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FS 2016 – Collaborative Robots
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GM went on to install 66 more Unimates and other automotive manufacturers also became
interested, notably Ford.
Industrial robot arms continued to evolve in the 1960's and 70's. The competition from
companies around the world continued to produce a high demand for industrial robots. This
spurred further research and technical development and items such as the development of
the microprocessor helped to create cost-effective control systems that were still powerful.
In 1967 the Swedish company ASEA developed a robot for a spray painting application, this
is accepted as the first successful story of a business developing a specific robot based on
their needs. The company eventually became ABB who are still one of the leading
manufacturers of robots in the world. This is only one example of when large companies
began to develop their own industrial robots.
Development continued with other robot manufacturers entering the market and by the early
1980s it was said that a new manufacturer was entering the market each month. However
later in the decade there were some setbacks that included some significant malfunctions,
for example in 1988 there was a series of malfunctions at the GM Dodge plant near
Detroit/Michigan that resulted in robots smashing windows and painting one another! This
and other setbacks resulted in a downturn and it wasn’t until the first decade of the 21
st
century that robot supply regained mid 1980 levels. The global downturn in the late 2000’s
was another setback but 2010 saw a huge upturn in demand and according to figures from
the International Federation of Robotics (IFR) 2014 saw a 29% increase in the worldwide
supply of Industrial Robots. Up from 178,000 in 2013 to 229,000 in 2015 (see
Figure 2 IFR 2016 Report - Estimated worldwide supply).
It is estimated that by the end of 2015 more than three million Industrial Robots have been
supplied worldwide. Of course many of the older ones will have been de-commissioned but
the numbers are growing at a significant rate, so much so that IFR estimates that the year
2019 will see 414,000 robots supplied (see
Figure 3 - IFR 2016 Report - Estimated yearly shipments).
Figure 2 IFR 2016 Report - Estimated worldwide supply