Robotics - global perspectives, the most promising companies and projects. Manufacturers of industrial robots Country leading manufacturer of industrial robotics

These devices are especially in demand today in the national economy. An industrial robot that bears little resemblance to its prototype in K. Chapek's book "Rise of the Robots" does not at all feed revolutionary ideas. On the contrary, he conscientiously performs, and with great accuracy, both the main ones (assembly, welding, painting) and auxiliary ones (loading and unloading, fixing the product during manufacture, moving).

The use of such "smart" machines contributes to the effective solution of three major production problems:

• - increase of labor productivity;
• - improving the working conditions of people;
• - optimizing the use of human resources.

Industrial robots are the brainchild of large-scale production

Robots in production massively spread at the end of the 20th century due to significant growth. Large series of products led to the need for the intensity and quality of such work, the performance of which exceeds the objective human capabilities. Instead of employing many thousands of skilled workers, today's technologically advanced factories have numerous highly efficient automatic lines operating in intermittent or continuous cycles.

The leaders in the development of such technologies, declaring the widespread use of industrial robots, are Japan, the USA, Germany, Sweden and Switzerland. Modern industrial robots manufactured in the above countries are divided into two large groups. Their types are determined by belonging to two fundamentally different methods of management:

• - automatic manipulators;
• - Devices remotely controlled by a person.

What are they used for?

They began to talk about the need for their creation at the beginning of the 20th century. However, at that time there was no element base for the implementation of the plan. Today, following the dictates of the times, robots are used in most of the most technologically advanced industries.

Unfortunately, the re-equipment of entire industries with such “smart” machines is hampered by a lack of investment. Although the benefits of using them clearly exceed the initial monetary costs, because they allow us to talk not only and not so much about automation, but about profound changes in the sphere of production and labor.

The use of industrial robots has made it possible to more effectively perform work that is too laborious and accurate for a person: loading / unloading, stacking, sorting, orientation of parts; moving workpieces from one robot to another, and finished products to a warehouse; spot welding and seam welding; assembly of mechanical and electronic parts; cable laying; cutting blanks along a complex contour.

Manipulator as a component of an industrial robot

Functionally, such a “smart” machine consists of a reprogrammable ACS (automatic control system) and a working fluid (travel system and a mechanical manipulator). If the ACS is usually quite compact, visually hidden and does not immediately catch the eye, then the working body has such a characteristic appearance that an industrial robot is often called as follows: “robot-manipulator”.

By definition, a manipulator is a device that moves work surfaces and objects of labor in space. These devices consist of two types of links. The first provide a progressive movement. The second is angular displacement. Such standard links use either pneumatic or hydraulic (more powerful) drive for their movement.

The manipulator, created by analogy with the human hand, is equipped with a technological gripping device for working with parts. In various devices of this type, the direct grip was most often carried out by mechanical fingers. When working with flat surfaces, objects were captured using mechanical suction cups.

If the manipulator had to work simultaneously with many workpieces of the same type, then the capture was carried out thanks to a special extensive design.

Instead of a gripping device, the manipulator is often equipped with mobile welding equipment, a special technological spray gun, or just a screwdriver.

How the robot moves

Automata-robots usually adapt to two types of movement in space (although some of them can be called stationary). It depends on the conditions of a particular production. If it is necessary to ensure movement on a smooth surface, then it is implemented using a directional monorail. If it is required to work at different levels, "walking" systems with pneumatic suction cups are used. A moving robot is perfectly oriented both in spatial and angular coordinates. Modern positioning devices of such devices are unified, they consist of technological blocks and allow for high-precision movement of workpieces weighing from 250 to 4000 kg.

