The International Federation of Robotics (IFR) right this moment launched its World Robotics R&D Programs 2025 report that analyzes methods in Asia, Europe, and the U.S. While economies worldwide are more and more investing in robotics, every authorities analysis and growth program follows completely different methods.
“The 4th edition of the World Robotics R&D Programs covers the latest funding developments, including updates in 2024,” Dr. Jong-Oh Park, vice chairman of the IFR Research Committee and member of the Executive Board, stated. “A total of 13 countries are in the list, with Singapore and Canada being presented for the first time in this publication.”
Chinese funding methods
China might be wrapping up its “14th Five Year Plan” for the event of the robotics business this 12 months. The program, printed by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) in Beijing in December 2021, focuses on selling innovation. The purpose is to make China a world chief in robotics know-how and industrial growth.
To attain this objective, the plan outlined 5 duties for enchancment:
- Improve industrial innovation capabilities
- Consolidate the muse for industrial growth
- Increase the availability of high-end merchandise
- Expand the depth and breadth of purposes
- Optimize the economic innovation construction
More not too long ago, China up to date its “Key Special Program on Intelligent Robots” in July 2024. The funds of about USD 45.2 million (about CNY 329 million) promotes the event of unbiased key sectors of the nationwide economic system. Key targets embody Fundamental Frontier Technologies e.g. coaching of generative AI fashions.
China’s investments lately appeared to have paid off. The IFR’s newest knowledge exhibits that China reached a robotic density of 470 items per 10,000 employees within the manufacturing business. This means the nation ranked third worldwide in 2023. China solely entered the highest 10 in 2019. It has managed to double its robotic density inside 4 years.
The operational inventory of commercial robots in China. | Source: IFR
Japan’s plans to turn into the world’s high robotic innovation hub
Like China, Japan has a nationwide “New Robot Strategy” to assist it turn into a high robotic innovation hub on this planet. The nation’s key sectors stay unchanged from previous stories. These embody manufacturing, nursing and medical, and agriculture.
In 2020, it launched the “Moonshot Research and Development Program.” This program will run till 2050 with a funds of USD 440 million (JPY 25 billion). Japan set 10 moonshot objectives within the areas of society, surroundings, and economic system to realize “human well-being.” These embody points going through society sooner or later, comparable to an growing old inhabitants and world warming.
Additionally, this system promotes the conclusion of AI robots that study autonomously, adapt to their surroundings, evolve in intelligence, and act alongside people.
According to the IFR, Japan is the world’s primary industrial robotic producer. The nation globally ranked in fifth place in applied automation, with 419 items per 10,000 employees put in.
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Korea’s National Robot Plans
The Korean authorities introduced its “4th Basic Plan on Intelligent Robots” in January 2024. The plan will run till 2028 and contains an funding of KRW 180 billion (USD 128 million).
This funding helps the event of the robotics business as a core business for the Fourth Industrial Revolution, in addition to innovation in manufacturing and providers. The nation’s key targets embody bettering know-how, manpower, and company competitiveness which represent the muse of the Korean robotics business.
Korea goals to strengthen strategic inter-company, worldwide, and interregional cooperation within the robotics business. The IFR lists Korea because the world’s primary adopter of commercial robots with 1,012 robots per 10,000 staff. Robot density has elevated by 5% on common every year since 2018.
Europe’s investments in robotics
The variety of annual robotic installations in Europe over the previous 10 years. | Source: IFR
Horizon Europe is the European Union’s key analysis and innovation framework program. The program’s funds is ready to EUR 95.5 billion ($100 billion) and runs till 2027. The program’s high targets embody strengthening the EU’s scientific and technological bases and boosting Europe’s innovation capability and competitiveness.
The European Commission gives whole funding of EUR 174 million ($183.5 million) for the robotics-related work program 2023-2025 which was partly up to date in April 2024. The focus is on industrial management in AI, knowledge and robotics, clear power transition, and progressive well being initiatives, to call however a number of.
According to the IFR, the EU has a robotic density of 219 items per 10,000 employees, with Germany, Sweden, Denmark, and Slovenia on this planet’s high ten.
Germany is Europe’s most automated nation, with 429 robots per 10,000 staff. This places the nation fourth worldwide, in line with the IFR. Germany’s R&D and innovation program “High-Tech Strategy 2025 (HTS)” runs till 2026 with a complete funds set to USD 369.2 million (EUR 350 million).
Additionally, Germany’s “Robotics research action plan” will help the cross-connection of analysis facilities, help expert labor, and produce robotics analysis outcomes into software.
U.S. robotics R&D efforts to maintain up
A photograph of NASA’s Ingenuity helicopter taken by the Perseverance Rover. | Source: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU/MSSS
Robotics R&D packages managed by the U.S. embody analysis on Intelligent Robotics and Autonomous Systems by the National Science Foundation (NSF), “Space Robotics” by NASA, and “Military Robotics and Autonomous Vehicles” by the Department of Defense (DoD).
Following the Mars exploration program, NASA launched the Artemis mission to ship astronauts to the floor of the moon and to develop promising capabilities for Mars missions after 2024. The whole funds for Artemis is USD 53 billion for fiscal years 2021-2025.
The NSF’s analysis packages help the event and use of robotics in workplaces, hospitals, communities, and houses. The funds requested for 2024 is round USD 70 million. The DoD‘s 2023 funds contains USD 10.3 billion for autonomy and robotics applied sciences.
Additionally, the U.S. not too long ago introduced a three way partnership with OpenAI, Oracle, and SoftBank to put money into AI infrastructure. The organizations dedicated to take a position an preliminary USD 100 billion and as much as USD 500 billion over the following 4 years. While this mission isn’t instantly about funding robotics initiatives, investments in AI may additionally end in progress for robotics.
The IFR’s knowledge present that robotic density within the U.S. hit 295 items in 2024. The nation ranks tenth on this planet. Regarding annual installations of commercial robots, the U.S. is third on this planet.