Executive summary 5 Executive summary This report focuses on the rapidly emerging development The logistics and healthcare sectors are also adopting of cobots - devices that help humans by extending their cobots, particularly in countries with labour shortages and physical capabilities - and its implications for the ageing populations. This has resulted in large facilities insurance industry. Cobots are a fast-developing processing up to 200,000 orders per day with only four segment of the robotics market and are becoming human workers present (LeVine, 2018) and hospitals increasingly popular as they are cheaper, smaller and adopting robots for a variety of jobs including surgery, smarter than regular robots (Gurman, 2018). As a result, cleaning and rehabilitation. Recent figures suggest that they are increasingly moving out of factories and being since 1990, robot prices have halved whilst labour costs used in sectors such as agriculture, healthcare and retail have more than doubled. In short, the economic case for where they interact with humans or help them to do jobs robot and cobot adoption is becoming increasingly that are dirty, dangerous, repetitive and difficult. As the compelling. focus of this report excludes software bots, we define Since cobots are a relatively new and emerging robot as ‘a machine situated in the world that senses, technology it is hard to predict how quickly they will be thinks and acts’ (Bekey, 2011). adopted. However, it is highly likely that cobots will play a The cobots market is growing fast significant role in transforming many industries, sectors and regions across the world in the next few years. Whilst cobots currently account for only 3% of the total Measuring the impacts on society robotics market, this figure is expected to reach 34% by 2025 (Smith, 2018) with the total value of sales set to Robot use has several implications for society, including reach US$9-12 billion by then (Murphy, 2017). The top determining the responsibilities and rights of the cobot exporters include Japan, Germany, Italy and machines, and where liability lies between owners, France (Trade Map, 2018), while 75% of imports are designers, programmers and other collaborators. made by China, the Republic of Korea, Japan, the United Introducing cobots into a public environment is much States and Germany (IFR, 2018c). more than a technological challenge. Possibly the biggest At the moment, manufacturing remains the principal limit on the use of cobots is their compatibility with health market for cobots. However, there are also clear and safety regulations and public attitudes, although emerging markets for industrial cobots (CB Insights, recent research points to increasing acceptance as 2018) in new set of industries (IFR, 2018b) where jobs people become more accustomed to seeing robots in are: use. − Dirty (e.g. construction and demolition: 1,100 While there is consensus that robots are already units sold in 2018); displacing jobs and will continue to do so, robots, − Dangerous (e.g. defence: 12,000 units bought in particularly cobots, rarely replace workers; they replace 2017); tasks. They often help workers through decision-making, or physical handling rather than replacing them. − Difficult (e.g. surgery: US$1.9 million worth sold However, as with any other tool, on aggregate robots will in 2018); and impact employment. − Repetitive (e.g. farming: 7,200 units sold in The shift towards automation will also create new jobs, 2018). as predicted by PwC’s 2018 UK Economic Outlook. Taking control: robots and risk