The various global perturbations have not affected the robot market too negatively. Indeed, according to the latest figures from Interact Analysis, revenues from the sale of collaborative robots on a global scale amounted to well over one billion dollars last year.
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Such figures may come as a surprise, especially if we look at what has been happening globally in recent years. A long period of pandemics that strongly affected supply chains and component availability, the war in Ukraine, as well as minor conflicts in other regions of the world. Not enough? Well, add to that the huge tensions in the Pacific region to see that the last few years have resembled a real mood swing.
The robot sector is set to grow
As it turned out, however, technology and cutting-edge solutions have done and continue to do very well. The aforementioned Interact Analysis report shows that in 2023, sales of collaborative robots grew by as much as 11.9 per cent compared to the previous period studied.
The largest increases in this market were, of course, recorded in China, which is a global player in this field. In terms of specific industries, automotive invested the most heavily in robots, while declines were recorded in electronics and semiconductors.
According to Dr Artur Pollak, president of APA Group, who was a guest at Automation Trader, there is no going back on human-robot collaboration and we must not only get used to it, but also learn how the whole thing should look.
We must not be afraid of change
- We talk about integration with humans all the time, which is why we are also working quite strongly with the University of Silesia, specifically the psychology department. We are testing algorithms. We are testing how effective they should be, how the human being should be taken care of in the production process. Because we have to remember that the human being will stay in the process - he said.
In Artur Pollak's opinion, man should not be afraid that a robot will take his job. - After all, you hear a lot about these threats that if I put a robot somewhere, it will automatically eliminate the operator. Or should the operator stay in the process? What kind of competence should he have? Should he enter into some kind of race with the robot? Should he be afraid of it? In our opinion, technology should not interfere with the process, but enter it and help it, give savings - he continued.
- The truth is that humans have intuition, we have wider knowledge, feelings. We are also creative. And that is why one supported by the other gives a gigantic advantage, and in all these industrial processes, we try to show the managers who run the processes, the factory owners or those who put up the money, what is worth investing in - in the short term, the medium term or also the long term. We show how technology can pay for itself and make money. It is not really a cost, because it pays for itself very quickly. However, you need to have confidence in these analyses and conclusions. You simply cannot be afraid of change - he concluded.
The aforementioned report shows that there is no turning back from this path and that the collaborative robot sector will only grow. By 2028, in turn, its value should grow by a further 20 percent.