Design

The use of the automated machines under consideration specifically in multidisciplinary industries led to a certain unification of their main constituent blocks. Modern industrial robotic manipulators have in their design:

• - a frame used for attaching a part-gripping device (grab), - a kind of "hand" that actually performs the processing;
• - a grab with a guide (the latter determines the position of the "hand" in space);
• - support devices that drive, convert and transmit energy in the form of torque on the axis (thanks to them, the industrial robot receives the potential for movement);
• - a system for monitoring and managing the implementation of the programs assigned to it; acceptance of new programs; analysis of information coming from sensors, and, accordingly, its transfer to providing devices;
• - a system for positioning the working part, measuring positions and movements along the axes of manipulation.

The dawn of industrial robots

Let's go back to the recent past and remember how the history of the creation of industrial automatic machines began. The first robots appeared in the USA in 1962, and they were produced by Union Incorporated and Versatran. Although, to be precise, they still released the Unimate industrial robot, created by the American engineer D. Devol, who patented his own self-propelled guns, programmed using punched cards. This was an obvious technical breakthrough: "smart" machines memorized the coordinates of the points of their route and performed the work according to the program.

Unimate's first industrial robot was equipped with a two-finger pneumatic gripper and a five-degree-of-freedom hydraulic arm. Its characteristics made it possible to move a 12-kilogram part with an accuracy of 1.25 mm.

Another robotic arm, Versatran, by the company of the same name, loaded and unloaded 1,200 bricks per hour into a kiln. He successfully replaced the work of people in an environment harmful to their health with a high temperature. The idea of ​​its creation turned out to be very successful, and the design was so reliable that some machines of this brand continue to work in our time. And this despite the fact that their resource exceeded hundreds of thousands of hours.

Note that the construction of industrial robots of the first generation in terms of value assumed 75% of mechanics and 25% of electronics. The readjustment of such devices required time and caused equipment downtime. To re-profil them in order to perform new work, the control program was replaced.

The second generation of robotic machines

It soon became clear that despite all the advantages, the machines of the first generation turned out to be imperfect ... The second generation assumed more subtle control of industrial robots - adaptive. The very first devices required ordering the environment in which they worked. The latter circumstance often meant high additional costs. This became critical for the development of mass production.

A new stage of progress was characterized by the development of many sensors. With their help, the robot received a quality called "feeling". He began to receive information about the external environment and, in accordance with it, choose the best course of action. For example, he acquired skills that allow him to take a part and bypass an obstacle with it. This action occurs due to the microprocessor processing of the received information, which further, entered into the variables of the control programs, is actually guided by the robots.

The types of basic production operations (welding, painting, assembly, various kinds are also subject to adaptation. That is, when performing each of them, multivariance is initiated to improve the quality of any type of the above work.

Management of industrial manipulators is mainly carried out by software. The hardware for the control function is an industrial mini-computer PC/104 or MicroPC. Note that adaptive control is based on multivariant software. Moreover, the decision on the choice of the type of program operation is made by the robot based on information about the environment described by the detectors.

A characteristic feature of the functioning of the second generation robot is the preliminary presence of established modes of operation, each of which is activated at certain indicators obtained from the external environment.

Third generation of robots

Automata-robots of the third generation are able to independently generate a program of their actions, depending on the task and the circumstances of the external environment. They do not have "cheat sheets", i.e., painted technological actions for certain variants of the external environment. They have the ability to independently optimally build the algorithm of their work, as well as quickly implement it in practice. The cost of the electronics of such an industrial robot is ten times higher than its mechanical part.

The newest robot, capturing a part thanks to sensors, “knows” how well it did it. In addition, the gripping force itself (force feedback) is regulated depending on the fragility of the material of the part. Perhaps that is why the device of industrial robots of the new generation is called intelligent.

As you understand, the “brain” of such a device is its control system. The most promising is the regulation carried out according to the methods of artificial intelligence.

The intelligence of these machines is given by packages of programmable logic controllers, modeling tools. In production, industrial robots are networked, providing the proper level of interaction between the "man - machine" system. Also, tools have been developed for predicting the functioning of such devices in the future thanks to the implemented software simulation, which allows you to choose the best options for action and network connection configurations.

