As the global market value of industrial robot installations passes its all-time high of $16.5 billion, five trends will continue to drive its growth through 2025, according to a forecast from the International Federation of Robotics (IFR).
That is important because the increased use of robots has the potential to significantly reduce the impact of labor shortages in manufacturing, IFR said. That will happen when robots automate dirty, dull, dangerous or delicate tasks – such as visual quality inspection, hazardous painting, or heavy lifting—thus freeing up human workers to focus on more interesting and higher-value tasks.
To reach those goals, robots will grow through five trends in the new year, the report said:
1 – Artificial Intelligence.
By leveraging diverse AI technologies, such as physical, analytical, and generative, robotics can perform a wide range of tasks more efficiently. Analytical AI enables robots to process and analyze the large amounts of data collected by their sensors. This helps to manage variability and unpredictability in the external environment, in “high mix/low-volume” production, and in public environments. Physical AI, which is created through the development of dedicated hardware and software that simulate real-world environments, allows robots to train themselves in virtual environments and operate by experience, rather than programming. And Generative AI projects aim to create a “ChatGPT moment” for Physical AI, allowing this AI-driven robotics simulation technology to advance in traditional industrial environments as well as in service robotics applications.
2 – Humanoids.
Robots in the shape of human bodies have received a lot of media attention, due to their vision where robots will become general-purpose tools that can load a dishwasher on their own and work on an assembly line elsewhere. Start-ups today are working on these humanoid general-purpose robots, with an eye toward new applications in logistics and warehousing. However, it remains to be seen whether humanoid robots can represent an economically viable and scalable business case for industrial applications, especially when compared to existing solutions. So for the time being, industrial manufacturers are still focused on humanoids performing single-purpose tasks only, with a focus on the automotive industry.
3 – Sustainability – Energy Efficiency.
Compliance with the UN's environmental sustainability goals and corresponding regulations around the world is becoming an important requirement for inclusion on supplier whitelists, and robots play a key role in helping manufacturers achieve these goals. In general, their ability to perform tasks with high precision reduces material waste and improves the output-input ratio of a manufacturing process. These automated systems ensure consistent quality, which is essential for products designed to have long lifespans and minimal maintenance. In the production of green energy technologies such as solar panels, batteries for electric cars or recycling equipment, robots are critical to cost-effective production. At the same time, robot technology is being improved to make the robots themselves more energy-efficient. For example, the lightweight construction of moving robot components reduces their energy consumption. Different levels of sleep mode put the hardware in an energy saving parking position. Advances in gripper technology use bionics to achieve high grip strength with almost no energy consumption.
4 – New Fields of Business.
The general manufacturing industry still has a lot of potential for robotic automation. But most manufacturing companies are small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which means the adoption of industrial robots by SMEs is still hampered by high initial investment and total cost of ownership. To address that hurdle, Robot-as-a-Service (RaaS) business models allow enterprises to benefit from robotic automation with no fixed capital involved. Another option is using low-cost robotics to provide a “good enough” product for applications that have low requirements in terms of precision, payload, and service life. Powered by the those approaches, new customer segments beyond manufacturing include construction, laboratory automation, and warehousing.
5 – Addressing Labor Shortage.
The global manufacturing sector continues to suffer from labor shortages, according to the International Labour Organisation (ILO). One of the main drivers is demographic change, which is already burdening labor markets in leading economies such as the United States, Japan, China, the Republic of Korea, or Germany. Although the impact varies from country to country, the cumulative effect on the supply chain is a concern almost everywhere.
