The IFR, the International Federation of Robotics has published their World Robotics Report 2020. The report gives an overview of the use of robots in different industries, applications, and regions.
A total of 2,7 million robots are deployed in factories and warehouses worldwide. 1,7 million in Asia, 580,000 in Europe, and 389,000 in the Americas.
Automotive and Electronics are the industries where the highest number of robots are active. And almost half the robots in the field perform material handling duties.
The biggest user of robots is China with 140,500 robots installed in 2019 alone, followed by Japan with 50,000, and the United States with 33,000.
10% of All New Robots Work in Logistics
A total of 2,7 million robots are working in factories and warehouses around the world today. This year alone a total of 270,000 new robots will be deployed in logistics environments.
For more numbers on the use of robotics in logistics and other industries, please see the IFR Report here.
What is interesting to see is the rise in cooperative or collaborative robots, also called co-bots. These machines work together with people to complete tasks.
An example of a co-bot in a warehousing environment is Chuck by 6 River Systems
And we’ve all seen the robots at work at work in many of Amazon’s warehouses.
A robot that can be used to autonomously unload a truck, palletize, or build an order is Boston Dynamics’ Handle.
For a more human-like robot, with some amazing moves, check out Atlas, the world’s most dynamic humanoid robot. Atlas is a research platform. It does give us a peak into the future. I wonder if warehouse robots will move more like humans in the future…
How to Manage All These Robots
In Episode 1 of the LogisticsMatter Podcast “Does Logistics Matter?” I spoke to Manhattan Associates’ Pieter van den Broecke about the increasing number of robots and machines that are active in warehouses. Machines from different manufacturers often moving simultaneously through the warehouse together with their human colleagues.
Pieter explained to me how Manhattan has embedded a Warehouse Execution System in their Warehouse Management System to connect all these different machines and combine them with all the humans working in the warehouse. This way capacity and availability of robots can be planned centrally.
We also spoke about the changing role of warehouse workers and how companies can increase their efficiency and their engagement through gamification on the warehouse floor.
Listen to the full show on Spotify, Google, Apple, Soundcloud, or Stitcher
Are You Robot Ready?
If you want to learn about how you can use a warehouse management system to efficiently coordinate both robots and humans in a single warehouse environment, register for Manhattan Exchange Connect now.
Exchange Connect is a Manhattan Associates online event, which will take place on October 5 and 6.
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The Are You Robot Ready? video is Sponsored Content. The views and opinions expressed in it, are the views and opinions of Manhattan Associates. LogisticsMatter does not endorse nor are we responsible for the content of this video.
