Top 3 US Robotic Trends for 2023

Here are the top 3 US robotic trends for 2023 and beyond predicted by the President of ABB

John Bubnikovich, President of ABB US Robotics Division, predicts numerous significant US robotics automation trends for 2023 and beyond. The US robotics market is anticipated to increase annually at 5.62% (CAGR), reaching a market volume of over $9 billion by 2027. 

Despite the possibility of a short-term slowdown in the US economy, many firms are increasingly feeling the effects of the labor shortage in the country as they battle to meet client demand. "This, coupled with the increasing trend of reshoring and nearshoring of operations, brittle supply chains, rising material costs, and global political uncertainty, means more companies are adopting robotic automation to maximize flexibility, build resilience, and adapt more sustainable production processes."

Trend 1
The effects of aging populations and a growing reluctance to accept low-paid, boring, unclean, and dangerous employment are felt across various industries, and they will persist well through 2023. The Congressional Budget Office recently forecasted that the size of the US labor force will increase by just 0.2% year from 2024 to 2031, while a study by Deloitte and The Manufacturing Institute predicts that by 2030, there will be more than 2.1 million US manufacturing positions that are unfilled. As a result, economic growth will be hampered, and businesses will be forced to develop novel staff fill-in strategies.

Robot demand will be incredibly high in nations where businesses intend to re-shore or near-shore their operations to increase the stability of their supply chains in the face of global unpredictability. According to a poll of 1,610 organizations conducted by ABB Robotics in 2022, 62% of US businesses stated they would invest in robotic automation within the next three years. Meanwhile, 70% of US enterprises planned to re- or near-shore their operations.

Trend 2

Robots can carry out various activities thanks to autonomous grasping and positioning, made possible by ongoing advances in artificial intelligence. A Burrtec Waste Industries material recovery plant in Riverside, California, has a conspicuous display of how this increased usage of AI in robotics aids in jobs like picking non-uniform things. Here, ABB delta robots with vision and AI capabilities scan waste stream materials and choose a variety of contaminants from the line that the robot has learned cannot be recycled. 

Simultaneously, by eliminating the requirement for specialized knowledge, continued simplicity of the software and controllers used to program robots will further lower adoption barriers.

Trend 3

The demand for people to develop new skills that will enable them to succeed in an automated environment is growing as more businesses use robots. To do this, a collaborative, multigenerational strategy will be needed, involving everyone from SMEs and training organizations to schools, colleges, and universities.