Leading global robot companies

Today, the use of industrial robots is provided by leading companies, including Japanese (Fanuc, Kawasaki, Motoman, OTC Daihen, Panasonic), American (KC Robots, Triton Manufacturing, Kaman Corporation), German (Kuka).

What are these companies known in the world? Fanuc has the fastest delta robot M-1iA to date (such machines are usually used for packaging), the strongest of the serial robots - M-2000iA, the world-famous ArcMate welding robots.

No less in demand are industrial robots in production, released by Kuka. These machines carry out processing, welding, assembly, packaging, palletizing, loading with German precision.

The model range of the Japanese-American company Motoman (Yaskawa), which operates on the American market, is also impressive: 175 models of industrial robots, as well as more than 40 integrated solutions. The industrial robots used in manufacturing in the US are mostly manufactured by this industry-leading company.

Most of the other firms we represent fill their niche by manufacturing a narrower range of specialized instruments. For example, Daihen and Panasonic produce welding robots.

Ways of organizing automated production

If we talk about the organization of automated production, then at first a rigid linear principle was implemented. However, at a sufficiently high speed, it has a significant drawback - downtime due to failures. As an alternative, rotary technology was invented. With such an organization of production, both the workpiece and the automated line itself (robots) move in a circle. Machines in this case can duplicate functions, and failures are practically excluded. However, in this case, speed is lost. The ideal process organization is a hybrid of the above two. It is called a rotary conveyor.

Industrial robot as an element of flexible automatic production

Modern "smart" devices are quickly reconfigured, highly productive and independently perform work using their equipment, processing materials and workpieces. Depending on the specifics of use, they can function both within the framework of one program, and by varying their work, i.e., choosing the right one from a fixed number of provided programs.

An industrial robot is a constituent element of flexible automated production (the generally accepted abbreviation is GAP). The latter also includes:

• - a system that implements computer-aided design;
• - a complex of automated control of technological equipment of production;
• - industrial robotic manipulators;
• -automatically working industrial transport;
• -devices for loading / unloading and placement;
• - control systems over industrial technological processes;
• - automatic production control.

More about the practice of using robots

The real industrial applications are modern robots. Their types are different, and they provide high productivity in strategically important areas of industry. In particular, the modern German economy owes much of its growing potential to their application. In what industries do these "iron workers" work? In metalworking, they function in almost all processes: casting, welding, forging, providing the highest level of work quality.

Casting as an industry with extreme conditions for human labor (meaning high temperatures and pollution) is largely robotic. Machines from Kuka are mounted even in foundries.

The food industry also received equipment for production purposes from Kuka. "Food robots" (photos are presented in the article) for the most part replace people in areas with special conditions. Machines that provide a microclimate in heated rooms with a temperature not exceeding 30 degrees Celsius are common in production. Stainless steel robots masterfully process meat, participate in the production of dairy products, and, of course, stack and pack products in an optimal way.

It is difficult to overestimate the contribution of such devices to the automotive industry. According to experts, the most powerful and productive machines today are precisely “Cook” robots. Photos of such devices that carry out the entire range of auto assembly operations are impressive. At the same time, it is really time to talk about automated production.

The processing of plastics, the production of plastic, the manufacture of the most complex parts from a variety of materials are provided by robots in production in a polluted environment that is really harmful to human health.

Another most important area of ​​application of "Cook" units is woodworking. Moreover, the described devices provide both the fulfillment of individual orders and the establishment of large-scale mass production at all stages - from primary processing and sawing to milling, drilling, grinding.

Prices

Currently, the robots produced by Kuka and Fanuc are in demand on the market of Russia and the CIS countries. Their prices range from 25,000 to 800,000 rubles. Such an impressive difference is explained by the existence of various models: standard low-capacity (5-15 kg), special (solving special tasks), specialized (working in a non-standard environment), high-capacity (up to 4000 tons).

conclusions

It should be recognized that the potential of using industrial robots is still not fully exploited. At the same time, thanks to the efforts of specialists, modern technologies make it possible to implement ever more daring ideas.

