On May 11, 2023, WIK hosted a virtual workshop on the "Digitization of robotics applications for industry". More than 50 representatives from politics, supply and demand side, associations, institutions and public authorities discussed the potentials and challenges of robotics applications for use in German industrial companies.
It turned out that the range of applications in the robotics market is expanding as a result of various digital technologies which enable new use cases and a greater flexibility for multi-variant production. In particular by the use of AI, the implementation of innovative robotics applications requires less programming effort and expertise than before. This was demonstrated by various practical examples presented by selected robotics suppliers (FANUC, Coboworx, Robco, Robominds). The discussions showed that for the provision of robotics applications, cooperations between the diverse players - from global players to specialists for hardware and software to system integrators - play an important role. The needs of industrial users were exemplified by the medium-sized company FLUX Geräte GmbH. Several representatives of Mittelstand Digital Centres and other players discussed their views on potentials and existing barriers to use in SMEs.
The workshop participants highlighted that the use of robotics can make an important contribution to addressing the shortage of skilled workers and controlling supply chains. As a supporting measure, comprehensive education and qualification measures are needed. In addition, awareness of the possibilities of robotics still needs to be further raised, user safety concerns have to be taken seriously and need to be overcome. Moreover, interfaces should be more standardized and simplified.
