After suffering severe declines through 2009, this year the robotics industry is making a rapid recovery from the downturn, with rising demand and technological advancements spurring new growth.

Like other market segments, the robotics industry struggled through the recession, suffering sales losses and a broad slowdown in business activity. This year, the industry is slowly and steadily recovering from the decline, with product demand on the rise and new technologies accelerating growth among robotics manufacturers. Though it is likely to be a long while before the recessionary losses are fully recouped, prospects for continued robotics expansion remain strong.

According to an August report from the Robotics Industries Association (RIA), North American robotics companies’ unit orders surged 40 percent in the first half of 2010, with a total of 6,136 robots valued at $411.4 million sold to North American firms through June 2010. This represents a 48 percent increase in dollars over the same period last year. Including units sold to companies outside North America, the increases are larger, with 54 percent more orders and 62 percent more dollars than in the first half of 2009.

“In North America, the biggest gains came in orders by non-automotive companies, where units rose 51 percent,” Jeffrey A. Burnstein, president of RIA, said. “This is a very positive sign for our industry as it continues to expand into a wide-range of industries such as semiconductors, electronics and photonics, food and beverage, plastics and rubber, consumer goods and life sciences. Each of these market segments posted substantial gains in the first half of 2010, while automotive orders also grew 30 percent.”

These gains are particularly promising due to the widespread declines in the robotics industry in 2009. A report from the International Federation of Robotics (IFR) found that robot shipments to the Americas fell by 48 percent last year, dropping from 17,200 to 9,000 units. Shipments to the United States alone slumped 49 percent. On a global level, worldwide robot shipments fell 47 percent in 2009, a decrease of 60,000 units.

Fortunately, the current robotics recovery is a global one. According to the IFR, worldwide robot installations will increase by about 27 percent, or 60,000 units, in 2010. The organization also forecasts further increases of approximately 10 percent per year between 2011 and 2013, with installations rising to a total of 100,000 units in 2013.

The automotive industry, which has begun to invest in new automation technologies and in expanding capacity, is the main driver of the current rebound. Higher demand from China, Korea and other Southeast Asian economies is also boosting robot sales, although opportunities in North America and Japan, traditionally two of the largest consumers of robotics equipment, are also on the upswing.

“We can confidently acknowledge the high tech industries’ amazing innovation and growth in the past few years except for 2009. However, the strong recovery taking shape in 2010 indicates that the robotics market is back on track,” Dr. Andreas Bauer, chairman of the IFR Industrial Robots Suppliers Group, said in an announcement of the findings. “In the coming years a strong increase of robot installations will not only be observed in the emerging markets. Advanced robotics technologies conquering new application fields will guarantee further success in the traditional markets.”

Robotics technology in new applications is contributing greatly to the revitalization of the industry. Expanding into alternative-energy markets, such as wind power, solar power and fuel cells, is likely to provide a boost to robot manufacturers, while the electronics and semiconductor industries are also proving increasingly lucrative.

“The electronics industry is having a resurgence right now. The computer and cellular phone industries are starting to ramp up again to provide new opportunities for robots to be used for ever-increasing functions like assembly and testing,” Peter Cavallo, of industrial automation firm DENSO Robotics, said in a separate article from the RIA. “The implementation of robotics in electronic applications has seen tremendous growth.”

Another development that holds promise for the robotics industry is improving human-to-robot interactions for greater flexibility in manufacturing. One possibility involves intuitive programming through virtual objects and streamlined interfaces, enabling an automated system to learn via operation.

“Conventional programming techniques, such as teach-in and off-line programming, are no longer used to control the robot, instead it is programmed intuitively by the machine operator,” Robotics Trends explains. “This technology provides impressive advantages. The intuitive programming technique is simple and time-saving and enables customized products (batch size 1 production), reduces production downtime and drastically cuts the cost of software adaptation.”

According to a recent survey (free registration required) from Robotics Trends, small companies dominate the robotics industry, with 60 percent of firms having fewer than 50 employees, while only 16 percent have more than 1,000 employees. Moreover, nearly three-quarters of robotics companies expect to grow within the next five years.

“Looking to the future, the real opportunity in robotics is for America to lead the revolution of safe, collaborative robots that can coexist with people in factories, hospitals, restaurants, rehabilitation centers and homes,” John Dulchinos, CEO of robotics firm Adept Technology, told Inside Bay Area. “This single change will dramatically impact the cost of robots, the way robots work and the range of applications that can be solved with robotics and will be the foundation of the next generation of robots.”

Earlier: New Profit Opportunities for the Robotics Industry

Resources

Robot Sales in North America Jump 40% in First Half of 2010
Robotic Industries Association, Aug. 8, 2010

World Robotics 2010
International Federation of Robots, 2010

IFR: Surging Demand for Industrial Robots in 2010
International Federation of Robots, 2010

What’s New with Robots in Electronics and Semiconductors?
by Bennett Brumson
Robotic Industries Association, July 7, 2010

Intuitive Human-Robot Interaction — the Future of Robot Programming
Robotics Trends, June 21, 2010

Robotics Industry to Grow and Increase Hiring in R&D and Engineering
Robotics Trends, June 14, 2010

Munroe: Robots Can Stem Offshoring Tendencies
by Tapan Munroe
Inside Bay Area, Sept. 24, 2010