Henry Ford installed the first moving assembly line used in the production of the automobile in 1913. Back then, this top-of-the-line innovation reduced the time it took to build a car from 12 hours down to 1 hour and 33 minutes. Now, in 2020, the Ford factory floor is covered in gigantic robotic arms constantly assembling cars non-stop. There are now 16 Fords built every 60 seconds around the world.

Since the industrial revolution, factories have been finding more and more ways to make product output more and more efficient. As a result of this need for efficiency, automation through machinery has been a major priority for most industries. Today, industrial robotics are in incredibly high demand, and the automotive industry is no exception. The first graph above shows the global sales value of industrial robotics from 2017 to 2021 (projected), grouped by the industries in which they are applied. It shows that the two most prominent industries for industrial robotics are the electronics and automotive industries, with automotive robotics projected to reach $6.09 billion in sales in 2021. This demonstrates the substantiality of the automotive robotics market and how high in demand for these robots really are.

Figure 1: Automotive Robotics Market (Accessible in PDF Version) 

The above graph illustrates the sales value of industrial robotics in the automotive industry, grouped by country. This graph better specifies the market value of the automotive robotics industry and the geographical distribution of the application of these types of robotics.

Figure 2:  Synopsis (Accessible in PDF Version) 

These three applications have very large markets, with robotic vision reaching $8.44 billion, welding reaching $5.4 billion, and collaborative robots reaching $649.1 million all in 2018. These are admittedly very impressive numbers, but what do these robots actually do?

Robotic vision is a special type of application that, as the name suggests, allows robots to visually perceive tasks that they are completing. A robotic arm with this capability is able to carry out assembly much more efficiently and independently because a laser camera on the apparatus allows it to install parts with precision accuracy on its own. This has the potential to increase productivity and efficiency of assembly by an enormous amount.

Welding robots are much more varied in size, but all carry a similar objective: welding parts together. Much larger welding robots with higher payload capabilities handle spot welding on heavier parts, while smaller welding bots handle much lighter ones. These bots are also very precise and can consistently perform the same welding task again and again with the same level of precision every time.

Figure 3: Robotics Market Distribution (Accessible in PDF Version) 

Above is a graph showing the global robotics market distribution in 2016, grouped by how robots were used. This graph shows that welding was part of the highest market shares in 2016 for robotics use, demonstrating how necessary said robots are in factories.

Collaborative robots (often shortened as “Cobots”), while they don’t hold as high a position in the market as the previous two, are just as important if not more. Cobots are designed with the purpose of direct interaction with humans. These robots aren’t often used in industrial settings because those settings often isolate humans from robots. However, they have tremendous potential for implementation, and plenty of companies are giving this implementation a chance. For example, Audi, one of the largest car manufacturing brands in the world, uses cobot systems to help monitor the car assembly process. These robots have evaluation methods that allow for much cleaner data collection that can be used to improve the manufacturing process. The use of cobots in the automotive industry could even solve the problem of human job elimination, due to the fact that humans can work alongside them in the factories.

The Costs: The price of new robots is substantially high, with the base robot costing around $50,000 to $80,000 each, and anywhere between $100,000 and $150,000 with necessary configurations made. However, costs are supposedly going down and are projected to go further down as they become easier to produce.

Figure 4: Cost of Spot-Welding Robot (Accessible in PDF Version) 

Above is a graph showing the trend of the cost of a spot-welding robot for the automotive industry starting in 2005. These costs are projected to go downward and reach $103,000 in 2025.

The Benefits: The first most significant benefit of industrial robotics is the elevation of manual labor jobs. With the introduction of robotics to a factory, the factory workers who would be completing repetitive assembly line tasks are upgraded to robotics operators. This new position requires a higher-level skill set and usually pays much more. A greater focus is put on making factory workers more important and less expendable.

The second most significant benefit is increased productivity and efficiency. The Ford example in the introduction is excellent evidence of this. Industrial robots can complete a repetitive task over and over non-stop for 24 hours straight. Additionally, robots complete these tasks faster than humans can. A substantial amount of work and time is saved with several robots completing different repetitive tasks at a similar level.

Other Major Benefits Include:

• Increased product quality: human error virtually eliminated and consistency skyrockets.
• Increased cost savings: Manufacturing costs go down by 20-60% because production time is cut significantly, and operating costs go down because human labor is reallocated.
• A safer workplace: robots eliminate tasks that are of high risk to human employees. Such tasks include lifting overbearing weight, as well as working with blades, lasers, fire, or gases, among others.
• Increased customer satisfaction: A wider variety of possible products combined with shorter production times means customers are more likely to be happier with production outputs.

Enhanced data analytics: robots are often equipped with technology that allows them to track detailed production data in a way that humans are unable to. Data like this creates brand new opportunities for process improvement.

Overall, the benefits of robotics in the industrial world have proven time and time again to far outweigh the costs. Robotics are the way of the future, and the future doesn’t wait for anyone.