JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #139 - March/April 2021 - 44

FEATURE robotics
riety of robotics projects within Horizon
2020. Those are ranging from manufacturing, commercial and healthcare use to
consumer, transportation, and agri-food
robotics [6]. From 2020 to 2022 almost
2 million new units of industrial robots
are expected to be installed in factories
around the world, according to an official
statement of IFR from February 2020 [7].
Jec Composites Magazine has canvassed
various experts from industry, research
and lobbying associations to analyze
the current market situation and see more
clearly in the future.
All industries see a gap between their ambitions for
advanced robotics and the current level on implementation. Küpper, Daniel; Lorenz, Markus et.al.:
Advanced Robotics in the Factory of the Future,
Boston Consulting Group (BCG), March 2019, p. 12.

Milton Guerry,
president International
Federation of Robotics

JEC Composites Magazine: What impact has
the Covid-19 pandemic had on the move towards automation? Are you seeing an acceleration of the trend towards automation, or is
there a risk that the pandemic will slow this
down?

Milton Guerry: Companies around

the globe are reassessing their global supply chain business models in reaction to the
lessons learned from coronavirus. This will
likely accelerate the introduction of robots,
leading to a renaissance of industrial production in some regions - and bringing back
jobs. After the crisis, IFR expects a considerable boost for robotics and automation, even
if the industry cannot currently decouple itself from the economic downturn. Research
by the OECD shows that companies that
employ technology effectively are ten times
more productive than those that do not.

There has been a lot of discussion about the
risks to jobs from automation - what are some
of the opportunities?

M. G.: Experience in the US, Europe and

Asia proves that robot adoption will likely be
a critical determinant of productivity growth
for the post-COVID-19 economy. Statistics
shows that the global operational stock of
industrial robots rose by about 65% to 2.4
million units within five years (2013-2018).
For the same period of time, the U.S. Bureau
of Labor Statistics reported a positive impact on the job market: Employment in the
automotive industry - the largest adopter of
robots - increased by 22% from 824,400 to
1,005,000 jobs (2013-2018). The impact of
automation on employment will not be in
any respect different from previous waves of
technology-driven change.
New technology trends and market developments enable companies to react to changing
requirements. Human-robot collaboration is
one of the important trends in robotics. With
the ability to work in tandem with humans,
modern robotic systems are able to adapt to
a rapidly changing environment. The range
of collaborative applications offered by robot
manufacturers continues to expand. Currently, shared workspace applications are
most common. Robot and worker operate
alongside each other, completing tasks sequentially. Applications in which the human
and the robot work at the same time on the
same part are even more challenging. Research and Development (R&D) focuses on
methods to enable robots to respond in real-time. Just like two human workers would

jec composites magazine / N°139 March - April 2021

collaborate, the R&D teams want them to
adjust its motion to its environment, allowing for a true responsive collaboration. These
solutions include voice, gesture, and recognition of intent from human motion. With the
technology of today, human-robot collaboration has already a huge potential for companies of all sizes and sectors. Collaborative
operations will complement investments in
traditional industrial robots.
What policies should governments put in
place to manage the risks?

M. G.: Re-training the existing workforce

is a suitable short-term measure. But in addition to this we must start way earlier: Curricula for schools
and under " Human-robot collaboration
is one of the important
graduate edtrends in robotics. "
ucation need
to match the
" Curricula for schools and undemand of the
dergraduate education need
industry for
to
match the demand of the
the workforce
industry
for the workforce of
of the future.
the future. "
Demand for
technical and
digital skills is increasing, but equally important are cognitive skills like problem-solving
and critical thinking. Governments will need
to develop policy incentives to encourage
corporate investment in training, and step up
their funding of education. They should con-

JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #139 - March/April 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #139 - March/April 2021