Robotics: Accelerating Adoption and Decreasing Costs - Insights from Ark Invest's Big Ideas 2023 Report

Introduction

Robotics has been identified as one of the top technology and innovation trends in the Big Ideas 2023 annual report published by Ark Invest. According to the report, the adoption rate of robotics is accelerating while the average price is decreasing. The rise of automation can be attributed to the emergence of collaborative robots, which are cost-effective, easy-to-use, and safe for human interaction. In this blog post, we will discuss the rise of automation and its benefits, with a focus on Dobot, a leading manufacturer of collaborative robots.

The Rise of Automation

The adoption of automation has been on the rise since the 2008 financial crisis, with a sharp rise in annual unit sales in the last decade from 2011 to 2021. This trend can be attributed to the emergence of collaborative robots, which are much easier to program and safe to operate next to workers, enabling more application scenarios across various industries.

Automation has already been deployed in factories for years, resulting in lower costs, higher efficiency, and greater production consistency. Now, the restaurant and retail sectors are also seeing a new wave of adoption. Connected Robotics, a Dobot partner in Japan, recently closed their Series B round, raising a total of 17 billion yen to develop and deploy automation in the food and beverage industry. The DOBOT Nova series of collaborative robots for the retail sector is barely catching up with customer demands.

Dobot's Coffee Station, a wildly popular coffee solution at trade shows, using two CR series robots to serve incredible tasting latte complete with latte art of customers' choices.

Dobot partners around the world are also making progress on retail automation. Yummy Future is using a 4-axis Magician robot in its robotic coffee shop.

The progress of automation adoption closely resembles those of groundbreaking technologies, such as electricity and the internet. We are at the beginning of retail automation, and eventually every house purchase will include a robot by default.

Benefits of Automation

In the current post-pandemic era, where inflation and wages are on the rise and workers prefer less demanding jobs, automation becomes the obvious solution. Collaborative robots are cost-effective, easy-to-use, and safe for human interaction, enabling more application scenarios across various industries.

Automation also allows companies to lower costs, increase efficiency, and achieve greater production consistency. By automating tasks, companies can reduce the risk of human error, improve the quality of their products, and increase their overall output.

Conclusion

The rise of automation is a trend that is expected to continue in the coming years. Collaborative robots, such as those manufactured by Dobot, are leading the way in enabling more application scenarios across various industries. With the benefits of lower costs, higher efficiency, and greater production consistency, automation is becoming the obvious solution for companies seeking to improve their bottom line. As we move forward, we can expect to see even greater adoption of automation in both the corporate and consumer worlds.