Defining the Automation Landscape: Manufacturers Worldwide Ramp-Up Efforts
Automation’s Challenges, Trends, and Innovations Bolster a Global Path to Efficiency
The preparation, strategy, and execution for manufacturing automation is an inevitable topic that continues to take hold across boardrooms and production facilities. In addition, the rapid technological growth of automation for industrial companies is also taking on a life of its own.
Every advancement over the past decade diverges automation into more creative paths, raises new questions, and broadens our vision of how companies can leverage it to their advantage globally, from North America to Asia-Pacific. What’s for sure is that industries are steadily tooling to meet this future, becoming more acclimated to its trends and working to define a roadmap.
Understanding the Automation Framework
A control system is essentially the basis for automation. Control systems can combine computers and robots, sensors and software, and the various IT infrastructure that helps interoperate, detect, and analyze a production process.
Fixed automation performs operations with high speed and accuracy but is almost inflexible or not adaptable to other systems. A perfect example would be a conveyor belt on an assembly line – it just spins and translates an object to its next destination. There is no real-time integration or intelligence; it just performs a fixed, automated task.
Moving to the next level is programmable automation, where a machine is programmed to perform different tasks using custom instructions. Industrial robots, CNC machining equipment, and 3D printers fit the bill.
Those machines can handle various tasks with flexible automation without requiring significant tooling, equipment, or setup changes. A simple example is automated guide vehicles (AGV) robots like those that wander the warehouses of Amazon, employing a limited degree of intelligence to navigate and communicate with other AGVs to move goods around.
These machines have a degree of flexibility, allowing them to react to unpredictable changes.
We’re now entering the realm of intelligent automation, where robots and other machines can learn from data and experience, adapt to new situations, and achieve their own production goals. Together with artificial intelligence (AI), these systems employ advanced computer vision, machine learning, and robotics coupled with high-speed connectivity to produce goods or execute services.
Intelligent Automation Spearheads Today’s Market Growth
The global industrial automation industry measures $191.9 billion and is projected to reach $395.1 billion by 2029, averaging an annual growth rate of 9.8%. As automation increases, so will the demand for manufacturing industries to optimize processes and reduce costs. As the market continues to evolve, it’s also formulating into key segments: components, technologies, applications, industries, and regions. Leading companies take cross-functional roles, committing resources to all automation market segments. The key features are explained below:
Advantages of Automation Adoption
Regardless of industry, automation can be seen as providing significant advantages in key areas:
Market Factors that Could Drive Automation Expansion in 2024 and Beyond
Automation is now operating at full sail with increased demand across manufacturing, energy, healthcare, transportation, and agriculture. In each industry, the reasoning for expansion is self-explanatory. Companies are interested in improving productivity, efficiency, quality, safety, and customer satisfaction considering economic conditions, the competitive landscape, innovations, and regulatory influence.
The multi-prong expansion of technical advancements, from AI and robotics to big data and 5G wireless technology, propels automation forward. For example, 5G wireless technology is the backbone of the Internet of Things (IoT), deploying myriad sensors and devices that interact, analyze, communicate, and operate interdependently to form a real-time “industrial ecosystem” that pulls elements from all these technologies together.
Because of the increased data storage capacity and instant, cloud-based accessibility, “digital twins” are being used. They are an exact, digitized model of a real-world physical product, system, or process. Digital twin models can be extracted and interpreted by intelligent automation to simulate, test, monitor, and maintain without wasting resources in actual materials or production capacity. The entire automation process can be manufactured from concept to production with predictive success.
Consider an entire digitized 3D model assembly of a turbine and its thousands of components stored in the cloud, accessed by AI and machine learning, directing a robotic welding system. During the automated manufacturing process, each physical part is monitored by sensors and benchmarked against the digitized model for increased quality control, waste optimization, production efficiency, and more. It’s the recipe for automation that predicts success and efficiency before production has even begun.
