Industrial Automation Magazine India

Manufacturers have to continuously adapt to the changing demands

Published on : Monday 14-10-2019

What are the latest trends in automation for the industry?
At the global level, the industrial automation market has doubled in size in the last 5 years to reach USD 68 bn at 16% CAGR. However, the rate of adoption is different across regions with Malaysia and China among the fastest growing regions while Germany and Japan markets are maturing. As far as industrial robotics market is considered India is significantly under penetrated. Articulated robots are the most common type with 68% of the market today – SCARA robots showing growth. There are several major trends which are expected to radically impact the future outlook of robotics – we believe Collaborative production and AI will be the key enablers. Based on the historic growth, current trends and market penetrations we believe the global market will grow at 17% CAGR to reach USD 147 bn. In India, the industrial robots market has grown by ~2.5x in the past 5 years to reach USD 0.6 bn (15% CAGR). In the future Indian industrial robotics market context, we believe Articulated robots will remain the most common robot type but SCARA robots will show strong potential. The global industrial automation market grew at 7% CAGR to reach USD 192 bn by 2019 of which the factory automation market was responsible for USD 115 Bn. Among the segments, software is the largest but industrial robots shows the highest growth.

There are 5 major trends impacting the outlook of industrial robots:
•    Man-Machine collaboration where Robot intended to physically interact with humans in a shared workspace and designed to operate with limited guidance or autonomously
•    Easy programing/training where new robot training techniques allow for easy programming. Teaching/programming of robots becomes very intuitive – eliminating need for special know-how and faster set-up
•    Advances in AI & Machine Learning – Developments in AI and machine learning capabilities of robots are increasing potential performance capabilities and drastically reducing need for human intervention for optimisation
•    Development of new types of robot systems – Primarily in terms of mobility freedom and self-guidance, and
•    Augmented human systems where mechanical devices that are able to enhance the power of the operator. This will enable new use-cases like allowing for lifting of heavy items without danger.

Increase in Man-Machine collaboration is enhancing overall production efficiency and flexibility of factories. Advancements in machine vision systems which allow a robot to dynamically understand its surrounding. Robot is more aware of its surroundings and able to take preventive action if collision risk is detected. Development of less-collision danger robots through advances like soft grippers, fast-stop mechanism, etc. Minimal risk of injury even if a potential collision were to occur. Demand for robots which have a lower physical footprint. Which lead to development of co-bots which allow for robot operation in an open workspace. Increasing ability of robots to understand their surroundings through machine vision systems makes it easier to program robots about ideal operation requirements, work envelope, etc.

Developments in AI and Machine Learning are enabling new application areas radically changing existing operating models. Recent increase in computing power has enable execution of complex tasks that were impossible before.

Robots can perform operations that were previously limited due to task complexity. Augmented human operator capabilities are being developed to enhance human productivity. Current developments, which are expected to lead to development of augmented operators like increasing understanding of human body mechanisms – like understanding of optimal joint actions, load limits, etc., allow for understanding what actions are optimal for the human and what actions are not.

Is the pace of changing technology too rapid for user industries to adjust to?
There are some detractors which are holding back wider adoption of robots – the extent of their full impact will have to be seen. Key detractors are: 1. Lack of skilled labour for operating robots; skilled labour is required to effectively operate current generation of industrial robots. However there is a lack of available manpower for this especially in emerging economies. 2. Technology uncertainty. There are multiple options when it comes to robots – in terms of types, payloads, etc. Some potential adopters are uncertain about which technology will win-out and hence delay their purchase. 3. Concerns regarding OEM service support. Robot installations require reliable and quick support service support to help deal with any potential issues. However assurance of service is not there as this industry is still relatively new and hence no benchmarks

Within automation, however, the adoption of industrial robots in India has been very poor and significantly lags its global peers

Other key reasons for low robot density in India include:
Lack of affordable options: Presently in the Indian market, quality solutions are only being provided by international players like ABB, Kuka, etc., who work on a 'import-only' model and charge high premiums, magnifying the effective cost for an end-consumer.

Lack of custom solutions for the Indian market: The Indian market has a large requirement for custom solutions like the requirement for low payload robots which are not addressed by these players, forcing customers to have to opt for un-optimised solutions.

