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Robot orders in North America ‘down 8 percent in first half of 2024’

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The North American robotics market saw a decline in both units ordered (down 7.9 percent to 15,705 units) and revenue (down 6.8 percent to $982.83 million) during the first half of 2024 compared to the same period in 2023.

Despite some bright spots in specific industries, the overall performance reflected in the latest report from the Association for Advancing Automation (A3) shows a pullback in robotics investments across key areas, influenced by ongoing economic headwinds faced by North American manufacturers during the first six months of 2024.

Jeff Burnstein, president, A3, says: “Rising inflation and borrowing costs have dampened spending on robotics, with many companies opting to delay major investments. [Read more…] about Robot orders in North America ‘down 8 percent in first half of 2024’

Inaugural humanoid robot industry event reflects ‘tremendous amount of interest’

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The Humanoid Robot Forum, the first event focused exclusively on this growing robotics category, has released its agenda with experts poised to outline the latest advancements, strategies and applications in manufacturing, logistics and daily life.

The forum is being organised by the Association for Advancing Automation, or A3, one of the world’s leading robotics and automation industries associations.

Speakers at this inaugural event, held October 7 in Memphis, Tennessee, will include Melonee Wise of Agility, Jeff Cardenas of Apptronik, Adrian Stoch of GXO, Huan Tan of UBTECH, Brendan Schulman of Boston Dynamics and Aaron Prather of ASTM International along with other visionaries from Collaborative Robotics, HaptX, NEURA Robotics, Persona AI, Reflex Robotics, Stokes Educational Services, Synapticon and WiBotics. [Read more…] about Inaugural humanoid robot industry event reflects ‘tremendous amount of interest’

International Robot Safety Conference to discuss ‘most important standard in robot safety’

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Companies deploying robots can get clear guidance on how to keep human workers safe at the International Robot Safety Conference in Cincinnati, Ohio, October 1-3.

Hosted by the Association for Advancing Automation (A3), which develops robotic standards in the US, the conference will feature revisions to the industrial robot flagship standard – ISO 10218 – along with talks describing technologies and best practices around risk assessment, regulatory compliance, mobile and collaborative robotics, and the impact of artificial intelligence (AI).

Carole Franklin, director of standards development, robotics, A3, says: “The need for comprehensive robot safety knowledge couldn’t be more critical. [Read more…] about International Robot Safety Conference to discuss ‘most important standard in robot safety’

2023 North America robot orders down 30 percent from record high in 2022

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After record orders in both 2021 and 2022, robot sales in North American declined by 30 percent in 2023, according to the latest report from the Association for Advancing Automation (A3).

Companies purchased 31,159 robots in 2023, compared to 44,196 ordered in 2022 and 39,708 in 2021. These 2023 orders were divided almost equally among automotive (15,723 robots sold) and non-automotive companies (15,436 robots sold), a 34 percent drop in sales to automotive OEMs and automotive suppliers over 2022 and a 25 percent total decrease in all other industries.

Jeff Burnstein, president of A3, says: “While robot sales naturally ebb and flow, the return to more typical robot sales after the last two record years can likely be attributed to a few obvious issues: a slow US economy, higher interest rates and even the over purchasing of robots in 2022 from supply chain concerns. [Read more…] about 2023 North America robot orders down 30 percent from record high in 2022

Association for Advancing Automation celebrates 50th anniversary

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The Association for Advancing Automation (A3), the world’s largest robotics and automation trade group, celebrates its 50th anniversary in 2024.

The global advocate for the benefits of automation now represents more than 1280 member companies as it promotes automation technologies and ideas that transform and redefine the business environment.

Jeff Burnstein, who joined A3 in 1983 and has served as president of the association since 2007, says: “The success of A3 for the past five decades is directly attributable to the unflagging support of our members, the incredible advances in automation technology, and the resilience and talent of the team we’ve assembled. [Read more…] about Association for Advancing Automation celebrates 50th anniversary

A3 unveils new safety standard for industrial mobile robot systems

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As the use of mobile robots continues to surge in industrial settings, the Association for Advancing Automation (A3) has unveiled the second installment of its flagship safety standard for industrial mobile robots, providing guidance on safe integration practices for these systems.

R15.08-2, the American National Standard for Industrial Mobile Robots (IMRs) – Safety Requirements – Part 2: Requirements for IMR systems and IMR applications provides safety requirements for deploying IMR systems into an industrial environment.

R15.08-2 specifies requirements for integrating, configuring, and customizing an IMR or fleet of IMRs into a site. [Read more…] about A3 unveils new safety standard for industrial mobile robot systems

North America industrial robot orders drop for second quarter

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A slow US economy and high interest rates have taken a toll on robot orders in North American, resulting in a decline for the second quarter in a row after record purchases in 2021 and 2022.

According to the latest report from the Association for Advancing Automation (A3), companies ordered 7,697 robots valued at $457 million from April to July 2023, a 37 percent decline in robot orders and 20 percent drop in value over the same period in 2022.

When combined with first quarter results, the robotics market in North America is down 29 percent compared to the first half of last year with a total of 16,865 robots ordered. [Read more…] about North America industrial robot orders drop for second quarter

North American machine vision market up 9.2 percent in 2018

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North American sales of machine vision components and systems that provide vision intelligence to robots and other machines reached $2.874 billion in 2018, an increase of 9.2 percent over 2017 and a new record for the market.

According to statistics from the AIA, the industry trade group and part of the Association for Advancing Automation (A3), application-specific machine vision (ASMV) systems led the growth with $1.998 billion in sales in 2018, an increase of 7.8 percent over 2017, followed by smart cameras with $466 million, an increase of 14.2 percent.

Machine vision component markets also set new records in 2018 with $401 million in total sales representing 11.7 percent growth.

[Read more…] about North American machine vision market up 9.2 percent in 2018

Record number of robots shipped in North America in 2018

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Robots shipped to North American companies in record numbers last year, with more non-automotive companies installing robots than ever before, according to statistics from the Robotic Industries Association (RIA).

35,880 units were shipped in 2018, a 7 percent increase over 2017, with 16,702 shipments to non-automotive companies, up 41 percent.

Notable growth came in areas like food and consumer goods (48 percent), plastics and rubber (37 percent), life sciences (31 percent), and electronics (22 percent).

[Read more…] about Record number of robots shipped in North America in 2018

Record growth in US robotics, vision and motion control industries

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According to the Association for Advancing Automation’s (A3) annual report on automation and robotics market statistics, 2017 was a milestone year for the North American robotics market.

It surpassed previous high water marks in all four statistical categories: order units, order revenue, shipment units, and shipment revenue. The amount of robots sold in North America last year also surpassed all previous records.

Customers purchased 34,904 total units representing $1.896 billion in total sales. These numbers show growth of 0.9% in units and 0.1% in dollars from 2016.

[Read more…] about Record growth in US robotics, vision and motion control industries