Insight into the market! ABB predicts three major trends to lead the transformation of the field of robotic automation!

Guide

1. In the post-epidemic era, the rapid growth of robot applications in new fields such as logistics and retail will continue, especially in the field of electric vehicles.

2. This growth will put forward new requirements for personnel skills, and relevant education and training are indispensable.

3. Ma Sikang, the new global head of ABB's robotics business unit, pointed out that three key trends will lead the growth of robot applications in 2022

In the post-pandemic era, the demand for robots is increasing as industries are looking for new ways to improve efficiency and competitiveness. To this end, ABB has made a forecast for the growth of the robotics market this year by studying several key trends driving the growth of robot demand in 2022.

Through customer conversations, market research, and polls of 250 companies across multiple industries around the world, ABB identified three key trends that will impact the robotics market demand in 2022.

Trend 1

Electric vehicles will revolutionize the automotive industry in many ways

The race in the field of electric vehicles has intensified as many countries have announced that they will phase out traditional internal combustion engine vehicles over the next decade. This means that manufacturers transitioning from internal combustion engine vehicles to electric vehicles not only need to achieve complex and diverse production, but also ensure that their products meet the different regulatory requirements for electric vehicles around the world. The increased speed and flexibility required for EV production will enable new and existing manufacturers to shift from traditional linear production models to modular, flexible production lines.

Insight into the market! ABB predicts three major trends to lead the transformation of the field of robotic automation!

The transition from traditional fuel vehicles to electric vehicles involves not only the change of the powertrain, but also the move towards digital vehicles. In the process of transformation, robots will be increasingly combined with other technologies, such as autonomous mobile robots (AMRs). This combination will help manufacturers optimize the transportation of spare parts within the factory and enable scalable, integrated, modular production cells – which were previously used in the e-commerce and consumer goods industries, but are now the automotive industry's choice for greater flexibility to meet different customer needs.

Another major shift is that battery production lines will be closer to automotive assembly lines to meet sustainability and local demand. In most cases, manufacturers need to build new buildings.

Trend 2

E-commerce is booming at an accelerated pace

Changing consumer behaviors and expectations are driving businesses to find new ways to meet consumer demand and open up omnichannel retail to broaden their sales channels. In addition, adapting production lines and distribution processes can also help companies achieve personalized product production and delivery. As a result of these changes, thousands of robots have been installed around the world where robots were not used five years ago. It is believed that under the dual impact of changing consumer behavior and increasing labor shortage, the automation process will continue to accelerate in 2022.

Under this trend, the market demand for lightweight robots will continue to rise, and automation technology will also penetrate into new fields such as warehousing and distribution. As the use of artificial intelligence in robotics becomes more mature, learning robots will become mainstream, and we are expected to see the combination of such technologies with AMR technology, supported by intelligent software, to achieve simultaneous improvements in flexibility, speed and efficiency.

- Ma Sikang

Trend 3

Robots can be seen everywhere, and personnel skills need to be improved urgently

Smaller, less expensive, and easy-to-use robots such as ABB YuMi,® GoFa™, and SWIFTI™ cobots can help eliminate the need for companies to invest in robots, accelerate the adoption of robots in general industry, small and medium-sized enterprises, and provide enterprises with more diverse automation options.

"Looking ahead, we can see that connectivity and data collection are becoming increasingly important and will be a key enabler of the future of manufacturing," said Mascon. By analyzing the data collected in the process of intelligent automation, producers are able to make more informed decisions. At the same time, state-of-the-art and sensitive simulation and programming software, including ABB RobotStudio®, will be involved in the robot's entire lifecycle, from commissioning to production. They will be combined with AR and VR tools to bring more easy-to-use automation technology to customers. ”

Robots are also gaining the ability to collaborate, share tasks, and learn based on artificial intelligence technologies, which can make it easier for companies to apply intelligent automation in new environments, including buildings, medical labs, restaurants, retail, and more.

In the future, robots will be ubiquitous in the workplace, engineers and workers will need to be retrained, and schools from elementary school to university will need to increase robotics training courses, because the skills required to program, operate, and maintain robots will be indispensable in the future of automation.

A decade of change

The new trends in the above-mentioned robot automation transformation process will further promote the rapid development and application of robots in different industries.

"In the past, the focus of automation has been on increasing productivity and improving quality, i.e. scaling up and increasing efficiency," Marscon concludes. Today, however, we are undergoing major changes in 30 years, and flexibility and ease of use are the keys to success. Nowadays, flexibility is a strategic necessity, and its importance is self-evident. It affects the entire value chain, from manufacturing and logistics all the way to the consumer end. Robotic automation technology is an important tool to improve flexibility.

ABB wants to drive innovation through robotics, mobile robotics and machine automation, while providing digital services and training to help customers get the most out of their investments, as well as help them achieve flexible production and add value to their business.

Insight into the market! ABB predicts three major trends to lead the transformation of the field of robotic automation!

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