IFR/UNECE 2004 World Robotics survey

Citation

(2005), "IFR/UNECE 2004 World Robotics survey", Industrial Robot, Vol. 32 No. 2. https://doi.org/10.1108/ir.2005.04932bab.006

IFR/UNECE 2004 World Robotics survey

IFR/UNECE 2004 World Robotics survey

Keywords: IFR, Robotics

Worldwide investment in industrial robots up 19 per cent in 2003.

In first half of 2004, orders for robots were up another 18 per cent to the highest level ever recorded.

Worldwide growth in the period 2004-2007 forecast at an average annual rate of about 7 per cent.

Over 600,000 household robots in use – several millions in the next few years.

UNECE issues its 2004 World Robotics survey

Below are some of the many questions answered by the newly released survey World Robotics 2004 produced by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) in cooperation with the International Federation of Robotics (IFR). The following questions and answers provide an executive summary of this 414 page in-depth analysis.

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  Double digit growth in the robot business. In 2003, the robot market in North America surged by 28 per cent, by close to 25 per cent in Japan and by 4 per cent in the European Union, says Jan Kartsson, responsible for the UNECE/IFR publication. The modest growth in the European Union market should, however, be seen in the light of the fact that with the exception of 1997 and 2001-2002, the European Union has had double-digit market growth since 1994.

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  What about the trends in 2004 and the forecast for 2004-2007? The UNECE/IFR quarterly survey on order intake of industrial robots, which includes most of the world's largest companies, showed that worldwide order intake increased by 18 per cent in the first half of 2004, compared with the same period in 2003. It was the highest order intake of industrial robots ever recorded, worldwide and in all regions, except in Europe where it was the second best half year recorded. The order intake, by regions, were as follows:

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    NorthAmerica + 18 per cent,Europe – 3 per cent,Asia + 57 per cent, Other regions 0 per cent

  Worldwide sales are forecasted to increase from 81,800 units in 2003 to over 106,000 units by 2007, or an average of close to 7 per cent per year.

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  How many robots are now working out there in industry? Worldwide at least 800,000 units (possibly the real stock could be well over one million units), of which 350,000 in Japan, close to 250,000 in the European Union and about 112,000 in North America. In Europe, Germany is in the lead with 112,700 units, followed by Italy with 50,000, France with 26,000, Spain with 20,000 and the United Kingdom with 14,000.

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  What is the forecast for 2007? A conservative forecast points about one million units worldwide, of which 350,000 in Japan, 326,000 in the European Union and 145,000 in North America.

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  How many robots per employee in the manufacturing industry? About 320 per 10.000 employees in Japan, 148 in Germany, 116 in Italy, 99 in Sweden and between 80 and 50 in Finland, Spain, France, United States, Austria, Benelux and Denmark (the figure for Japan includes all types of robots while for all the other countries only multipurpose industrial robots are included. The figures are therefore.not comparable). In the United Kingdom the density amounted to about 40 (Figure 1).

  Figure 1 Number of robots per 10,000 persons employed in the manufacturing industry in 2003

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  In the car industry? In Japan, Italy and Germany there is more than one robot per ten production workers.

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  Are we seeing any service robots in our homes? At the end of 2003, about 610,000 autonomous vacuum cleaners and lawn-mowing robots were in operation. In 2004-2007, more than 4 million new units are forecasted to be added.

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  How are service robots for professional use doing? Medical robots, underwater robots, surveillance robots, demolition robots and many other types of robots for carrying out a multitude of tasks are doing very well. A stock of some 21,000 units was estimated at the end of 2003. In the period 2004-2007, another 54,000 units are projected to be added to the stock.

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  In the long run service robots will be everyday tools for mankind. They will not only clean our floors, mow our lawns and guard our homes but they will also assist old and handicapped people with sophisticated interactive equipment, carry out surgery, inspect pipes and sites that are hazardous to people, fight fire and bombs and be used in many other applications described in the present issue of World Robotics 2004. Huge military investment in service robots will give spin-off effects both for the market of professional service robots and for the market of consumer products.