UN Sustainable Development Goals: Robots help to protect our terrestrial ecosystems
Which of the 17 SDGs can be met with the support of robots?
Robots emerge as potent and versatile tools applicable across diverse sectors, encompassing both industry and services.
They hold significant potential to contribute to societal advancement in achieving the United Nations' sustainable development goals.
Sustainability, in this context, extends beyond mere economic or environmental concerns; it represents a universal commitment to eradicating poverty, safeguarding the planet, and ensuring global peace and prosperity for all by the year 2030.
Robots help to protect our terrestrial ecosystems
SDG 15: Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems
ensure the conservation, restoration and sustainable use of terrestrial and inland freshwater ecosystems
Mobile robots preventing soil erosion, which is endangering beaches, estuaries, and coastal cities.
Robots help to limit the need for chemical control and fertilizers with a high degree of predictability and precision, protecting the ecosystem and reducing the impact on soil dwellers.
Small lightweight swarm robots reduce soil compaction and positively impact vegetation, thus help to prevent desertification.
Robots supporting the transition from single-use plastic to compostable packaging made from plant-based agricultural material
Case Studies of Robots help to protect our terrestrial ecosystems (SDG 05)
Robots and Sustainability
UN Sustainable Development Goals: Marine and underwater robots
Which of the 17 SDGs can be met with the support of robots?
Robots emerge as potent and versatile tools applicable across diverse sectors, encompassing both industry and services.
They hold significant potential to contribute to societal advancement in achieving the United Nations' sustainable development goals.
Sustainability, in this context, extends beyond mere economic or environmental concerns; it represents a universal commitment to eradicating poverty, safeguarding the planet, and ensuring global peace and prosperity for all by the year 2030.
Marine and underwater robots
SDG 14: Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources
sustainably manage and protect marine and coastal ecosystems to avoid significant adverse impacts, including by strengthening their resilience, and take action for their restoration in order to achieve healthy and productive oceans
Robots surveilling and preserving underwater fauna and flora (environmental monitoring)
Autonomous underwater vehicles (AUV) collecting new data on the seafloor, measuring its key characteristics (e.g. salinity, temperature, speed and direction of currents)
Case Studies of Marine and underwater robots (SDG 05)
Robots and Sustainability
UN Sustainable Development Goals: Robots combatting climate change
Which of the 17 SDGs can be met with the support of robots?
Robots emerge as potent and versatile tools applicable across diverse sectors, encompassing both industry and services.
They hold significant potential to contribute to societal advancement in achieving the United Nations' sustainable development goals.
Sustainability, in this context, extends beyond mere economic or environmental concerns; it represents a universal commitment to eradicating poverty, safeguarding the planet, and ensuring global peace and prosperity for all by the year 2030.
Robots combatting climate change
SDG 13: Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts
Improve education, awareness-raising and human and institutional capacity on climate change mitigation, adaptation, impact reduction and early warning
Production technology for affordable carbon-neutral mobility and competitively priced renewable energy
Production of wind turbines and batteries - must be assembled and disassembled in the long run for recycling.
Robots help to ramp up the generation of green electricity from solar cells and wind turbines
Maintenance and efficient operation of existing wind farms: drones for monitoring, supply of spare parts or cleaning and inspection of wind turbine blades.
Flexible automation reducing the space needed and thus the footprint of production – reducing the overall energy consumption
Avoiding high costs and efforts on transportation and securing all production steps close to the end customer
Pop-up factories allowing manufacturing onsite (e.g. close to a construction site) or temporarily closer to customer demand
Robots enable early leak detection
Remote commissioning, monitoring and services - reduction in commutes to industrial sites
Case Studies of Robots combatting climate change (SDG 05)
Robots and Sustainability
UN Sustainable Development Goals: Modern manufacturing with robots support resource efficient production
Which of the 17 SDGs can be met with the support of robots?
Robots emerge as potent and versatile tools applicable across diverse sectors, encompassing both industry and services.
They hold significant potential to contribute to societal advancement in achieving the United Nations' sustainable development goals.
