Top 6 Trends in Industrial Robotics 2017

There’s a lot of debate going around if robots will take over humans. It’s still debatable but what we do know is that robots are proving useful to humans in a lot of ways. They are mostly used to perform tasks that are usually repetitive, tedious or are too dangerous for humans. Robots find its application in factories that build cars, electronics, and in agriculture, nuclear energy, mining, healthcare and also in extreme environments such as outer space or the bottom of the sea.

But what exactly is a robot?

A robot is a programmable machine with the ability to carry out a complex series of actions automatically. They are designed to perform a specific task, usually repetitive and dangerous tasks that humans are unable or prefer not to do because of certain limitations. Since robots can be used extensively to perform a wide variety of tasks there evolved a need for a branch of study that would involve the conception, design, manufacture, and operation of robots. This came to be known as robotics.

What about Industrial Robotics?

As mentioned above, robots find maximum use in factories where they are used to make other machines like cars, laptops, dishwashers etc. Robots used in manufacturing are called industrial robots and the branch of study that deals with the design, construction, operation, and application of industrial robots is called Industrial Robotics.

The advent of robotics has revolutionised the industrial sector in terms of manufacturing capability. They have augmented the productivity, quality and reduced operational costs for the manufacturers.  Industrial robots are also employed at emerging industries like packaging and healthcare for arc welding, material handling, and assembly applications.

The industrial robotics market is becoming highly competitive. In a recent news, Raymond Ltd., one of the major textile industry announced that it is planning on replacing one third of its labours with machines in the next 2 years. Also, an Indian robotics company, estimates that the need for industrial robots is only growing.

In this article, we are going to reveal few of the trends observed in this market. But before that let’s have a look at a few facts about the industrial robotics market.

Facts about the Industrial Robotics Market:

• According to the International Federation of Robotics, in 2015, around 1.63 million of industrial robots were in operation worldwide
• By 2019, the number of industrial robots are expected to reach 2.6 million
• In 2017, the market value of industrial robots grew by 13% from last year and is estimated to hit $14 billion
• Globally, the industrial robotics market was valued at $37,875 million in 2016, and is envisioned to reach $70,715 billion by 2023, growing at a CAGR of 9.4% from 2017 to 2023
• By 2025, the industrial robots market is projected to grow/expand to $33.8 billion
• India ranks third in the world in implementing robotic automation in its core business processes.

The above facts reveal the potential the industrial robotics market has to offer. Now it’s time we look at some of the trends prevailing in this industry.

Industrial Robotics Trends 2017

1. Automotive sector-the highest contributor

As per the Global Industrial Robotics Market Forecast, the automotive industry is the highest contributor fueling the growth of global industrial robotics market. The electrical and electronics industry also have made their fair shares to the growth of industrial robotics. In terms of region, Europe and Asia have the largest market share for industrial robots.

2. Emergence of a new role – Chief Robotics Officer

With the robotics market evolving, a need for a Chief Robotics Officer (CRO) arises. The CRO will be responsible for overseeing the human and robotic workforce. They will possess the ability to blend engineering, IT, and human management skills to develop a management structure for managing the combined workforce.

3. Robotics industry to be regulated by government

With humans and robots sharing the same work environment, a number of ethical and legal challenges can emerge which is why it needs to be regulated. Government needs to make sure that the rights of the human workforce are protected, developments are kept on watch and issues like job-losses due to robots, are tackled effectively. To do this, a set of framework needs to be developed.

4. Commercial robotics welcomed by ecommerce

The exponential growth of online shopping has created the need for warehouse automation. A report by International Data Corporation (IDC) predicts that 45% of global ecommerce players will leverage robotics for warehousing and delivery functions, by 2018. Amazon is already using 30,000 robots in 10 of their huge Amazon warehouses. These robots are capable of picking up entire shelves of products and deliver them to the packaging units of a warehouse.

5. New marketplace in the form of cloud robotics

Leveraging the cloud to integrate robots and embedded devices into a cloud computing environment is a new delivery model and is known as Robotics-as-a-Service (Raas). Robots can capture data (eg. customer preferences or inventory status) which can be stored in a cloud-based system to be retrieved by human workers to save cost, and increase efficiency, scalability, and flexibility. It is predicted that 60% of robots will depend on cloud-based software solutions by 2020.

6. Need for robotic professionals

Since robots have the ability to deliver accurate, high-quality work and consequently, increase the productivity, save time and money, etc. there might be a time when 60% of work will be done by them, across industries. This means that there will be a high demand of professionals to develop, design and produce robots to perform a specific task.

With the industrial robotics market anticipated to nearly triple in less than 10 years, now is a decent time to study industrial robotics. There are a number of colleges offering industrial robotics courses in India. One great alternative is Nagpur University, a reputable institute in Maharashtra that offers a PGDM in Industrial Robotics.

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