Australian robot installations soar to new heights

Citation

(1998), "Australian robot installations soar to new heights", Industrial Robot, Vol. 25 No. 6. https://doi.org/10.1108/ir.1998.04925fab.001

Australian robot installations soar to new heights

Australian robot installations soar to new heights

A total of 526 robots were installed in Australia in 1997, according to the Australian Robotics and Automation Association (ARAA). This is a 110 per cent increase above the 250 robots installed in Australia in 1996 and brings Australia's nominal robot population (based on accumulated sales, with no reduction taken for robots no longer in use) to 3,043 units (see Figure 1).

Last year's record sales were due mainly to large orders from motor vehicle manufacturers. A total of 307, or 58 per cent, of Australia's new robots were bought by car manufacturers. A further 74, or 14 per cent, of robots were sold last year to companies that make parts or accessories for motor vehicles (see Table I).

For the same reason, spot welding was the dominant application of robots installed last year, accounting for 276, or 52 per cent, of 1997 installations. Fifteen per cent, or 77, robots were installed for arc welding applications, followed by 11 per cent, or 58, robots used for palletising or packaging applications.

Figure 1 and Table I provide further data. Australia's robot census is based on confidential information supplied to the Association by our robot-supplying organisational members. For purposes of this census, a robot is defined in accordance with International Standard ISO 8373 to be an automatically controlled, reprogrammable, multipurpose manipulator that is programmable in three or more axes.

Almost all robots included in the latest ARAA census are utilised for manufacturing. Increasingly, technology is being developed to enable robots or near-robots to be utilised for non-manufacturing applications. For instance, some 13 near-robots (not included in the above census) are currently being used in Australia to assist surgeons in carrying out endoscopic ("keyhole surgery") operations. The International Federation of Robotics, with assistance from the ARAA, is developing a standardised definition for "service robots" and so that such devices may be appropriately counted in future censuses.

Figure 1 Number of robots added in Australia from 1990 to 1997 (ARAA estimate)

Australia's robots are overwhelmingly imports, principally from Japan and Sweden, with small numbers arriving from other countries. Of the 526 robots installed in Australia last year, the Association estimates that only 10, or 2 per cent, were locally made. The ARAA's census indicates that six robots made in Australia were exported in 1997.

The ARAA estimates that the value of the Australian robot marketplace grew last year to $74,700,000, a 140 per cent increase from the 1996 estimated market size of $31,100,000. This value includes, in addition to the robots themselves, the cost of other components and services provided by Australia's robot suppliers when installing a robot workcell. It does not include the cost of components and services provided by the customer or by third parties. ARAA estimates that the mean price of a robot system installed last year, including such components and services, was $142,000.

(Source: Australian Robotics and Automation Association)