Report predicts growth in advanced robotics for manufacturing

As industrial robots become smarter, faster, more affordable, and develop advanced capabilities such as sensing, dexterity, memory, and trainability, industrial manufacturers are looking to advanced robotics to gain a competitive business advantage, according to a report released by PwC US in conjunction with The Manufacturing Institute.

Based on a survey of 120 industrial manufacturers, “The new hire: How a new generation of robots is transforming manufacturing” reports that while 59 percent of companies are currently using some form of robotics technology, barriers to adoption still exist because of limitations such as cost, the lack of perceived need, and access to expertise and skills.

According to the report, there currently are more than 1.5 million robots working in factories worldwide, with an estimated 180,000 in the U.S. alone. That number is expected to increase, with the global industrial robot market estimated to reach $41 billion by 2020.

"The past several years have recorded a sharp resurgence in orders of industrial robots, and this wider adoption comes at a time when manufacturers — both big and small — are trying to squeeze greater productivity from their workforces and respond quickly to customer preferences and expectations," said Bob McCutcheon, PwC's U.S. industrial products leader. "The manufacturing industry is primed for a more advanced integration of robotics, and the speed of adoption continues to increase with every dollar invested in these new technologies.”

The role of robotics in a company's changing or expanding operational footprint could be significant as manufacturers rethink the viability and attractiveness of offshoring. PwC's report found that automation technology makes it easier for manufacturers to be closer to their customers and perform better for that local consumer, potentially leading to greater reshoring of manufacturing activity to the U.S. market.

According to the report, 27 percent of respondents believe the biggest effect of robots on the U.S. manufacturing workforce in the next three to five years will be the replacement of workers.

Conversely, a greater robotic workforce could potentially drive a need for more human talent to train and repair that growing workforce and develop the burgeoning technology. Thirty-five percent of respondents to the survey reported the biggest effect robots will have on the manufacturing workforce is that they will lead to new job opportunities to engineer advanced robots and robotic operating systems, followed by 26 percent who believe it will lead to more demand for talent to manage the robotic workplace.