The need to increase the productivity of the world economy and maximizing the share of intellectual human labor serve as powerful incentives for the development of more and more new types and modifications of industrial robots.

The density of robotization in Russia is almost 70 times lower than the world average, the National Association of Robotics Market Participants (NAURR) found out. If in the world there were on average 69 industrial robots per 10,000 workers in 2015, then in Russia there is only one, according to the NAURR study (see chart). The leader of the ranking is South Korea, where there were 531 industrial robots per 10,000 industrial workers, Singapore (398) and Japan (305). An industrial robot is a programmed manipulator, explains NAURR President Vitaly Nedelsky.

The average annual sales of industrial robots in Russia are 500-600 units (550 were sold in 2015), which is about 0.25% of the global market, according to the NAURR study. By the beginning of 2016, a total of about 8,000 industrial robots were operating in Russia, while there are about 1.6 million of them in the world, follows from the document. The world leader in the number of industrial robots purchased in 2015 is China, whose enterprises purchased 69,000 devices, enterprises of South Korea purchased 38,300, Japan - 35,000. They are followed by the USA and Germany, which purchased 27,000 and 20,105 last year, respectively. robots.

Low demand in Russia is explained by the poor awareness of the technical management of enterprises about the capabilities of robots and the inertia of their thinking, Nedelsky is sure. After all, the purchase of a robot always results in the replacement of workers and updating the technological process. And the fact that most of the large industrial enterprises, which are usually the main consumers of robots, is in state hands, only increases inertia, continues Nedelsky.

There are few technologically advanced industrial enterprises in Russia, explains the low demand, the head of the Skolkovo robotic center, Albert Efimov. At the same time, robots appear at the enterprise almost last, when it has already solved all the problems with energy-saving production, organized labor, he continues. In addition, in Russia, a robot is much more expensive than labor, Efimov believes.

The robot solves a lot of personnel problems of the enterprise, Nedelsky is sure. He is able to work in three shifts, he can turn off the light and stop heating the room. Now the old workers are leaving, but the young ones are not coming in their place, and in the wake of the upcoming shortage of personnel in the industry, the management of enterprises is beginning to show interest in robots, says Nedelsky.

A few years ago, the Agency for Strategic Initiatives (ASI) announced that it would develop a robotization program for the economy, recalls Olga Uskova, President of Cognitive Technologies. However, neither the ASI, nor the Ministry of Industry and Trade or the Ministry of Economics got the program. ASI is not prepared for such work, she believes: since the agency deals with strategic issues, it has a rather complicated and lengthy decision-making procedure, and the issue of robotization of the Russian economy has already gone from the category of strategic and moved to a tactical level, Uskova believes. According to her, this issue should be returned to the sphere of responsibility of the ministries.

According to the NAURR, in the world, robots are mostly employed in the automotive industry (38%), the production of electrical and electronics (25%) and mechanical engineering (12%). In Russia, 40% of robots are also used to create cars.

« Kamaz“Since the beginning of 2015, I have bought 26 robots and brought their total number at the enterprise to a hundred,” says plant representative Oleg Afanasiev. And by 2019, Kamaz will buy another 578 units, he promises. They are needed for the release of the new Kamaz lineup, says Afanasiev.

More than 600 robots are now working at the Gorky Automobile Plant of the GAZ group, engaged in stamping, welding, painting and casting, a representative of the enterprise said. 100 of them were purchased in the last two years. At the same time, the economic feasibility of using robots is not the only criterion, he points out, sometimes only a robot can act with the required accuracy and quality, a GAZ representative explains.

From 2005 to 2015, sales of industrial robots in Russia grew annually by 27%, but since 2016, the average sales growth should grow to 50%, NAURR believes. The association attributes the acceleration of growth to the attention from the state, the modernization of the industrial processes of large enterprises and the increased awareness of the technical leaders of companies. There is no own production of industrial robots in Russia, the NAURR report says, but there are four Russian companies engaged in the development of such production. According to Efimov, in 2017 such a development should appear in Skolkovo.