SMEs and large enterprises also stand to benefit from intelligent automation and reduce costs. Streamlined data processing, warehouse management, supply chain coordination, and document handling can provide for more leaner operations. Automation is at the forefront of chemical, food & beverage, and oil & gas exploration. Deploying sensors and robotics to monitor reservoirs, environmental compliance, plant processing, and hazardous materials will drive companies toward leaner, more intelligent solutions.
Today’s Automation and the Potential Impact of Industry 5.0
Automation is tied to the evolution of industrial epochs. The term “Industry 5.0” has now been thrown around in the mainstream. We are now moving through Industry 4.0 (2000s-present), which uses cyber-physical systems, the Internet of Things (IoT), cloud computing, and artificial intelligence to create smart factories that can communicate, monitor, and optimize themselves.
Industry 5.0 is the latest phase of industrial development that aims to combine innovative technologies's efficiency and productivity with human workers' creativity and innovation.
Industry 5.0 envisions a more human-centric and sustainable approach to industry, where humans and machines collaborate harmoniously to create value for society and the environment. The potential impact of Industry 5.0 includes increased product and service customization, an improved ability to analyze, detect, and predict errors for quality control, reduced repetitive or tedious tasks for employees, and further development in resource optimization (Bornet).
Automation Opportunities and Challenges
The roadmap to removing human intervention or judgment where it was traditionally required is the overarching challenge in automation – but it also births tremendous opportunities once thought impossible.
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Clear Opportunities & Known Challenges of Automation
Automation increases productivity, efficiency, and product quality by leveraging machines and human interfaces (HMI) to perform faster, more consistent, and more accurate tasks. It reduces costs, errors, waste, and energy by proactively monitoring, detecting, and correcting defects. Automation can create new markets, jobs, skills, and technologies that require a new angle in human creativity, collaboration, and problem-solving.
Automation can also displace workers in low-skilled or routine tasks, increasing unemployment. It forces workers to revamp and update their skills, especially in areas that require human judgment, leading to a skills gap or lack of learning curve. Scaling the workforce to meet these new demands has also posed a challenge in finding qualified candidates. It poses ethical and security risks as assigning machines more autonomy and access to sensitive data can lead to privacy, accountability, or transparency issues.
Other Unique Opportunities and Challenges of Automation
Automation optimizes and streamlines business processes, enhances stakeholder collaboration and communication, leverages data and analytics for decision-making and improvement, and boosts value-added products and services. Challenges in this area include integration with existing systems and processes, managing organizational culture, and structural changes.
Regulatory hurdles arise from the adoption and implementation of automation technologies. It forces us to strive for precise and consistent standards across different sectors and regions to ensure safety, reliability, accountability, and fairness. Consumer, worker, and environmental protection must be balanced with innovation and competition.
Patent protections could also be affected. Automation can encourage research and development, foster creativity and ingenuity among inventors and innovators, and facilitate knowledge transfer among different actors. Some challenges are defining the patentability criteria and scope for automation technologies, especially those involving artificial intelligence or machine learning. One must also deal with the issues of ownership, liability, and enforcement of patent rights. Furthermore, there is a challenge to balance the interests of patent holders with those of the public.
A Geopolitical Analysis of Intelligent Automation
It’s best to break down each region's current situation to identify how intelligent automation fits into the geopolitical world. As we mentioned above, “regions” are part of the market segment of intelligent automation, and understanding how these regions fit into the puzzle is equally important.
North America dominates the market regarding revenue share and high adoption rates of advanced technologies in artificial intelligence, machine learning, natural language processing, computer vision, and robotics. North America’s market for intelligent automation is currently valued at $4.6 billion, with a growth rate of 14.2%. It is projected to reach $12.3 billion by 2030.
Significant growth is also projected in Europe. Increased demand in process optimization and cost reductions in various industries such as automotive, telecom, and energy has given rise to intelligent automation solutions for SMEs. With a market valued at $3.2 billion and a growth rate of 15.1%, it is projected to reach $9.8 billion by 2030.