Sustainability, in this context, extends beyond mere economic or environmental concerns; it represents a universal commitment to eradicating poverty, safeguarding the planet, and ensuring global peace and prosperity for all by the year 2030.
Modern manufacturing with robots support resource efficient production
SDG 12: Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns
achieve the sustainable management and efficient use of natural resources
substantially reduce waste generation through prevention, reduction, recycling and reuse
High precision and repeatability ensures stable processes with lower rejects and higher yields
Fully automated assembly also opens the door to automated disassembly (e.g. electronic waste, battery recycling)
Robots enable the repair of products, e.g. by the ability to handle very small components
Robots can help recycling resources, e.g. by sensing the type of plastic
Reduced energy consumption during production due to lower footprint (energy costs), energy saving technologies
Re-using refurbished robots reduces the environmental footprint, increasing repairability
3D printing of structures with recycled materials (e.g. plastics)
Quality inspection during the production process leads to less rejects as faulty parts can be replaced at an earlier stage.
Robots can reduce waste during industrial production, agricultural production and elsewhere in the food chain
Case Studies of Modern manufacturing with robots support resource efficient production (SDG 05)
Robots and Sustainability
UN Sustainable Development Goals: Robots used in waste management and recycling
Which of the 17 SDGs can be met with the support of robots?
Robots emerge as potent and versatile tools applicable across diverse sectors, encompassing both industry and services.
They hold significant potential to contribute to societal advancement in achieving the United Nations' sustainable development goals.
Sustainability, in this context, extends beyond mere economic or environmental concerns; it represents a universal commitment to eradicating poverty, safeguarding the planet, and ensuring global peace and prosperity for all by the year 2030.
Robots used in waste management and recycling
SDG 11: Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable
Reduce the adverse per capita environmental impact of cities
Paying special attention to air quality and municipal and other waste management
Deploying modular robotic picking systems to material recovery facilities
Improve the efficiency of sorting at the facilities
Ensures meeting higher purity standards
Better resource utilization of materials, traceability and recycling of end-of-life devices
Robotic disassembly to increase the recycling share and to redeem valuable, scarce resources like rare metals
A combination of robots, machine vision and AI is continuously improving the efficiency and competitiveness of these systems
Case Studies of Robots used in waste management and recycling (SDG 05)
Robots and Sustainability
UN Sustainable Development Goals: Inclusive and sustainable industrialization with robots
Which of the 17 SDGs can be met with the support of robots?
Robots emerge as potent and versatile tools applicable across diverse sectors, encompassing both industry and services.
They hold significant potential to contribute to societal advancement in achieving the United Nations' sustainable development goals.
Sustainability, in this context, extends beyond mere economic or environmental concerns; it represents a universal commitment to eradicating poverty, safeguarding the planet, and ensuring global peace and prosperity for all by the year 2030.
Inclusive and sustainable industrialization with robots
SDG 9: Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation
Promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and significantly raise industry’s share of employment and GDP
Upgrade infrastructure and retrofit industries to make them sustainable
While humans control and monitor production, cobots perform unpleasant and non-ergonomic tasks.
companies can meet their health and safety requirements
employees can be used to perform tasks that call for human strengths, such as the ability to learn, sensory perception or creativity.
Used and rental industrial robots offer affordable access for SMEs to robotization, without the up-front cost of purchasing a new industrial robot
Re-using refurbished robots reduces the environmental footprint
Robots increasing the efficiency of production – sustainable production
Automation and digitalization of brownfield facilities
Case Studies of Inclusive and sustainable industrialization with robots (SDG 05)
Robots and Sustainability
UN Sustainable Development Goals: Industrial robots enabling decent work and economic growth
Which of the 17 SDGs can be met with the support of robots?
Robots emerge as potent and versatile tools applicable across diverse sectors, encompassing both industry and services.
They hold significant potential to contribute to societal advancement in achieving the United Nations' sustainable development goals.
Sustainability, in this context, extends beyond mere economic or environmental concerns; it represents a universal commitment to eradicating poverty, safeguarding the planet, and ensuring global peace and prosperity for all by the year 2030.
