Six major trends and prospects in the industrial robot industry

​External factors have had a huge impact on the industrial robotics industry in recent years, from the COVID-19 pandemic to geopolitical tensions and supply chain disruptions.

At the same time, internal factors such as technological and usability advances also have an impact on the development and adoption of industrial robots.

Whether you are new to industrial automation or a veteran with decades of experience, there is an overwhelming amount of information to sift through, making identifying the most impactful industry trends a real challenge.

So, as 2022 comes to an end, what trends do those in the industrial robotics industry need to pay attention to?

1. Workforce and Demographics

Scott Marsic, robotics product manager for Epson America, said labor shortages are the most important trend driving the adoption of industrial automation.

Kary Zate, senior director of marketing communications at warehouse automation service provider Locus Robotics, said, "The manufacturing industry in the United States is developing very well, but the shortage of employees has become a major problem."

The labor shortage problem is a global problem sexual.

Zate said, “Due to the labor shortage and the aging workforce in the warehousing industry, the younger generation is not interested in working in a warehouse environment because, frankly, it is a hard job that requires workers to be on duty every day. Warehouses walk 10 to 15 kilometers to transport and dispatch goods. Such work is very arduous."

He explained that as finding and retaining talents has become a major challenge facing various industries, more and more companies are starting to Turn to industrial automation to fill labor gaps, increase productivity, and remain competitive in a challenging macroeconomic environment.

2. Digital drive

Lian Jye Su, research director of market analysis agency ABI Research, said that the new crown epidemic has accelerated the adoption of automation and digital transformation in the industrial sector.

Su said, "This trend includes remote monitoring software and software that can promote the adoption of industrial automation in other ways." He cited READY Robotics' robot operating system and RoboDK's offline programming software as examples.

He said, "There is no faster way to automate than using these types of software, especially when deploying multiple robots. The traditional approach is to hire engineers to debug the robot solution, but this may require Weeks or even months, this means that many manufacturers missed the opportunity."

Marsic of Epson said that if you attend any industry exhibition, you will find a variety of digital tools, ranging from artificial intelligence and augmented reality to digital twins for manufacturing applications.

Marsic said, “This is an exciting era for robotics and digitization, and these technologies are helping to attract new talent into robotics programming positions. For programmers, there are opportunities to work with artificial intelligence and augmented reality technologies Collaboration is very cool,” said Lian Jye Su of ABI Research. Robots remain the fastest growing segment of the industrial robotics sector.

He said, "In recent years, there has been a lot of positive feedback about the ease of deployment of collaborative robots. Over time, collaborative robots have found their place in the industrial robot field and have proven Can complement workers and traditional industrial robots. I don't see its growth slowing down anytime soon."

According to ABI Research, the global market size of the collaborative robot market in 2020 was approximately $475 million. , growing to US$600 million in 2021, and is expected to reach US$8 billion by 2030, with an expected compound annual growth rate of 32.5%.

Meanwhile, the popularity of mobile robots is also rising rapidly, Su said: "Just 10 years ago, mobile robots were a luxury product, and now, from deep-sea oil drilling platforms to manufacturing and Warehousing facilities, they are found in almost every industry field and location."

According to data released by ABI Research, global robotics venture capital investment will reach US$5.7 billion in 2021, a year-on-year increase of 38%. Autonomous mobile robots It has attracted huge interest from industry users.

4. Manufacturing reshoring plan

Overseas labor costs are rising rapidly, and at the same time, automation costs are falling significantly. Epson's Masic said these are just two of the factors driving reshoring plans in the U.S. and other major economies.

He said, "Today, there are several additional issues to contend with, from intellectual property and tariffs to geopolitics, as well as supply chain challenges. The United States needs to quickly restore manufacturing and the best way to achieve this is It’s automation, especially during labor shortages.”

By shortening supply chains, reshoring programs can also reduce carbon emissions, generate environmental benefits and help make manufacturing more sustainable.

5. Lowering Barriers

The increasing availability of industrial robotic systems is making it easier than ever for businesses of all sizes and technology levels to deploy automation.

Epson’s Masic said: “The pursuit of simplicity is a very important trend. People want to get their automation systems up and running quickly. This requires an easy-to-use operating system and extensive customer support throughout the process.” The need for simplicity is driven by new customers and new users entering the automation space. We were seeing this trend before COVID-19." LocusRobotics' Zate said the "robots as a service" model is increasingly More popular, this makes automation adoption easier and less capital intensive, allowing operators to seamlessly scale in minutes to meet changing volumes and seasonal peaks.

6. Focus on sustainability

Masic said robot manufacturers and their customers are increasingly paying attention to sustainability and climate issues.

He said, "Sustainable development and environmental responsibility have always been Epson's core values. For example, by being as energy-efficient and environmentally friendly as possible and exploring the entire life cycle of our products to discover which parts can be reused."

Zate said that from the beginning, Locus Robotics developed its business model based on sustainability principles, including extensive refurbishing of parts.

He said, “We like to say, ‘Robots will never die.’ We have always valued sustainability and it is part of our corporate culture. Today, sustainable manufacturing has a strong role in the robotics industry and among our customers. "Robots as a service" is a key component of Locus Robotics' sustainability mission, Zate added, "because our robots can be refurbished and we can repair them, Upgrading them with new hardware and software. This means our customers have the latest and greatest automation equipment at all times.”

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