IFR Launches' World Robotics Research And Development Plan '

On January 12, 2023, the International Federation of Robotics (IFR) launched the latest edition of the World Robotics Research and Development Program in Frankfurt. At present, countries around the world are investing in robotics to support the development of industrial and social sectors. What are the policies of governments in Asia, Europe and the United States? What are the specific goals? IFR has conducted research and analysis on the robot strategies of countries in Asia, Europe and the Americas, and released the 2023 World Robot Research and Development Plan. "The third edition of the World Robotics Development Program tracks the latest progress of the robotics development program, including 2022." Professor Jong-Oh Park, Vice Chairman of the IFR Research Committee and member of the Executive Committee, introduced.

The study found that the fastest growing countries in terms of annual installations, China, Japan, the United States, South Korea and Germany, differ significantly from the robotics strategies implemented by the European Union.

Robot research and development plan released by the government

On December 21, 2021, China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology released the 14th Five-Year Plan for the Development of the robot Industry in Beijing. With a strong emphasis on innovation, the plan aims to propel China to become a global leader in robotics technology and industrial progress. Robotics is one of China's eight key development areas for the next five years. In order to promote technological innovation, the Chinese government released a key research and development plan on April 23, 2022, among which the key project of "intelligent robots" received a support fund of $43.5 million. According to IFR's recently released annual statistical report "Global Robotics Report", China's robot density in manufacturing reached 322 robots per 10,000 workers in 2021, ranking fifth in the world, compared with 140 robots in 2018, ranking 20th in the world.

Japan's New Robotics Strategy aims to make the country the world's number one robotics innovation hub. In 2022, the Japanese government provided more than US $930 million in funding, focusing on manufacturing (US $77.8 million), care and medical care (US $55 million), infrastructure (US $643.2 million) and agriculture (US $66.2 million). Among the projects outlined in the action plan for manufacturing and services are autonomous driving, advanced airborne mobility technology, and core integration technologies for next-generation artificial intelligence and robotics. Robot-related projects have received $440 million from the Japanese government for the 2020 to 2025 "Moonshot Research and Development Program." According to the IFR Global Robotics Report, Japan is the world's number one industrial robot manufacturer, producing 45% of the world's robots in 2021.

The Third Edition of the Intelligent Robot Development Plan issued by the South Korean government aims to promote the development of robots in the fourth industrial revolution and make it a core industry. The government is investing $172.2 million in the 2022 Smart Robotics Initiative and $7.41 million in 2022-2024 for the Dedicated Manned or Unmanned Full-Size Test Platform Project. According to the Global Robotics Report, South Korea's industrial robot density reached a record 1,000 units in 2021, marking the country with the highest robot density in the world.

Horizon Europe is the European Union's key research and innovation framework programme, with funding of $94.3 billion in 2021-2027. Its key objectives include strengthening the EU's research base, strengthening Europe's innovation capacity, competitiveness and employment, as well as a livelihood focus and sustainable socio-economic development model and values. The European Commission is providing $198.5 million in funding for robot-related projects in 2021-22.

High-tech Strategy 2025 (HTS) is the fourth edition of the German government's R&D and innovation plan. The government will provide $69 million annually for a total investment of $345 million by 2026. At the same time, the "Shaping Technology for the People" initiative was rolled out as part of the HTS 2025 mission. The programme aims to harness technological change across society and industry for the benefit of the people. Research topics include: digital assistance systems such as data goggles, human-computer collaboration, exoskeletons to assist manual workers, as well as flexible solutions for workflows and solutions to support mobile operations. According to IFR's Global Robotics Report, Germany is Europe's largest robot market and ranks fourth in the world in robot density, with 397 robots per 10,000 workers.

The National Robotics Initiative (NRI) released by the United States is a government-supported basic robotics research and development program. In February 2021, the United States launched NIR3.0, which builds on the original NRI and focuses on the development of robotics integration systems. In 2021, the U.S. government invested $14 million in NRI3.0 to encourage collaboration among academics, industry, government, non-profit organizations, and others. NASA's "Moon to Mars" program emphasizes long-term residency facilities near and on the moon. The goal of these scientific and technological development projects is to significantly improve the performance of robots to cooperate with humans in deep space exploration and scientific missions. The US government also plans to provide $35bn in funding for the Artemis moon mission between 2020 and 2024. According to the Global Robotics Report, robot density in the United States increased from 255 in 2020 to 274 in 2021, ranking ninth in the world. In the same year, the United States ranked third in the world in the number of industrial robots installed annually.