2019 AI/ML Emerging

Autonomous Things

What Gartner Predicted

Robots, drones, and autonomous vehicles would use AI to perform tasks previously done by humans, operating in both controlled and open environments.

2
Prediction Accuracy
2/5

Predicted robots, drones, and autonomous vehicles operating in open environments. Warehouse robots made incremental progress; delivery drones remain niche; autonomous vehicles are still not mainstream in 2026. The timeline was far too aggressive and the physical autonomy vision largely didn't materialize.