Industrial robots enabling decent work and economic growth
SDG 8: Promote sustained and inclusive economic growth, full and productive employment
diversification, technological upgrading and innovation - resource efficiency in consumption and production – inclusivity - safe and secure working environments
Robots take over dirty, dull and dangerous work from humans, contributing to workplace safety (e.g. paint shop robots).
Robots make companies more productive and efficient, increasing their competitiveness and thus saving or creating jobs.
Manufacturing with robots is more ressource- and energy-efficient, leading to high quality products with reduced rejects.
Enabling production closer to the end customer – decentralized production, more sustainable, creating jobs
Developing countries benefit from automation though gains in export quality of their products, making them more competitive.
Case Studies of Industrial robots enabling decent work and economic growth (SDG 05)
Robots and Sustainability
UN Sustainable Development Goals: Robots enabling sustainable production of green energy
Which of the 17 SDGs can be met with the support of robots?
Robots emerge as potent and versatile tools applicable across diverse sectors, encompassing both industry and services.
They hold significant potential to contribute to societal advancement in achieving the United Nations' sustainable development goals.
Sustainability, in this context, extends beyond mere economic or environmental concerns; it represents a universal commitment to eradicating poverty, safeguarding the planet, and ensuring global peace and prosperity for all by the year 2030.
Robots enabling sustainable production of green energy
SDG 7: Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all
Ensure universal access to affordable, reliable and modern energy
Increase substantially the share of renewable energy in the global energy mix
Production of solar cells - Increase automation in solar industry
Precise, highly efficient and cost-effective production of solar collector panels
Standardized manufacturing and assembly solutions for efficient battery pack and battery module production
Production and assembly lines for fuel cells or their components
Enabling renewable energy producers and distributers to scale up their facilities by automated inspection and maintenance
Underwater robot for the decommissioning of nuclear reactors
Heavy duty AMRs handling offshore wind turbines during production
Case Studies of Robots enabling sustainable production of green energy (SDG 05)
Robots and Sustainability
UN Sustainable Development Goals: Inspection and maintenance robots to support clean water and sanitation
Which of the 17 SDGs can be met with the support of robots?
Robots emerge as potent and versatile tools applicable across diverse sectors, encompassing both industry and services.
They hold significant potential to contribute to societal advancement in achieving the United Nations' sustainable development goals.
Sustainability, in this context, extends beyond mere economic or environmental concerns; it represents a universal commitment to eradicating poverty, safeguarding the planet, and ensuring global peace and prosperity for all by the year 2030.
Inspection and maintenance robots to support clean water and sanitation
SDG 6: Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all
improve water quality by reducing pollution, eliminating dumping and minimizing release of hazardous chemicals and materials, halving the proportion of untreated wastewater and substantially increasing recycling and safe reuse globally
Inspection robots enable leak detection in pipes
preventing the emission of hazardous substances or spill of precious drinking water
Using robots for pipe inspection to replace only those in real need
Water preservation:
Robots used to clean drinking water tanks
Using robots to assist with wastewater treatment
improve the working environment for the employees
make wastewater treatment cheaper and more efficient
Mobile robots used to monitor water contamination.
Smart farming contributes to conserve freshwater by enabling location & nursing of plants
Case Studies of Inspection and maintenance robots to support clean water and sanitation (SDG 05)
Robots and Sustainability
UN Sustainable Development Goals: Robots as enabling technology to promote empowerment of women
Which of the 17 SDGs can be met with the support of robots?
Robots emerge as potent and versatile tools applicable across diverse sectors, encompassing both industry and services.
They hold significant potential to contribute to societal advancement in achieving the United Nations' sustainable development goals.
Sustainability, in this context, extends beyond mere economic or environmental concerns; it represents a universal commitment to eradicating poverty, safeguarding the planet, and ensuring global peace and prosperity for all by the year 2030.
