Worldwide industrial robot sales reached a record 380,550 units in 2017, the International Federation of Robotics (IFR) announced at Automatica 2018 in Munich. That’s a 29 percent increase over the 294,300 units sold in 2016. These are the initial findings of the IFR’s World Robotics Report 2018. Announced during the IFR CEO Round Table at…
IFR Report: 1.7m new industrial robots to be installed by 2020
Factories worldwide are set to install more than 1.7 million new industrial robots by 2020, according to the new International Federation of Robotics World Robotics 2017 Industrial Robots report published today. There were about 1.8 million operating industrial robots at the end of 2016, marking an expected 14% annual growth rate between 2018 and 2020.…
International Federation of Robotics elects new President
The Executive Board of the IFR has elected Joseph Gemma (KUKA Robotics Corporation US) as its new President. Mr. Gemma succeeds Arturo Baroncelli (Comau Robotics, Italy), who is leaving the rotating post as head of the global federation of robot manufacturers, having served his two-year term. Joe Gemma has 30 years of experience working in […]
A glimpse at our robotic future: 235 start-ups reviewed
[This article first appeared on pages 191-198 in “World Robotics Service Robots 2013” published by the IFR (International Federation of Robotics) Statistical Department. Copies of that book and its companion “World Industrial Robotics 2013” both of which can be purchased here. It is reprinted with permission from the publisher.] By Frank Tobe, Editor, The Robot Report…
Interesting conclusions from Israeli study on robot adoption
By Frank Tobe, editor/publisher, The Robot Report In a joint research study by Israel-based RoboLogics Ltd. and the Israeli Manufacturers Association, 72% of respondents considered that their processes were suitable for robotics automation. However, 66% cited complexity and lack of familiarity with the technology as one of the main reasons for NOT having implemented robots…
China now largest market for robots
By Frank Tobe, Editor and Publisher, The Robot Report View from the exhibition floor at CIROS, July 2-5, Shanghai. The China International Robot Show CIROS was held July 2-5 in Shanghai. 30,000 people were expected to attend and 56 companies exhibited. Although most of the exhibitors were Taiwanese, Japanese, Korean, German and other international robot…
Robotics is a Highly Fragmented Industry With Few Common Standards or Platforms
by Frank Tobe, Publisher, The Robot Report with Manoj Sahi, roboticist and educator, India Imagine being present at the birth of a new industry. It is an industry based on groundbreaking new technologies, wherein a handful of well-established corporations sell highly specialized devices for business use, and a fast-growing number of start-up companies produce innovative…
Huge employer in China makes big step toward robots
Copied and cross-linked with permission from: The New Economy, November 17, 2011Foxconn, a big contractor for Apple and others, breaks ground for robot facilities. It plans to replace 500,000 workers with 1 million robots. Workers are seen inside a Foxconn factory in the township of Longhua in China’s southern Guangdong Province in this 2010 photo. After a spate…