The coronavirus crisis emphasises the important contribution that robots make to industry and society. Public research funding is essential for this.
New technologies such as artificial intelligence, big data and 5G are driving the funding programmes in Asia, Europe and America. What exactly are the goals of the official research funding programmes and can it be derived from this? This was analysed by the International Federation of Robotics and published in the new compendium „World Robotics R&D Programmes“.
„The funding programmes of the individual countries are very different, which is based on the respective national characteristics and history. We therefore see that the strategic focus of research funding in the leading robotics nations is set very differently.“
Prof Dr Jong-Oh Park, Vice Chairman of the IFR Research Committee and member of the IFR Board of Directors
The from Horizon 2020, the 8th Research Framework Programme of the European Union, For example, the robotics projects funded by the European Commission represent a wide range of research and innovation topics - from industrial manufacturing to applications in the retail and healthcare sectors, as well as robotics for transport, the agricultural and food sectors and the private sector.
The European Commission provides an estimated USD 780 million for robotics research and innovation over its seven-year duration. The 2018 - 2020 work programme focuses on the digitalisation of industry through robotics, robotics applications in promising new areas and core robotics technologies such as AI and perception, cognitive mechatronics, socially cooperative human-robot interaction and model-based design and configuration tools with a total budget of USD 173 million.
Germany supports within the scope of its High-tech strategy the use of new digital technologies in business and administration. The programme „PAiCE“ With a funding budget of 55 million US dollars (50 million euros) over five years, the programme focuses on the Development of digital industrial platforms and cooperation between companies that use these platforms.
The robotics projects focus in particular on the Creation of platforms for service robotics solutions in the various application areas such as service, logistics and production. Germany is the fifth largest robot market in the world and number one in Europe, followed by Italy and France. In 2018, the number of robots sold rose by 26 per cent to almost 27,000 units - a new all-time record.
[infotext icon]The International Federation of Robotics is the voice of the global robotics industry. IFR represents more than 60 members, including manufacturers of industrial robots and national robotics associations from over twenty countries, and was founded in 1987 as a non-profit organisation. More on: http://www.ifr.org[/infotext]Source: IFR
