🦾 Robotics in 2022: A Statistical Overview
In the months leading up to 2023, there has been a significant influx of reports on robotics and automation. Here's a snippet.
In the months leading up to 2023, there has been a significant influx of reports on robotics and automation. I’ve taken the liberty of condensing what I consider to be the most significant events1.
Without further ado, here is a recap of what’s happened, what is happening, and experts’ predictions on the future.
🌍 Global Overview 🌍
The robotics industry is experiencing significant growth worldwide, with increasing numbers of industrial robots being installed annually (and continuing to rise).
China and the United States have the highest adoption of robots, together holding 60% of the global active robot market.
In 2021:
China installed 310,000 industrial robots.
Americas installed 50,712 industrial robots (a 31% increase from 2020).
Europe installed 84,302 robotic units (a 24% increase in robot installations).
There were 6,55,000 units of industrial robotic installations worldwide.
517,385 new industrial robots were installed, a growth rate of 31% year-on-year and 22% higher than the pre-pandemic record set in 2018.
Record numbers of robots were installed globally in 2022, with over 74% of new deployments in Asia.
There are currently 2.7 million industrial robots operating in factories worldwide, an increase of 12%.
Worldwide, annual robot installations have more than doubled between 2015 and 2021.
🔮 Predictions 🔮
88% of worldwide businesses plan to adopt robotic automation in their infrastructure by 2030, and 90% of the businesses will adopt robotics by 2030.
The cost of industrial robots has been decreasing steadily, from about $46,000 in 2010 to $27,000 in 2017. Related costs are expected to decrease to $10,856 by 2025.
Global sales of robotic units is expected to rise up to 720,500 units in 2022.
The automotive industry is expected to double its spend on robotics technologies in the next 4 years, as robots are more efficient, accurate, flexible, and dependable in automotive production lines.
Automation will not displace employees, but it is estimated that around 861,000 public sector jobs will be attributed to automation by 2030, saving around £17 billion off the public sector wage bill.
The total robotics industry’s value by the time we reach 2028 is estimated at almost $20 billion, with an annual growth rate of between 15 to 20% in robotics revenue.
The global industrial robotics market will rise to $59.9 billion by 2026 and is forecast to reach $116,848.7 million by 2030, growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 11.8% during the forecast period from 2022 to 2030.
The global robotics market is expected to be valued at $74.1 billion by 2026, with a CAGR of 17.45%.
Spend on the automotive Industry will double in the next 4 years.
75% vehicles will be manufactured through Robotics by 2025.
By 2028, the global automotive robotics market is expected to reach almost 14 billion U.S. dollars in size.
🦾 Cobots 🦾
Collaborative robots are becoming increasingly popular, and are expected to constitute a significant portion of overall robot sales in the coming years.
35,000 units of cobots were sold globally with a market value of $700 million in 2021.
🔮 Predictions🔮
Cobots are expected to constitute 34% of overall robot sales by the end of 2025.
The market for cobots is predicted to exceed $24 billion by 2030.
In the next 5 years, gluing and welding will be the most common task assigned to cobots, with 72%.
🦿Factors driving Adoption of Robots🦿
Advancements in robotics technology. There has been an increase of more sophisticated and capable robots, making them more suitable for a wide range of tasks.
Government regulations and policies have also played a role in promoting the adoption of robots, especially in the manufacturing industry.
The labor market trends (shortage of skilled labor and increasing labor costs) have driven the adoption of robots as a means to increase efficiency and reduce costs.
Economic factors such as GDP, inflation, and exchange rate are seen as a way to increase productivity and reduce costs, which can help businesses to maintain or increase their competitiveness in a globalized market.
💰Cost of Industrial Robotics 💰
The cost of industrial robots has been decreasing, making it more accessible for industries to implement robotic automation within every aspect of their IT infrastructure.
⛑ Workforce Impact ⛑
The adoption of robots will have an impact on the workforce, both in terms of job displacement and job creation. While robots can automate repetitive and dangerous tasks, they can also free up workers to focus on more complex and value-added tasks, leading to an increase in productivity and overall economic growth.
However, it is also expected that some jobs may be displaced by robots, particularly in the manufacturing and transportation industries.
📈 Conclusion 📈
Overall, the global robotics market is experiencing a significant growth, driven by advancements in technology, government regulations and policies, and labor market trends. The increasing adoption of robots has resulted in increased productivity and cost savings.
However, the adoption of robots will also have an impact on the workforce. To mitigate this, governments, businesses and educational institutions will need to invest in reskilling and retraining programs for the workforce, to prepare them for the future of work.
What are your predictions for the coming years? Let us know!
Robotics News Roundup
We loved this take on how Intelligence and Mobility Will Shape the Future. Though written in 2021, a lot of the graphs are really interesting as we move into 2023.
In line with the first article, this one is incredibly well explained, as well and details the coming market trends.
Want to deep dive in shallow waters when it comes to cobots? This report give you all you need to know.
The latest with Inbolt
We are excited to finally announce the release of our GuideNOW studio.
GuideNOW is a real-time robot guidance solution based on 3D vision.
It comprises a 3D camera mounted on the robot, Inbrain, our real-time workpiece localization AI, and GuideNOW studio, a web-app for Inbrain training.
Inbrain is the most efficient 3D matching vision technology currently available. Its AI-powered system can quickly process large amounts of 3D data and determine the position and orientation of a workpiece. The technology adapts the robot's trajectory in real-time and our proprietary software is 100 times faster than leading algorithms, and can work with any hardware.
The solution reduces automation costs and improves automation flexibility by enabling it in all types of environments: structured, semi-structured and unstructured. Real-time robot guidance makes it possible to react dynamically to unplanned events.
Don't miss out on this opportunity to take your automation to the next level.
Contact us today to learn more and place your pre-order!
You can find us at Global Industrie between March 7th and March 10th at Lyon Eurexpo at the UR stand (1E9) or our own (2M23) for a chat or a demo.
See you there!
Please note that information not directly related to automation, cobots, and industrial robots has been excluded.