Marc Segura, president, ABB Robotics division
With demand for robots growing as companies in multiple sectors look for new ways to enhance their productivity and competitiveness post-pandemic, Marc Segura, newly appointed president of ABB’s Robotics division, announced a set of growth predictions, looking at key trends driving demand for robots in the coming year.
"The pandemic accelerated far-reaching global mega trends—from labor shortages and supply chain uncertainty to the individualized consumer and growing pressure to operate sustainably and resiliently—leading new businesses to look to robotic automation,” said Segura. “As technology opens new opportunities for meeting customer demands, new trends will continue to emerge that will further drive demand in areas where robots have traditionally not been used.”
ABB Robotics & Discrete Automation employs more than 11,000 people in more than 50 countries, and it has shipped more than 500,000 robot solutions.
Based on customer conversations, market research and a global survey of 250 companies across multiple industries, ABB has identified three key trends that will shape the demand for robots in 2022.
Trend 1: The EV revolution is bringing wholesale changes for automotive manufacturing.
With many countries restricting and phasing out the production of combustion-engine vehicles over the next decade, the race toward electric cars has accelerated. Manufacturers and their supply chains must tackle the complexity of diversifying into electric vehicles (EVs) alongside combustion-engine vehicles, to meet varying regulatory frameworks governing EV adoption across the globe. The speed and added flexibility needed will see new and established manufacturers move away from traditional linear manufacturing toward modular, flexible production.
“EV is not about a change only in the powertrain, but a larger transformation to a digitized car,” explained Segura. “This transition will also see the growing uptake of robots in combination with other technologies, including autonomous mobile robots (AMRs). This will enable manufacturers to optimize the delivery of components across facilities and enable integrated scalable, modular production cells—methods traditionally associated with e-commerce and consumer goods, but now required in automotive to ensure the necessary flexibility to meet varying levels of demand.”
Another major shift will see battery manufacturing brought closer to vehicle assembly to meet sustainability and regional requirements, which in most cases requires all-new facilities.
Trend 2: The E-commerce boom will accelerate.
Consumer behavior and expectations are driving companies to find new ways to satisfy demand, developing new channels through omnichannel retailing and adapting their production lines and distribution processes to enable personalization of both products and delivery. Fulfilling these requirements has seen thousands of robots installed worldwide where they were not used just five years ago, and this rapid rate of automation will continue in 2022 driven by a combination of consumer trends and a growing shortage of labor.
“This trend will see the growth of lighter, smaller robotic applications, enabling the expansion of automation into new areas of warehousing and distribution operations. As artificial intelligence in robotics matures and learning robots become mainstream, expect to see these technologies deployed alongside AMR technologies, orchestrated and managed by intelligent software to provide enhanced flexibility, speed and efficiency,” Segura continued.
Trend 3: More robots will appear in more places, and workers will need new skills.
Smaller, more affordable, and easy-to-use robots are helping to remove many of the barriers previously preventing companies from investing in robots. This is seeing an acceleration of robots in general industry and small and medium-sized enterprises as companies seek new ways to automate different tasks.
“As we look beyond 2022, we see an ever-greater emphasis on connectivity and data acquisition as key enablers of future manufacturing,” continued Segura. “Data collected from intelligently automated processes will be analyzed by producers to make more informed decisions.”
In a future with a high prevalence of robots in workplaces, engineers and staff will need to be retrained and more robotic training will be demanded in schools, colleges and universities, for the skills to program, operate and maintain robots for an automated future, explained Segura.
The trends outlined for 2022 are the latest chapter in the ongoing transformation of robotic automation, which is seeing a rapid acceleration and adoption of robots across industry.
“While automation has always been about productivity and quality—scaling up, doing more—the shifts we’re witnessing today—the greatest in a generation—mean that flexibility and simplicity are key to success,” concluded Segura. “Flexibility is essential. It is a strategic need, essential across the entire value chain: from manufacturing and logistics through to the point of consumption. Robotic automation is a vital enabler of this flexibility.”
ABB Robotics & Discrete Automation is a pioneer in robotics, machine automation and digital services, providing innovative solutions for a diverse range of industries, from automotive to electronics to logistics. As one of the world’s leading robotics and machine automation suppliers, we have shipped more than 500,000 robot solutions. We help our customers of all sizes to increase productivity, flexibility and simplicity and to improve output quality. We support their transition towards the connected and collaborative factory of the future. ABB Robotics & Discrete Automation employs more than 11,000 people at over 100 locations in more than 53 countries.
