President’s Report by Marina Bill

Exciting events and awards

Dear Reader,

Exciting times for the global robotics industry! We just returned from the Automate show in Detroit, whose lively show floor symbolized the huge opportunities for robotics and automation on the North American continent, with manufacturing industries and logistics investing strongly in technology to overcome the labor shortage.

IFR used this occasion to gather their members in a series of meetings, and also presented the preliminary 2022 figures on the global robot installations ahead of the Executive Roundtable. Total installations in manufacturing in North America rose by 12% to 42 thousand units. This proves that the US, Canada, and Mexico are key markets in the global growth of robotics automation, and the automotive sector is once again leading the way. We should note that the figures published really are preliminary and should be noted with caution – we still expect substantial changes to the final figures that will be published in World Robotics on 26 September 2023.

Congratulations to the two Engelberger Award Winners, Roberta Nelson Shea and Jeff Burnstein. Jeff does a great job driving the robotics industry in North America, particularly in the US, and deserves the award for leadership recognizing his four decades of commitment for A3. Roberta has received the award for application, honoring her outstanding work over the course of her career in global robotics safety. As a convenor for the ISO TC 299 Working Group on Industrial Safety, she not only greatly contributes to the progress of the safe deployment of industrial robots around the globe, but is also a great role model for women choosing a career path in robotics.

I am also happy to congratulate Zen Koh from Fourier Intelligence for winning the IERA award for Outstanding Achievements in Commercializing Innovative Robot and Automation Technology 2023. The price was awarded for their upper limb rehabilitation robotics device ArmMotus during ICRA 2023 in London.

There is not much time to rest as the Automatica fair will open its doors in Munich soon. IFR has also scheduled some meetings there, and will present the preliminary 2022 figures for Europe during the IFR Executive Roundtable. At the panel discussion, Ralf Völlinger (Fanuc), Enrico Krog Iversen (OnRobot), Adrien Brouillard (Stäubli) and Thomas Burger (SBS-Feintechnik) will discuss how Europe can increase its resilience by investing in robotics and automation.

Looking forward to another busy week of exciting discussions, networking and hopefully meeting you in Munich.

Marina Bill
IFR President