The automotive industry has the largest number of robots working in factories around the world, a new report from the International Federation of Robotics has found.
The World Robotics 2021 Industrial Robots report from the International Federation of Robotics (IFR) shows a record of about 23,000 industrial robots operating in factories of the UK – an increase of 6%.
Almost 4 million industrial robots are expected to work in factories worldwide by 2022. These robots will play a vital role in automating production to speed up the post-Covid economy.
Companies around the world are increasing their use of industrial robots. In the five years until 2018, the global operational stock of automation systems rose by about 65% to 2.4 million units.
The new World Robotics Report shows that a new record high of 381,000 robotic units were shipped globally in 2017 – an increase of 30% compared to the previous year.
Global sales of industrial robots reached the new record of 380,550 units in 2017. That is an increase of 29% compared to the previous year (2016: 294,300 units).