Survey Reveals 53% of Manufacturers Embracing Industrial Robots for Quality Improvement

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LONDON, May 20, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- According to the latest Industrial and Manufacturing Survey by global technology intelligence firm ABI Research, 53% of manufacturers are in the early stages of adopting new industrial robot hardware, while 28% already have industrial robots deployed within their facilities. The survey, conducted between Q4 2024 and Q1 of 2025 across the United States, Germany, and Malaysia, also shows that manufacturers believe deploying Industrial Robots is a key strategy to improving quality levels within manufacturing processes. 40% of respondents listed the adoption of industrial robots as a priority for improving quality, up from 34.1% in the previous study. 19% of respondents will consider adopting industrial robots within the next five years, while 33% will consider the adoption of collaborative or mobile robots within the same time frame.

"Adoption sentiment remains high across the various robot formfactors, indicating that manufacturers are aware of the advantages of automation and can identify facets of their value chains where ROI can be delivered," explains George Chowdhury, Robotics Industry Analyst at ABI Research. "It's important to note that these results were collected before the recent economic uncertainty. Feasibly, if this survey were conducted today, we would see an uptick in the number of responders evaluating proofs of concept or considering adoption in the next 12 months, in line with reshoring expectations."

Respondents to the survey range from Manufacturing Engineers to C-level executives with most participants holding positions as IT manager and above in terms of seniority. The responses were split equally between the three nations. When queried, this group of manufacturers claim that a lack of expertise and insufficient time to implement new automation products are the largest barrier to adoption for their organizations. Lacking the necessary skills to utilize new technologies ranked high as a concern also. Fear of replacement by automated systems was ranked low as an issue. Further responses highlight the importance of on boarding, ongoing support, AI, and Open APIs as key product features that decision makers look for.

The survey offered insight into the perception of Generative AI for manufacturing applications. 50% of respondents agreed that generative AI can be used to Optimize Tool Paths, indicating a misalignment with the capabilities of AI-augmented robots and their supposed capabilities. Optimizing tool paths is a key capability of ABB's Robot Studio, NVIDIA's Isaac portfolio, and the offerings of offline programming software vendors such as Visual Components, Siemens, Dassault Systèmes, and Cenit. Contrastingly, 63% of respondents acknowledge the value of generative AI for Predictive Maintenance and 66% for Optimizing Production Lines. These responses suggest that generative AI is considered an IT technology—used for planning and enhancing processes with data—rather than an Operation Technology for optimizing machine behavior in real time. Importantly, 62% of respondents agreed that generative AI can be used to plan, analyze, and optimize human-robot Interactions.

The results of the survey highlight a positive adoption sentiment for robotics and its capability to continue to augment the manufacturing industry. However, the value proposition of new technologies, notably advanced AI products married to robots, are overlooked by end users. "There is a large disconnect here between the perceived capabilities of AI-augmented robots and the new products that innovators are bringing to market," observes Chowdhury "Repairing this perception, by educating the market of the capabilities of AI-augmented robots, must be the number one priority of Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) and Systems Integrators if they wish to see greater uptake of hardware and for the value of new robotics products to be realized by the manufacturing market."

These findings are from ABI Research' Manufacturing Survey H2 2024 market report. This report is part of the company's Industrial, Collaborative & Commercial Robotics research service, which includes research, data, and ABI Insights.

About ABI Research

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SOURCE ABI Research