Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

IFR: five trends will drive robot growth through 2025

trends in robotics

Robot installations will grow quickly due to artificial intelligence, humanoid shapes, sustainable manufacturing, new business models, and labor shortages.

As the global market value of industrial robot installations passes its all-time high of $16.5 billion, five trends will continue to drive its growth through 2025, according to a forecast from the International Federation of Robotics (IFR).

That is important because the increased use of robots has the potential to significantly reduce the impact of labor shortages in manufacturing, IFR said. That will happen when robots automate dirty, dull, dangerous or delicate tasks – such as visual quality inspection, hazardous painting, or heavy lifting—thus freeing up human workers to focus on more interesting and higher-value tasks.


To reach those goals, robots will grow through five trends in the new year, the report said:

1 – Artificial Intelligence.
By leveraging diverse AI technologies, such as physical, analytical, and generative, robotics can perform a wide range of tasks more efficiently. Analytical AI enables robots to process and analyze the large amounts of data collected by their sensors. This helps to manage variability and unpredictability in the external environment, in “high mix/low-volume” production, and in public environments. Physical AI, which is created through the development of dedicated hardware and software that simulate real-world environments, allows robots to train themselves in virtual environments and operate by experience, rather than programming. And Generative AI projects aim to create a “ChatGPT moment” for Physical AI, allowing this AI-driven robotics simulation technology to advance in traditional industrial environments as well as in service robotics applications.


2 – Humanoids.

Robots in the shape of human bodies have received a lot of media attention, due to their vision where robots will become general-purpose tools that can load a dishwasher on their own and work on an assembly line elsewhere. Start-ups today are working on these humanoid general-purpose robots, with an eye toward new applications in logistics and warehousing. However, it remains to be seen whether humanoid robots can represent an economically viable and scalable business case for industrial applications, especially when compared to existing solutions. So for the time being, industrial manufacturers are still focused on humanoids performing single-purpose tasks only, with a focus on the automotive industry.


3 – Sustainability – Energy Efficiency.

Compliance with the UN's environmental sustainability goals and corresponding regulations around the world is becoming an important requirement for inclusion on supplier whitelists, and robots play a key role in helping manufacturers achieve these goals. In general, their ability to perform tasks with high precision reduces material waste and improves the output-input ratio of a manufacturing process. These automated systems ensure consistent quality, which is essential for products designed to have long lifespans and minimal maintenance. In the production of green energy technologies such as solar panels, batteries for electric cars or recycling equipment, robots are critical to cost-effective production. At the same time, robot technology is being improved to make the robots themselves more energy-efficient. For example, the lightweight construction of moving robot components reduces their energy consumption. Different levels of sleep mode put the hardware in an energy saving parking position. Advances in gripper technology use bionics to achieve high grip strength with almost no energy consumption.

4 – New Fields of Business.

The general manufacturing industry still has a lot of potential for robotic automation. But most manufacturing companies are small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which means the adoption of industrial robots by SMEs is still hampered by high initial investment and total cost of ownership. To address that hurdle, Robot-as-a-Service (RaaS) business models allow enterprises to benefit from robotic automation with no fixed capital involved. Another option is using low-cost robotics to provide a “good enough” product for applications that have low requirements in terms of precision, payload, and service life. Powered by the those approaches, new customer segments beyond manufacturing include construction, laboratory automation, and warehousing.

5 – Addressing Labor Shortage.

The global manufacturing sector continues to suffer from labor shortages, according to the International Labour Organisation (ILO). One of the main drivers is demographic change, which is already burdening labor markets in leading economies such as the United States, Japan, China, the Republic of Korea, or Germany. Although the impact varies from country to country, the cumulative effect on the supply chain is a concern almost everywhere.

More Stories

Warp Announces Preparation for U.S. Government Partnership to Enhance Service and Efficiency

Los Angeles, CA, Jan. 29, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Warp, a tech-powered network of cross-docks and carriers offering various vehicle sizes, announced that 2025 it will extend its solutions and services to the U.S. government. Warp aims to modernize government freight logistics with machine-learning-driven planning, optimized network strategies, and flexible solutions to create efficient, cost-effective, and sustainable supply chain transportation.

Focused on optimizing every load, every time, Warp employs machine learning (ML), artificial intelligence (AI), and groundbreaking consolidation techniques to blur the traditional lines of freight shipping by combining the best elements of LTL, FTL, and parcel delivery. Using its homogenous fleet including cargo vans, sedans, box trucks, and 53-foot trailers, Warp facilitates carrier injections, inbound vendor consolidation, pool point distribution, zone-skipping, store replenishment, and national retail distribution for some of the world’s largest shippers.

Keep ReadingShow less

Three ways to elevate your empty miles strategy

Reducing empty miles—or the distance traveled with no load or cargo—can have multiple benefits, including increased cost savings and streamlined operations. But at its core, it’s about making smarter, more sustainable choices while transporting goods. Here are three components to craft and execute a successful empty miles program, keeping collaboration in mind at each stop along the way.

Keep ReadingShow less

Freespace Robotics announces strategic partnership and investment from industry leader Matthews Automation Solutions

PITTSBURGH, PA / CINCINNATI, OH – January 23, 2025 – Freespace Robotics, an innovator in autonomous robotics for material handling and logistics, today announced a strategic partnership and investment from the Automation Solutions business of Matthews International Corporation (NASDAQ:MATW), a leading provider of warehouse automation software, controls, and order fulfillment systems. This partnership combines Freespace Robotics’ groundbreaking high-density, dynamic storage cube with Matthews’ industry-leading software, unlocking transformative capabilities for warehouse and last-mile operations.

Freespace Robotics’ pioneering solution leverages advanced robotics to deliver high-turnover, small-footprint, high-rise AS/RS (Automate Storage and Retrieval System) technologies. These innovations incorporate traditionally external conveyor functions – such as sortation, sequencing, each-picking, order buffering and pre-staging – into a seamless end to end operation. Combined with Matthews robust software suite and dashboard, which unify product information and inbound and outbound material flows, the Freespace solution offers unmatched versatility across diverse industries and specialized workflows. Together the companies are poised to strengthen core processes and improve KPIs for efficiency, scalability, throughput and cost-effectiveness.

Keep ReadingShow less
photos of grocery supply chain workers

ReposiTrak and Upshop link platforms to enable food traceability

ReposiTrak, a global food traceability network operator, will partner with Upshop, a provider of store operations technology for food retailers, to create an end-to-end grocery traceability solution that reaches from the supply chain to the retail store, the firms said today.

The partnership creates a data connection between suppliers and the retail store. It works by integrating Salt Lake City-based ReposiTrak’s network of thousands of suppliers and their traceability shipment data with Austin, Texas-based Upshop’s network of more than 450 retailers and their retail stores.

Keep ReadingShow less
Report: Five trends in AI and data science for 2025

Report: Five trends in AI and data science for 2025

Artificial intelligence (AI) and data science were hot business topics in 2024 and will remain on the front burner in 2025, according to recent research published in AI in Action, a series of technology-focused columns in the MIT Sloan Management Review.

In Five Trends in AI and Data Science for 2025, researchers Tom Davenport and Randy Bean outline ways in which AI and our data-driven culture will continue to shape the business landscape in the coming year. The information comes from a range of recent AI-focused research projects, including the 2025 AI & Data Leadership Executive Benchmark Survey, an annual survey of data, analytics, and AI executives conducted by Bean’s educational firm, Data & AI Leadership Exchange.

Keep ReadingShow less