With service robots serving a person in medicine, education, etc., things are much better in Russia, Efimov says. He explains this by the fact that the Russian economy is much closer to the service model than to the industrial one. In addition, service robots are much more demanding on software than industrial robots that perform a limited set of actions. And in Russia they know how to write software, he notes.

Russia in terms of the pace of robotization is noticeably behind other countries and behind the “world average” indicators. Most industrial robots we have to buy abroad, and this process is slow. But there is hope: Russia's own production facilities are appearing, and the numbers of robotization are growing.

"Robohunter" is already an overview of the top companies producing industrial robots. Now we have prepared for you an overview of Russian manufacturers.

Industrial robots in Russia and in the world: statistics

Average annual sales in Russia are 600 pieces; on average in the world - 240,000. In Russia for 2017, there were 8,000 such robots; in the world - 1.6 million.

Density in Russia is 70 times less than the world average. And here is what the density of robotization looks like, taking into account the spread across countries (the data are indicated by the number of robots per 10,000 employees of enterprises):

Most Russian industrial robots - about 40% - are employed in the automotive industry. This generally corresponds to the situation in the world, where 38% of robots are employed.

About how our country is moving towards robotization and why its pace is not as fast as we would like, in a recent interview, he told Vitaly Nedelsky, President of the National Association of Robotics Market Participants (NAURR). According to him, Russia buys few industrial robots and does not have their own production. They are poorly demanded in the domestic industry, and there are a number of reasons for this:

Poor awareness of technical management.

Difficulties in the transition (the need to rebuild work processes).

Some of the large enterprises are in state hands, which gives them great inertia.

There are few technically advanced industrial enterprises in Russia.

Low labor cost, making the robot less cost-effective.

Of course, sooner or later Russia, Vitaly is convinced. There are economic reasons for this: labor becomes more expensive; robotic technology is cheaper, and young people are leaving the industrial sector. The dynamics are already visible: from 2005 to 2015, sales of industrial robots in Russia grew by an average of 27% annually. State support can become a powerful driver for the growth of robotization.

“Many countries have large-scale programs to support robotics as an industry - in China, France, the USA, Germany, South Korea,” says Vitaly Nedelsky. - These are grants, and investments, and tax incentives, and training, and incubators-technoparks. We haven't come to that yet. But in 2018-2019, support programs will begin to appear. For example, the Ministry of Industry and Trade has developed the “Development of means of production” program, which includes additive technologies, digital engineering, and robotics.”

According to Vitaly Nedelsky, in Russia today the emphasis is on service robotics (these are robots without a manipulator - such as robotic carts or smart agricultural machines). There are about 50 such startups in Skolkovo alone. In total, there are 220 companies in Russia engaged in the field of robotics, but for the most part they are integrators and component manufacturers.

Robotic cart RoboCV X-MOTION NG of the Russian company RoboCV

Production of industrial robots in Russia

Kazan: ARKODIM

Trading House ARKODIM LLC has two production bases located in Kazan and Novosibirsk. The company has been producing industrial robots since 2014 (it was then, after market research, that the first production plans appeared). The first prototype of a robotic arm appeared in 2015, and since 2016 the company has been supplying industrial robots to customers' factories.

This is a series of industrial robots - console-type manipulators with three, five and seven axes. The company produces models with different dimensions, different accuracy classes and with different speeds of movement. They have a wide range of loads (from 2 to 60 kg) and a lot of functionality. The developer produces not only standard models, but also individual ones, according to the customer's specifications. Popular modifications of ARKODIM are a welding robot, a manipulator for an injection molding machine, a palletizer. Read more about the company's products in Artyom Barakhtin, Deputy Head of ARKODIM.

Novosibirsk: AvangardPLAST

A partner of the ARKODIM company and a manufacturer of robotic arms under its own brand GRINIK. AvangardPLAST group of companies develops, manufactures and implements industrial robots. The company cites ease of operation and fast parameter setting as key advantages of its products.

