2023 could be a key year for collaborative robotics and the industrial automation sector.
It's not us who say it but two giants of the robotics industry like OnRobot And Universal Robots, through the statements released by Enrico Krog, CEO by OnRobot, e Anders Beck, vice president, strategy and innovation by Universal Robots.
It's all about the optimism dictated by recent data on robotics which is revealed growing, despite a limping global macroeconomic situation.
For this reason, on different occasions, Krog and Beck have illustrated their predictions on the trends in the sector starting from 2023.
The collaborative robotics market continues to grow
Before illustrating the trends for the near future of collaborative robotics, let's start with a brief illustration of the trend and projections of the reference market.
According to some data processed by the study Global Collaborative Robots Market Size, Share & Industry Trends Analysis Of ReportLinker, between now and 2028 the global market for collaborative robots is expected to achieve an annual growth of 40.1%, thus reaching 10.8 billion dollars.
In support of this theory, meanwhile, data from theInternational Federation of Robotics (IFR) which, in 2021, they detected for the first time ever the exceeding half a million installations of new industrial robots.
The same IFR also estimated that by 2025 the goal of almost could be achieved 700,000 new installations per year.
All this, we remember, in a global scenario that has just emerged from the consequences of the pandemic from COVID-19 and still plagued by the consequences of conflict between Russia and Ukraine
In Europe, however, it is worth underlining that, following the supply problems linked above all to the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, the market is also experiencing a phase of reindustrialization.
It is precisely in this context that the ever-increasing installation of new robots occurs, above all Cobots.
This choice is certainly motivated by the great advantage of collaboration between humans and Cobots, the core concept of collaborative logic. This makes it possible to streamline and optimize the performance of repetitive and dangerous activities in companies and industries, allowing human staff to dedicate themselves to higher value activities.
The challenge now is to demonstrate the benefits of human-machine collaboration in terms of safety and ease of use.
The use of Cobots also promotes energy saving and the use of cleaner energy sources, pushing for sustainable development, a topic very dear to entrepreneurs today.
Trends for Robotics according to Enrico Krog.
“The sustained and unstoppable growth of robots and cobots demonstrates how they are here to stay and help make industrialization processes simpler, more sustainable and safer. In the coming years, we will see how the conjunction between software and hardware will confirm itself as a trend as it allows for faster, simpler implementations that ensure a higher ROI for companies"
These are the words used by the CEO of OnRobot, Enrico Krog, who illustrated five key robotics trends for 2023:
- Reindustrialization of Europe.
Krog therefore starts from a theme that we have already mentioned in the previous lines, defining this historical phase as a trend destined to consolidate in the coming months and years, with increasingly sustained growth rates;
- Greater collaboration.
The possibility of collaboration between man and machines is now a reality thanks to Cobots. For Krog, however, the challenge to be faced is to be able to demonstrate and consolidate the idea that robotic applications are able to bring advantages both in terms of ease of use and safety;
- Greater sustainability.
Here too we return to a topic already mentioned, namely that of sustainable development. According to Krog, in fact, robots and Cobots will support this path, encouraging the use of cleaner energy.
- Greater market penetration.
According to Enrico Krog, industrial robots and Cobots will be introduced in a larger number of sectors and countries in 2023. This is thanks to an ever-increasing trust in robotic technology.
- Convergence of software and hardware.
Lastly, the CEO of OnRobot spoke about the ever-increasing combination of hardware and software, capable of saving time and money, as the users themselves implement the application based on their current needs.
Robotics trends according to Anders Beck.
“In recent years we have seen the development of many different types of automation technologies. Advances in robotics, machine learning, and other technologies have accelerated tenfold this change. While these solutions promise to change or revolutionize the world of business, all tech companies suffer from the same problem: they can't specialize in everything, and that goes for robotics too. Creating a robotic system requires the development of hardware, software, applications, sensors and interfaces, just to name a few of its elements. Here because 2023 will be the year of turnkey solutions.
With these words the innovation expert of Universal Robots, Anders Beck, introduced the first of five trends which he predicted for robotics in 2023.
- Sophisticated but simple solutions.
According to Beck, therefore, 2023 will also be the year of all those companies specialized in the creation of new applications and new products starting from the combination of already existing technologies. Thanks to this work, in fact, complete solutions for common applications will be able to be provided, with the result that automation will be increasingly sophisticated and simple to use;
- Ever greater modularity.
While traditional robots remain important in some manufacturing processes, Beck says even large companies will soon transition to using lightweight Cobots. This, in fact, is to increase the modularity of their production with reconfigurable automation solutions.
- Increased payload and range.
Among the trends identified by Beck, the increase in payload and scope of collaborative robots stands out. We are talking about a direct consequence of the previous point, as the increase in large companies interested in automation with Cobots will inevitably force developers to think of solutions for managing increasingly heavier loads and with longer ranges.
- More Cobot installations.
Despite slightly slowed growth in 2022 due to global uncertainties and shortages of electronic components, Beck expects an upward trend in Cobot automation in 2023. This, Beck explained, “why companies around the world are facing labor and skills shortages – as well as a – transition to Industry 5.0, where working alongside cobots will create a more human-centric, sustainable and resilient environment”.
- Greater dialogue between developers and users.
The latest trend identified by Beck puts users at the center of product development. According to the UR expert, in fact, robotics companies will involve end customers much more in product development. The consequence? An increase in co-creation projects in 2023 where customers and robotics companies collaborate on the development of customized solutions.
