Is the UK in danger of squandering the promise of robotics?

The UK is failing to exploit the full potential of robotics – and will pay the price as we battle for our place in the world post-Brexit as a result.

That’s the view from a practitioner in the industry, Chris Johnson, Managing Director of a UK specialist bearings distributor, SMB Bearings, who has just posted a strong opinion piece on Engineerlive.com.

The United Kingdom is falling behind in the robotics manufacturing market, Johnson claims, below the global average of utilisation at 71 robots per 10,000 employees in the manufacturing sector compared with 300 in Germany and almost 200 per every 10,000 employees in the manufacturing sector in Sweden.

“As the ninth-largest manufacturing nation in the world, Britain’s manufacturing sector accounts for 11 per cent of GDP and 45% of exports,” he states.

“To remain competitive in the global market, [British] manufacturers should begin to consider making larger investments in industrial robotics.”

On the plus side, this UK SME head states, “There’s no doubt that British manufacturers understand the benefits of using robotics in their facilities — just a quick Internet search will deliver a plethora of positive data on the increased efficiency, productivity and financial delivered by industrial automation. Britain is investing in robotics in its manufacturing industry.”

But, he frets, we’re just not a player when it comes to the design, development and manufacturing of sought-after robotics technology: “Why aren’t British machine builders competing in this potentially lucrative area of advanced manufacturing and machine building?”

Of the 50 largest global robotics companies in 2016, Japan is home to nine of the manufacturers on the list, and the country is so well known for its robotics manufacturing that it’s now known as the ‘kingpin of world robotics’, for example.

“Britain is undoubtedly slacking in the world of robotics, not just in embracing the technology, but engaging in the race to develop this game-changing automation.

“Looking to the future, manufacturers, academics and the future generation of Britain’s engineers must take steps to begin chipping away at this already dominated market — if not, the country risks being left behind,” he concludes.

However, as part of the Government’s Digital Strategy, funding of £17.3m worth of research on Artificial Intelligence (AI) and robotics is to be carried out by British universities, and Johnson cites a 2015 study by Barclays which suggested an increased investment of £1.24billion could raise the overall value of manufacturing to the UK economy to a colossal £60.5bn in less than decade.

The upcoming (September 15th) THINK AI for Public Sector 2017 will feature a number of speakers who are expected to cover the issue of how best the UK should respond to the kinds of opportunities Johnson’s piece refers to.

Make sure you have your place to hear what experts and practitioners have to say about the issues his piece raises by going here – and remember, that’s a FREE ENTRY if you are a public sector professional.