- Artificial Intelligence research venture between UTS and Chinese government
- Built-in power supply for temperature controller
- Panasonic opens lithium-ion battery factory in China
- Resistors for power management applications
THE GLOBAL demand for industrial robots will continue to grow, as Chinese demand remains strong.
According to TrendForce, China has been energetically pushing forward with the transformation of its economy, with sales of industrial robots in the country growing rapidly in response to the rising demand for automation.
TrendForce projections show demand in China is expected to reach 95,000 units of robots in 2016.
In 2016, major industrialised nations will adopt policies that will drive the market growth for industrial and service robots. Programs like Japan's “New Strategy for Robots”, the United States’ “Advanced Manufacturing Partnerships” and China’s 13th Five-Year Plan and “Made in China 2025” all contribute to the continued uptake of robots in the industrial and service sectors.
The automotive industry will remain as a major employer of industrial robots, continuing the trend.
Automotive industry will remain as a major employer of industrial robots. In 2014, the automotive industries of the U.S., Japan, Germany and South Korea all had a robot density that exceeded 1,000 robot units per 10,000 human workers.
In the same year, the Chinese automotive industry had a robot density of 305 robots per 10,000 workers. Since the U.S., Japan, Germany and South Korea are all major car-producing countries, their demand for industrial robots will continue to be driven by their automotive industries.
Within the industrial robot market, dual-arm collaborative robots will be a new highlight. With rising labour costs and contracting labour pools in countries facing serious issues with aging populations, the development of dual-arm collaborative robots will be a way to cut labour costs, improve production efficiency and fill the workforce shortage.
As artificial intelligence continues to improve, TrendForce expects the service robot market will soon witness strong growth momentum.
AI will allow service robots to communicate and interact with people. Robots that are designed to be their users’ life companions will therefore become a new and vibrant addition to the market.