As ABI Research’s lead robotics analyst, I will be attending automatica in Munich next week!
automatica is Europe’s premier robotics and innovation show, with the Big Four industrial robotics Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs)—FANUC, ABB, KUKA, YASKAWA—showcasing their latest products.
One of the primary reasons we’re attending automatica is to understand the rising trend of Artificial Intelligence (AI)-augmented robot controllers. How will incorporating AI control increase productivity and robot capabilities? Until now, the process of programming industrial robots has been laborious (although offline programming software goes some way to streamlining the task), with machines generally lacking versatility and dynamism when faced with variation. One of the main reasons for incorporating AI is for picking and placing heterogeneous objects—Universal Robots’ AI-accelerator and YASKAWA’s MOTOMAN NEXT (both developed in partnership with NVIDIA) excel at this task. How else could AI augmentation for industrial and collaborative robots push industries forward and when will market-wide uptake begin?
For many, the Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) market provides the largest addressable market for automation. Solutions include simplified drag-and-drop programming interfaces and virtual commissioning suites brought to market by software vendors such as Visual Components, Siemens, Dassault Systèmes, and CENIT. How can automation be demystified for smaller industries? How can the skills gap be bridged and value be realized?
From the hardware and integration perspective, two notable pioneering companies stand out. Vention and Igus both offer intuitive digital interfaces and consulting services geared toward automating new processes within smaller logistics and manufacturing facilities. Both companies regularly add new robots and value-adds to their portfolios of offerings. These companies stand apart from traditional industrial automation companies and industries. What innovation will they unveil to tackle the SME market?
Many Chinese OEMs will be in attendance. These companies threaten the robotics status quo with low-cost automation; increasingly, FANUC—the market-leading industrial robot OEM—is losing ground to Chinese upstarts. The market share of Universal Robots, the pioneer of collaborative robots, is continually being whittled down by the encroachment of Dobot and JAKA into European and North American manufacturing markets. How are the offerings of these companies developing? In which markets is competition most fierce and why? Will the complacency of the Big Four lead them to be pushed out of more manufacturing markets?
For most robotics OEMs, industrial manufacturing has long been their only target market. Technology, complexity, safety, and cost considerations have been the primary reason for this. However, these obstacles are gradually evaporating. Until now, it has been clear that the largest OEMs do not consider collaborative robots as a major revenue source (this is evidenced by the lack of integration and the fact that for most of these companies, the largest use case for cobots is palletization). Could ABB and OMRON’s spin-out of their robotics divisions be the precursor to a push into new markets and new robotics applications?
automatica will play host to innovation of all shapes and sizes. Many technologies, such as Sonair’s sonar-based proximity sensors, have the potential to dramatically reduce robotics Bill of Materials (BOM), driving uptake. ABI Research will track all major technology announcements from established players and monitor potential disruption from startups, spins-outs, and innovators shaping the robotics and automation space for years to come.
Connect with me at the show to discuss the latest innovations and trends in the robotics space.
