Budget will have a positive impact on robotics industry: Pradeep David

Investment in electronics sector will trigger an inspection & assembly related market for robots

Pradeep David, country head, Universal Robots, India

Last Updated : Feb 03 2017 | 12:27 PM IST

With efforts on to make India an electronics manufacturing hub, the government announced in the budget that the total investment in the sector has now reached Rs 1,20,000 crore. This announcement will be a powerful growth engine for robotics companies. Investment in the electronics sector is sure to trigger an inspection and assembly related market for robots.

The growth of the global industrial robotics market is driven by many factors, of which the need to reduce manufacturing cost in industries is one of the main drivers. Industrial robotics aids companies in reducing the cost due to product failure and product wastage. An increase in the outsourcing of manufacturing activities to low-cost countries, especially in the APAC region, is another driver.

Many large global firms are outsourcing product development to low-cost destinations to reduce manufacturing costs. Robotics in India has already made significant inroads in electronics assembly in the recent past. Industrial robots are on the verge of revolutionising manufacturing. As they become smarter, faster and cheaper, they are being called upon to do more. They are taking on more ‘human’ capabilities and traits such as sensing, dexterity, memory and trainability. As a result, they’re taking on more jobs - such as picking and packaging, testing or inspecting products, or assembling minute electronics.

As legions of robots and other automation technologies find their ways into production facilities and distribution centers - as well as through supply chains - manufacturers will grapple with an advanced level of participation of human and machine. Indeed, manufacturers could be looking at an awkward period of systemic human-resource change as they introduce robots to more varied manufacturing tasks, and as they call for greater human-machine collaboration. The CAGR of the global collaborative robot market is slated to be in the range of a phenomenal 60 percent over the next 5 years.

A new generation of ‘collaborative’ robots ushers in an era of shepherding robots out of their cages and literally hand-in-hand with human workers who train them through physical demonstration. Especially for small and mid-sized manufacturers, a question is arising sooner than most probably expected: “If prices keep declining and capabilities of robotic technologies keep expanding, is now the time to hire some automated help?” Indeed, many have already answered this question. According a PwC survey of manufacturers, 59 percent of participants (in the survey) were already using some sort of robotics technology.

The union budget 2017 will certainly give a positive impact to robotics companies in India as the government is committed to ensuring conducive labour environment & legislative reform to simplify labor laws.

Apart from the investment the government has announced in electronics, we would have liked to see some incentives for manufacturers in their need to embrace automation and robotics to improve productivity & quality.
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Pradeep David is the country head of Universal Robots, India