The company produces robotic manipulators for working with injection molding machines (injection molding machines, or injection molding machines, with different maximum loads and different axial strokes).

GRINIK robotic manipulators are mass-produced, but individual models are designed according to the customer's order.

Moscow: BIT Robotics

BIT Robotics is a developer of robotic equipment that conducts its own research in various areas of robotics, including servo systems and technical vision. Most of the engineers came to the company from the space and aviation industries.

BIT Robotics is the creator of the first Russian industrial delta robot. This is a structure of three levers attached by means of cardan joints to the base, which is located above the working area. Such robots are widely used in the food, pharmaceutical and packaging industries; they develop high speed, due to which the profitability of production increases markedly.

Today BIT Robotics is the only developer and manufacturer of high performance delta robots in Russia. The speed of the BIT Robotics robot is up to 5 m/s, normal acceleration is up to 50 m/s2, maximum acceleration is up to 150 m/s2.

Ekaterinburg, "Record-Engineering"

The company designs and manufactures industrial manipulators, load-handling and lifting devices. The company also deals with less complex equipment: it produces conveyors, washing stations, and also develops non-standard industrial equipment to order. Record-Engineering entered the market in 2007.

According to company representatives, it produces analogues of popular foreign industrial manipulators, including robotic ones. They are not inferior to prototypes in quality and at the same time more profitable in price.

"Record-Engineering" manufactures several types of manipulators: column, pantograph, cantilever and for heavy products. Manipulators from "Record-Engineering" have a different load capacity and configuration, since each of them is designed for specific items to be moved.

Kazan: Eidos Robotics

Eidos Robotics (Eidos-Robotics) is a resident of the Skolkovo Innovation Center and a member of the Kama Innovative Territorial Production Cluster of the Republic of Tatarstan. The company was founded in 2012 and is focused on developments in the field of computer vision, adaptive robot control and collaborative robotics.

Industrial robots from Eidos Robotics are the Hexapod series of manipulators. They have six degrees of freedom, do not require special preparation of the base and can be used to solve a wide range of problems. Compatible with computer vision. The electric drive elements of the robot are located in the upper part and are easily insulated.

Hexapod robots can be used for a wide range of tasks. Including - in work with changing parts and for manipulations with explosive substances.

Tolyatti: Volzhsky Machine-Building Plant

The Volzhsky Machine-Building Plant enterprise (formerly Production of technological equipment and tooling of AVTOVAZ OJSC) produced industrial robots until 2016. The direction was liquidated due to low profitability. But over the years of its existence, the company has become the most famous Russian manufacturer of industrial robots, and its products are still used in Russian enterprises.

Among the developments of the Volga Machine-Building Plant are several models of universal industrial robots with an angular coordinate system and six degrees of freedom.

PR 125/150/200. Possible applications: contact, arc, laser welding, application of adhesives and sealants, storage and transportation of goods, laser and plasma cutting.

PR 350. It is used for contact welding, storage and transportation of goods.

TUR 150. It is used for contact, arc and laser welding, application of adhesives and sealants, storage and transportation of goods, laser and plasma cutting. It is possible to perform various operations with a changeable tool in automatic mode.

The International Federation of Robotics (IFR) annually monitors the level of industrial robotization in different countries. So in 2016, there were an average of 74 industrial robots per 10 thousand employees, while in 2015 - 66. The organization published data on the number of industrial robots in the global manufacturing industry in 2016.

The International Federation of Robotics presented a list of the most robotic countries in the world

South Korea leads the way with 631 robots per 10,000 workers. Most of the machines are installed at the enterprises of the automotive and electrical industries.

Photo: Medium. Number of installed industrial robots per 10,000 workers in the manufacturing industry in 2016. South Korea - 631, Singapore - 488, Germany - 309, Japan - 303, Sweden - 223, Denmark - 211, USA - 180, Italy - 185, Belgium - 184, Taiwan - 177, Spain - 160, Netherlands - 163, Channel - 145, Austria - 144, Finland - 138, Slovenia - 137, Slovakia - 135, France - 132, Switzerland - 128, Czech Republic - 101, Australia - 83. On average, 74 industrial robots are involved in enterprises around the world.

