{"id":726,"date":"2017-09-04T18:31:06","date_gmt":"2017-09-04T17:31:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/engineernewsnetwork.com\/blog\/?p=726"},"modified":"2017-09-24T18:19:15","modified_gmt":"2017-09-24T17:19:15","slug":"manufacturing-the-future-of-robotics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\/blog\/manufacturing-the-future-of-robotics\/","title":{"rendered":"Manufacturing the future of robotics"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Chris Johnson examines the state of the UK&#8217;s robotics industry, from uptake of robotics and automation in manufacturing, to those investing in manufacturing this game-changing technology<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Regardless of what pop culture would have us believe, modern day robotics are not the threat to mankind we see depicted in film, television and fiction.<\/p>\n<p>Since the introduction of robotic arms to automotive manufacturing in the 1960s, installing robotics and automation has become standard practice in manufacturing.<br \/>\n<script async src=\"\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js\"><\/script><br \/>\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\" style=\"display: block; text-align: center;\" data-ad-format=\"fluid\" data-ad-layout=\"in-article\" data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-7565662001938327\" data-ad-slot=\"7585079586\"><\/ins><br \/>\n<script>\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\n<\/script><br \/>\nDespite this, the United Kingdom is falling behind in the robotics manufacturing market.<\/p>\nIn the race for using automation in manufacturing, Europe is widely regarded as one of the front runners. In fact, 65% of countries with an above-average number of industrial robots per 10,000 employees are in the European Union \u2014 with Germany and Sweden topping the list.<\/p>\n<p>However, the United Kingdom is lagging slightly behind.<\/p>\n<p>Currently, the country stands marginally above the global average, with 71 robots per 10,000 employees in the manufacturing sector \u2014 compared with 300 in Germany and almost 200 per every 10,000 employees in the manufacturing sector in Sweden.<\/p>\n<p>As the ninth-largest manufacturing nation in the world, Britain\u2019s manufacturing sector accounts for 11 per cent of GDP and 45% of exports.<\/p>\n<p>To remain competitive in the global market, manufacturers should begin to consider making larger investments in industrial robotics.<\/p>\n<p>In fact, a study by Barclays in 2015 suggested an increased investment of \u00a31.24billion could raise the overall value of manufacturing to the UK economy to a colossal \u00a360.5billion in less than decade.<\/p>\n<p>There\u2019s no doubt that British manufacturers understand the benefits of using robotics in their facilities \u2014 just a quick internet search will deliver a plethora of positive data on the increased efficiency, productivity and financial delivered by industrial automation. Britain is investing in robotics in its manufacturing industry.<\/p>\n<p>However, the nation is almost entirely absent in the design, development and manufacturing of sought-after robotics technology.<\/p>\n<p>Considering the increasing global investment in robotics, why aren\u2019t British machine builders competing in this potentially lucrative area of advanced manufacturing and machine building?<\/p>\n<p>There is a notable lack of statistics on the state of robotics manufacturing in the United Kingdom. Despite efforts to encourage an interest in robotics manufacturing in Britain \u2014 such as the UK Robotics Week initiative, which was launched in 2016 \u2014 there are few sources of information on the country\u2019s interest in manufacturing robotic equipment for the industrial market.<\/p>\n<p>Instead, the most popular British narrative on this trend focuses on the alleged threat that robotics and automation brings to employees in the manufacturing industry; rather than the potential financial rewards of manufacturing robotics. The uptake of robotics in the manufacturing industry is inevitable. In fact, according to a forecast by the International Federation of Robotics (IFR), more than 1.4million industrial robotics will be installed in factories by 2019.<\/p>\n<p>Currently, Japanese manufacturer, FANUC is the world\u2019s largest builder of industrial robots. The company\u2019s 400,000 robotic machines are used around the world to build cars for the likes of Ford and Tesla, as well as the metal iPhone cases for Apple.<\/p>\n<p>Alongside FANUC, Japanese robotics manufacturing giants Yaskawa and Kawasaki are responsible for a further 410,000 of the world\u2019s robots.<\/p>\n<p>In fact, according to Robotics Business Review\u2019s (RBR) list of the 50 largest global robotics companies in 2016, Japan is home to nine of the manufacturers on the list. Japan is so well known for its robotics manufacturing that the report describes the country as the \u2018kingpin of world robotics\u2019.<\/p>\n<p>Interest in robotics in the United Kingdom is not entirely redundant. As part of the Government\u2019s digital strategy, funding of \u00a317.3million worth of research on artificial intelligence and robotics is to be carried out by British universities.<\/p>\n<p>Aside from government interest, business investments in robotics also appear to be increasing. It has been reported that Sir James Dyson will be investing in a $2.5billion research campus for robotics, artificial intelligence and other advanced technology and these same technologies are among the fastest areas for investment according to an analysis of venture capital flows into London\u2019s tech sector.<\/p>\n<p>Britain is undoubtedly slacking in the world of robotics, not just in embracing the technology, but engaging in the race to develop this game-changing automation.<\/p>\n<p>Looking to the future, manufacturers, academics and the future generation of Britain\u2019s engineers must take steps to begin chipping away at this already dominated market \u2014 if not, the country risks being left behind.<\/p>\n<p>Chris Johnson is managing director of specialist bearings distributor,\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.smbbearings.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-cke-saved-href=\"http:\/\/www.smbbearings.com\"><strong>SMB Bearings<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Chris Johnson examines the state of the UK&#8217;s robotics industry, from uptake of robotics and automation in manufacturing, to those investing in manufacturing this game-changing technology Regardless of what pop culture would have us believe, modern day robotics are not the threat to mankind we see depicted in film, television and fiction. Since the introduction &hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":728,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[105],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-726","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","","category-design"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Manufacturing the future of robotics - Engineer News Network<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\/blog\/manufacturing-the-future-of-robotics\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Manufacturing the future of robotics - Engineer News Network\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Chris Johnson examines the state of the UK&#8217;s robotics industry, from uptake of robotics and automation in manufacturing, to those investing in manufacturing this game-changing technology Regardless of what pop culture would have us believe, modern day robotics are not the threat to mankind we see depicted in film, television and fiction. Since the introduction &hellip;\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\/blog\/manufacturing-the-future-of-robotics\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Engineer News Network\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2017-09-04T17:31:06+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2017-09-24T17:19:15+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/SMB073-Robotics-week-BP-1.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1920\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1275\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\\\/blog\\\/manufacturing-the-future-of-robotics\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\\\/blog\\\/manufacturing-the-future-of-robotics\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/4477342aea8e299c6a21761e513ea8e1\"},\"headline\":\"Manufacturing the future of robotics\",\"datePublished\":\"2017-09-04T17:31:06+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2017-09-24T17:19:15+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\\\/blog\\\/manufacturing-the-future-of-robotics\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":747,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\\\/blog\\\/manufacturing-the-future-of-robotics\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2017\\\/09\\\/SMB073-Robotics-week-BP-1.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Design\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\\\/blog\\\/manufacturing-the-future-of-robotics\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\\\/blog\\\/manufacturing-the-future-of-robotics\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\\\/blog\\\/manufacturing-the-future-of-robotics\\\/\",\"name\":\"Manufacturing the future of robotics - 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