporary competitive industrialized countries, with reference to the period 2012-2024, providing estimates of future developments. The authors meticulously explore the contemporary and evolving technological landscape, providing valuable technological introspection, bringing to the attention of researchers and academia a well-structured perspective of the notable advances recorded globally in robotic applications guided and controlled with increased autonomy by AI, highlighting the continued expansion, development and specialization of AI in close correlation with industrial robots, as a symbiosis that is already generating high-quality, intelligent and high-performance products at a fast and highly efficient pace.