Due to the widespread effects of the recession, robotics manufacturers have experienced sluggish sales and contracting profits through most of 2009. But despite these challenging market conditions, the gradual recovery of the industrial sector along with emerging opportunities for automation in the defense industry and consumer products may provide the robotics industry with several avenues for growth.

According to an August report from the Robotics Industries Association (RIA), North American robotics companies suffered a 36 percent decline in orders for new units in the first half of 2009, along with a 47 percent decrease in dollar value over the same period. The second quarter of 2009 was particularly difficult, with a 43 percent decrease in unit orders and 51 percent decrease in dollars compared to the second quarter of 2008.

The RIA attributes much of the slowdown to instability in the automotive sector, traditionally the largest purchaser of robots and automation equipment in North America. On a global level, the declines have also been strongly affected by reductions in capital equipment expenditures across a range of industries, the RIA notes.

"While the first half numbers do have some bright spots, such as a 34 percent increase in orders from the Life Sciences/Pharmaceutical/Biomedical industries and a 7 percent increase in orders from the food and consumer goods sector, the reality is that we're in the midst of a sharp decline that will likely last into 2010," Tammy Mulcahy, chair of the RIA's Statistics Committee, said in an announcement of the findings.

"However, recent economic data indicates that the worst of the recession may be behind us, which would be welcome news for everyone in our industry," Mulcahy added.

Opportunities for an upswing may arise as broader economic factors contribute to a greater need for automation and robotics in a number of different fields.

The recently published Roadmap for U.S. Robotics, sponsored by the Computing Community Consortium in collaboration with several universities, claims that robotics technology is likely to become as widespread over the next few decades as computing technology is today, with the potential to create new jobs and improve productivity on a large scale.

The report predicts that in the manufacturing sector, robotics will shift away from larger organizations, such as automakers, to rely more on small- and medium-sized companies with a greater demand for customized products, adaptability and lower volume runs.

Increasing adoption of automated systems will be crucial for maintaining United States manufacturing competitiveness, according to the roadmap, especially as the current workforce ages. When the number of manufacturing workers begins to decline due to retirement, robots may become necessary for bridging gaps in productivity growth.

Moreover, "dramatic advances in robotics and automation technologies are even more critical with the next generation of high-value products that rely on embedded computers, advanced sensors and microelectronics requiring micro- and nano-scale assembly, for which labor-intensive manufacturing with human workers is no longer a viable option," according to the report.

The concept of augmenting a reduced workforce through more widespread use of robots has already become a consideration in Japan, BBC News reports. As the Japanese population shrinks and ages, the country is increasingly turning to robotic alternatives for maintaining productivity levels.

"For social and medical care, robots are already in use. There are robots that can lift patients out of bed, carry them if necessary, even act as receptionists in a hospital or doctor's surgery," BBC News says.

The U.S. military is also seeking to expand the role of robots in its operations. According to the Senate's National Defense Authorization Act of 2001, one-third of the operational aircraft in the armed forces are required to be unmanned versions by 2010, as well as one-third of the ground combat vehicles by 2015.

With those goals in mind, military personnel and more than 40 robotics vendors recently participated in the U.S. Army's first Robotics Rodeo. According to the briefing, this event was designed to "motivate key decision makers and the robotics industry," and to "encourage the development of robotic systems supporting warfighter operational needs."

Defense spending may give a vital boost to some robotics manufacturers, and it is already attracting major companies. In addition to the standard military contracting firms, John Deere and Co. was also present at the Rodeo to demonstrate its new autonomous hauling vehicle, CNET News reports.

Despite tightened research and development budgets, researchers and engineers continue to drive new advances in robotics technology in the hopes of opening up additional fields of application. For example, European scientists are currently working on making a shift from larger robots to tiny micro-swarms that may be more efficient for production work, PhyOrg.com reports. These insect-sized robots could be used in a range of fields, such as micro-manufacturing, surveillance and medicine.

According to PhyOrg.com, the scientists believe that "[b]y mass-producing swarms of robots, the loss of some robotic units will be negligible in terms of cost, functionality and time, yet still achieve a high level of performance."

Likewise, there is growing potential for robots on the consumer market. Just as the Japanese have already begun using robots for health care applications, experts in the U.S. are also calling for increased implementation of robots for elderly care and nursing.

Developing robots that can effectively communicate with humans is one of the central issues behind making them available to the public. However, machine versatility is another important feature because "a robot might appear humanoid, or it might just be a 'smart walker' that can assess how an elderly person is walking by sensing the distribution of a person's weight, for example" the Chicago Tribune reports.

"If we put the cost at $20,000 to $30,000 — or much less if we built on a large scale — and if the robot is in service 5 to 10 years, that would be a good investment," Milos Zefran, associate professor of electrical and computer engineering at the University of Illinois at Chicago, told the Tribune.

Innovations in the manufacturing, defense and science industries may paint a brighter future for robotics and its related fields, but it remains to be seen which specific direction will prove most profitable and allow robot manufacturers to regain a stable place in the market.

Earlier: R&D Overhaul in a Downturn

Resource

Robot Orders Down Sharply in First Half of 2009
Robotic Industries Association, Aug. 6, 2009

A Roadmap for U.S. Robotics: From Internet to Robotics
Organized by Henrik I. Christensen (Various Authors)
Computing Community Consortium, May 21, 2009

Japan Looks to Robots to Fill Jobs
by Robin Lustig
BBC News, Sept. 3, 2009

National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2001
U.S. Department of Defense, Oct. 30, 2000

Robotics Rodeo: Briefing to Industry
U.S. Army, June 15, 2009

John Deere Goes Olive-Drab at Robotics Rodeo
by Mark Rutherford
CNET News, Sept. 2, 2009

Researchers Hope to Mass-Produce Tiny Robots
by Lisa Zyga
PhysOrg.com, Aug. 28, 2009

Caregiving Robots on the Way, UIC Scientists Say
by Patti Ahern
The Chicago Tribune, Sept. 2, 2009