Following South Korea is Singapore - 488 robots are installed in factories for 10 thousand people. About 90% of machines are involved in the electrical industry.

Germany is the most automated country in Europe. In the world, it ranks third in terms of the number of industrial robots. 309 robots work for 10 thousand people in production. According to the International Federation of Robotics, in 2016, 41% of robot sales in Europe came from Germany, and shipments are expected to grow by 5% by 2020.

In many other European countries, many more robots are involved in production than the world average. In Sweden, 223 machines are installed at factories, in Denmark - 211, in Italy - 185, and Belgium - 184.

The UK is the only G7 country where the industrial sector is not very popular. There were 71 robots per 10,000 people in 2016. The International Federation of Robotics says the UK industry needs investment to modernize and increase productivity. “This is evidenced by the low density of robots in factories,” they say.

Photo: Medium. Number of installed industrial robots per 10,000 workers in the manufacturing industry in 2016. UK - 71, China - 68, Portugal - 58, Hungary - 57, Norway - 51, New Zealand - 49, Thailand - 45, Malaysia - 34, Poland - 32, Mexico - 31, Israel - 31, South Africa - 28, Turkey - 23, Argentina - 18, Greece - 17, Romania - 15, Estonia - 11, Brazil - 10, Croatia - 6, Indonesia - 5, Russia - 3, Philippines - 3, India -3.

In Eastern Europe, including Slovenia (137 machines) and Slovakia (135 machines), the number of industrial robots is only increasing. In the Czech Republic, plant owners are increasingly turning to technology. Linet CEO Zbinek Frolik said robots are doing most of the work in production as the company can't hire enough workers.

“We are trying to replace people with machines wherever possible,” he says.

What's more, international consulting firm McKinsey predicts that around ⅕ of the world's workforce - or 800 million workers - could lose their jobs due to automation. However, it is too early to worry about this: these are just speculations. It is far from certain that the number of robotic workers will increase dramatically in the coming years.

North America

The level of robotization in manufacturing in the United States increased from 176 robots in 2015 to 189 robots in 2016. The main growth factors were the trend towards manufacturing automation in order to strengthen American industries in the global market and the “Made in the USA” policy.

Mexico has 33 robots per 10,000 workers. And this is despite the fact that the country is the center of production and mainly exports its product to the United States.

Photo: Medium. Orders for industrial robots in North America increased this quarter as they fell in price. The first graph is units, the second is cost, and the third is cost per unit.

The domestic robotics market can currently be called a free niche. The production of industrial robots in Russia is still very far from the level where supply will exceed demand. Many industrial companies enter into agreements with foreign companies, wanting to get a higher percentage of profits and increase market share through the modernization of production. The absence of state programs for the reorientation of domestic business to the domestic market significantly complicates and slows down the development of innovative production areas. But even in such a situation, worthy players of the Russian robotics market appear. Ucan is one of the leading manufacturers of commercial robotic units. The company's arsenal includes a number of modern solutions and a large staff of qualified software engineers. The combination of all factors indicates the high potential of the brand and its prospects.

How profitable is the production of robots in Russia

• application area;
• location method;
• management principle;
• appearance;
• degree of autonomy.

• miniature (insect-sized) models with a radio module and sensors;
• large-scale complexes with several manipulators and a single control center;
• devices resembling familiar cars, planes or ships;
• stand-alone compact complexes (terminals, photo booths, etc.);
• anthropomorphic mobile or stationary systems.

What functions can Russian-made robots perform?

• assembly and installation of industrial components and parts (welding, stamping, riveting, sorting, etc.);
• tracking and alerting;
• maintenance of generating and processing complexes;
• advising clients, providing background information and analytical activities;
• conduct of hostilities;
• providing two-way communication using audiovisual and tactile nodes.