Robotics Australia Group recently released an updated Robotics Roadmap for Australia, which outlines the potential for robotics to enhance Australia’s manufacturing capabilities. Here, Maria Kinsella, CEO of the IEC Group and organiser of the Modern Manufacturing Expo, unpacks the findings.
Robotics Australia was initiated to instil a focused, collaborative approach between industry, research, government, start-ups, investment, and education to build a robust and world-class robotics ecosystem within Australia.
Released in 2022, Robotics Roadmap for Australia aimed to raise the profile of robotics in Australia, and to identify the challenges and opportunities available for robotics in the country.
It included a detailed analysis of the role of robotics in 13 of Australia’s most essential industries, including manufacturing, and the sector-specific challenges and opportunities needed to develop robotic capabilities.
“Reshoring manufacturing has long been a priority for both Australia’s public and private sectors, but high operational costs and an over reliance on overseas imports have proven to be a difficult challenge to overcome,” explained Kinsella.
“Increased adoption of robotic technologies may be what’s needed to compete on a global scale and strengthen our sovereign capabilities, and this will be a prominent topic of discussion at the Modern Manufacturing Expo in September.”
Unfortunately, the report observed that while the manufacturing sector has been quick to embrace the potential of robotics, Australia as a whole lagged behind other developed countries.
According to the Roadmap, not only does Australia not develop its own industrial robotics, but the number of installed industrial robots have declined since 2014 by 14 per cent, compared to an increase of 60 per cent worldwide.
This has caused Australia to drop from a ranking of 18th to 35th (of 37) in the world in robot density in the manufacturing industry.
Another factor seen to be contributing to low robot population density is the lack of uptake from SMEs who find that large-scale automation solutions are either unsuitable for their operations or too costly.
“This trend is not limited to robotics, as we have heard time and time again that while small manufacturers are enthusiastic about the potential of Industry 4.0 technologies, they simply cannot afford the upfront investment,” Kinsella said.
“We want to make manufacturers aware of the resources and financial grants available through government-backed schemes like the National Reconstruction Fund (NRF), which has made a substantial provision for increasing the uptake of robotics in Australia.”
The manufacturing section of the Roadmap concludes with the finding that Australia has a specific need for robotics to act as a force multiplier – augmenting and extending world-class skilled human capability, while reducing human exposure to dirty, dull and dangerous processes.
To achieve this, the Roadmap outlines the following achievable five-year goals:
- Educate local suppliers in skill multiplying robots or cobots, so they can best allocate human, robotic or shared operations in the completion of tasks;
- Enhance automation simulation capabilities (humans and machines) allowing for the application of synthetic data to ensure successful and sustained process improvement;
- Development of more capable cobots; and
- Design and prototype a $2000 skill multiplying robot through modern sustainable technologies.
“It is clear that intelligent robotic systems that can easily and rapidly adapt to new product lines, based on demand and real-time needs, are key to removing Australia’s reliance on global supply chains and overcoming our skilled labour shortage,” Kinsella added.
“We look forward to the thought-provoking discussions and innovative solutions that will be showcased at the 2023 Modern Manufacturing Expo through our exciting partnerships with Robotics Australia Group.”
The free-to-attend Modern Manufacturing Expo takes place from 20-21 September at the Sydney Showground in Sydney Olympic Park, and will showcase the latest in manufacturing processes and technologies needed to power up operations.
Robotics Australia Group is on board as a Supporting Partner of the 2023 Modern Manufacturing Expo.
“Robotics represents the peak of new technologies and is hugely valued by manufacturers for its ability to incorporate both automation and AI, and we’re thrilled to have the prestigious industry body onboard as a Supporting Partner of the Expo,” Kinsella concluded.