The fastest growth rate is in the Asia-Pacific region, thanks to the rapid digital transformation and industrialization of emerging economies in China, India, Japan, and South Korea. Governments and private sector investments in AI and automation technologies fuel this growth. Asia-Pacific’s market is currently valued at $1.4 billion and employs a growth rate of about 21.5%, making it set to reach $7.8 billion by 2030.
Latin America shows moderate growth fueled by cloud-based, intelligent automation solutions for SMEs and large enterprises. Improved customer support, data processing, document analysis and generation, and business process optimization drive adoption. Latin America is valued at $1.4 billion with a growth rate of 16.8%, predicted to achieve $1.2 billion by 2030.
The lowest growth rate in the Middle East and Africa is forecasted due to a lack of skilled workforce and social, ethical, and high initial investment concerns. Despite this, the oil & gas, banking, and healthcare industries have rapidly adopted intelligent automation solutions. The market is currently valued at $0.2 billion with a growth rate of 15.6%, resulting in a projected reach of $0.7 billion by 2030.
The United States vs. China: Competitive Positioning in Automation
The United States and China are the leading countries in developing and applying automation technologies. However, each country has its strengths and weaknesses and different geopolitical factors influencing its automation strategy.
The United States has a long history of innovation and leadership in automation technologies such as software, hardware, and services. The U.S. also has a robust ecosystem of research institutions, venture capitalists, and startups. It maintains a competitive advantage in attracting and retaining global talent in automation. The U.S. ranked ninth in the world in robot density in 2021, with 274 robots per 10,000 employees in the manufacturing industry.
In manufacturing and e-commerce, China has become the fastest-growing and most ambitious automation participant. They’ve committed massive resources and support at home to dominate industrial robotics and artificial intelligence. By 2030, they will almost certainly become a strategic and global leader in intelligent automation. China ranked fifth in the world in robot density in 2021, with 322 robots per 10,000 employees in the manufacturing industry, surpassing the U.S. for the first time.
Trade wars, technology competition, human rights, and regional security are geopolitical factors that impact each country's automation strategy. The trade war and growing tensions between the U.S. and China have only increased, resulting in tariffs and barriers imposed on each other for automation products and solutions. This results in a complex trade framework where certain areas have reduced market access and cooperation. Regarding regional security, both sides have increased their capacity for AI-specific military advancements, resulting in automation increases as a byproduct for both sides.
In conclusion, even the growing tension between the U.S. and China accelerates innovations in automation technologies, whether from the factory or the battlefield. The future of automation will depend on how the U.S. and China can leverage their strengths, adapt to their weaknesses, and manage their geopolitical tensions with each other across the globe.
Conclusion: Automation and its Outlook by 2030
Based on trends to 2030, automation will likely transform factory floors, workplace cultures, and skills required by human workers. New challenges for workers, businesses, and societies will counterbalance increased productivity, GDP growth, and prosperity in many regions.
On a granular level, the nature and degree of the automation tasks being performed will affect different sectors and occupations, from a change in operational processes to workers' cognitive and critical thinking skills. While new opportunities for innovation and collaboration will arise, unknown risks such as security, privacy, inequality, and social restructuring will form. On a global level, countries and regions will compete for technological supremacy and dominance in various industries.
The nexus of automation worldwide and how it impacts industry cannot be overstated. Assuming it is appropriately and carefully navigated by the efforts of education, regulation, technology, business acumen, and economics, automation offers an optimistic horizon. Automation requires growing pains but also expands possibilities previously relegated to science fiction. It can work for the better if appropriately imagined and engineered to assist society rather than work against it.
Sources
Founder, Linkability.us | Where Industry Leaders Turn for LinkedIn Expertise | Trusted Since 2017 to Build Authority, Grow Influence, and Drive Results
1yA stellar read, Stephen! Your deep dive into the world of manufacturing automation is truly eye-opening! It's amazing to witness the progress the sector is making. Well done!