Robots as enabling technology to promote empowerment of women
SDG 5: Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girl
End all forms of discrimination against all women and girls everywhere
Enhance the use of enabling technology, in particular information and communications technology, to promote the empowerment of women
Robots making jobs easier that require heavy physical tasks
e.g. cobots supporting heavy lifting
Service robotics – adapting the design to appeal to female staff
Robots designed to particularly serve to female occupations (e.g. healthcare, inspection, assembly)
Taking over dull tasks and thus enabling women to gain higher qualified and less physically challenging jobs
Case Studies of Robots as enabling technology to promote empowerment of women (SDG 05)
Robots and Sustainability
UN Sustainable Development Goals: Robots supporting STEM skills and quality education
Which of the 17 SDGs can be met with the support of robots?
Robots emerge as potent and versatile tools applicable across diverse sectors, encompassing both industry and services.
They hold significant potential to contribute to societal advancement in achieving the United Nations' sustainable development goals.
Sustainability, in this context, extends beyond mere economic or environmental concerns; it represents a universal commitment to eradicating poverty, safeguarding the planet, and ensuring global peace and prosperity for all by the year 2030.
Robots supporting STEM skills and quality education
SDG 4: Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all
To encourage young people to take up the profession “robot programmer”, many robot manufacturers cooperate with schools, universities and other educational institutions.
Educational platform robots are on the market to teach high school and university students in basic and advanced programming skills
Robots serve as tool to teach basic STEM skills (applied science)
Practical courses in robotics programming have been introduced to the curriculum at many schools and higher education institutes around the globe
The courses provide students with the skills they need to enter the modern industrial workplace and gain high quality employment
Inclusion: robots enable the integration of lower-skilled persons in technically demanding jobs
Case Studies of Robots supporting STEM skills and quality education (SDG 05)
Robots and Sustainability
UN Sustainable Development Goals: Industrial and service robots supporting good health and well-being
Which of the 17 SDGs can be met with the support of robots?
Robots emerge as potent and versatile tools applicable across diverse sectors, encompassing both industry and services.
They hold significant potential to contribute to societal advancement in achieving the United Nations' sustainable development goals.
Sustainability, in this context, extends beyond mere economic or environmental concerns; it represents a universal commitment to eradicating poverty, safeguarding the planet, and ensuring global peace and prosperity for all by the year 2030.
Industrial and service robots supporting good health and well-being
SDG 3: Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages
Robots used in the development & testing of drugs, incl. screening large amount of vaccines
Robots used for automatic testing of medical samples (blood samples, covid tests)
Robots used for the safe packaging of drugs
Robots support a safe and healthy workplace
industrial robots taking over dirty, dull and dangerous work
preventing people from being deployed in potentially dangerous work environments
cobots and service robots that support manufacturing and healthcare workers in heavy lifting
Service robots help to protect healthcare workers (e.g. flexible telepresence)
Surgical robots improving patient care (with high precision & repeatability)
Automation of non-patient care jobs (e.g. hospital logistics) freeing up healthcare workers for patient-care
Case Studies of Industrial and service robots supporting good health and well-being (SDG 05)
Robots and Sustainability
UN Sustainable Development Goals: Agricultural robots & robots in food pocessing
Which of the 17 SDGs can be met with the support of robots?
Robots emerge as potent and versatile tools applicable across diverse sectors, encompassing both industry and services.
They hold significant potential to contribute to societal advancement in achieving the United Nations' sustainable development goals.
Sustainability, in this context, extends beyond mere economic or environmental concerns; it represents a universal commitment to eradicating poverty, safeguarding the planet, and ensuring global peace and prosperity for all by the year 2030.
Agricultural robots & robots in food pocessing
SDG 2: End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture
Robots help to limit the need for chemical control and fertilizers with a high degree of predictability and precision.
Small lightweight swarm robots reduce soil compaction and positively impact vegetation.
Automation in food production and processing can minimize food waste with a growing ability to handle more unequal products (different size and variations or organic grown vegetables).
Camera technology, artificial intelligence and collaborative robots are increasing the ability to deal with the huge variation in raw material.
Agricultural robots help monitor soil conditions, the health of plants and animals and adapt actions to very local conditions, even plant by plant
Robots can help increased the yield in food production.
Use of a milking robot increases the amount per day that a cow produces
Vertical gardening & greenhouses increase the yield per m² used
Case Studies of Agricultural robots & robots in food pocessing (SDG 05)
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