Are the user industries, especially SMEs, adequately informed and equipped to handle digital transformation and its challenges?
India’s manufacturing base is built around both large enterprises and MSMEs. MSMEs currently account for a large share of the Indian manufacturing sector, but significant growth is required if overall sector targets are to be met.

However, Indian manufacturers and especially MSMEs lack competitiveness (against global benchmarks). Some key problems being faced by Indian manufacturers, especially MSMEs, include lack of well-defined integrated Quality Control (QC) systems result in low quality consistency. Due to this concern, end-customers prefer importing or using specialised agencies for quality critical components. Due to the high degree of manual processes, accuracy has become a key concern. Hence, most Indian MSMEs are considered to be unfit for high tolerance manufacturing.

Lack of skilled labour has become a key concern for MSMEs in several industries like Automotive (welding), Steel (casting), etc. These concerns expose these firms to a high uncertainty in ensuring seamless operations. Low levels of system integration limit overall efficiency. Factories operate more as a package of isolated cells rather than functioning as one integrated system

Changes required to make MSMEs competitive again, include:
1. Factory and Process Automation – To obtain high production control and thereby reach high manufacturing efficiencies, it is essential to have a high degree of overall automation.

2. Robust quality control systems – For MSMEs, to be able to meet the increasingly stringent standards – they need to shift to human + robot production systems which will allow for high quality control.

3. Faster throughput with production flexibility – MSMEs have been lagging industry stalwarts in their ability to enhance throughput rates due to dependence on labour intensive setups which decrease overall flexibility.

4. Lowering of overall product cost – By reducing production costs through process optimisation, value engineering, etc.

We believe we have a strong claim to our success in initiating the single-most high-impact industrial upgradation seen in India in the recent past. The BRABO programme has the potential to completely transform the Indian industry due to its success in enhancing the affordability of industrial robots and creating custom end-user specific solutions.

We were able to ensure wide-spread percolation of robots in the Indian manufacturing industry – by becoming the 1st ever industrial robot that has been used by several MSME's across industries (automotive, banking, etc), due to offering the best cost-performance mix while ensuring the best possible customer specific adaptations. This will help improve both the productivity and quality of MSMEs significantly enhancing their overall competitiveness

In addition, we have noticed that several of the MSMEs are using our robots to eliminate hazardous (to human handlers) processes in their system. The BRABO robots will handle these dirty, hazardous and dangerous jobs to ensure that no human handler will have to face the same.

Our robot was built as a response to the voice of the Indian MSMEs who want an Indian solution to their needs. We created India's first robot solution for <10 kg payloads through the BRABO TR-02 and TR-10. These robots were optimal for the requirements of MSMEs as they had just the right payload capacity vs. the existing offerings of international players which started at >20 kg payload (mainly designed for external markets). BRABO robots are the first made-in-India robots which were designed, tested and manufactured completely in India. Tata has also developed a completely indigenous controller to ensure that it has complete technology ownership.

Through its high levels of localisation, innovative value engineering approach and local availability of spares and services, BRABO robots offered best-in-class ownership (20-30% cheaper) when compared to international players like Kuka, ABB, etc.

The international players operated on an import-only model with even spare parts having to be imported. The BRABOTM offering is backed by a complete set of factory automation solutions to ensure a one-stop-shop for the Indian MSME. In order to help India achieve its Industry 4.0 potential, we developed factory automation solutions. Our factory automation solutions include a combination of our products (like BRABO robots) and competitor bought-out parts like AGVs, Machine vision systems, etc., in order to be able to offer an integrated solution to our customers
In order to be able to understand how to design and execute the optimal factory automation solution, we developed in-house domain expertise in tooling, system integration, automation, etc.

The Indian market always has its own challenges when it comes to technology adoption, especially the RoI factor. Are things changing?
Manufacturers have to continuously adapt to the changing demands and invest in technology to be competitive. The main reasons holding SMEs, back from investing in technology are RoI, inability to understand how technology can add value, not being able to connect technology investments to business or competitive enhancement of their position.

Operational excellence brings in huge competitive advantage. Increasing focus on quality, efficiency and safety are key drivers to adopt automation
 
While Price and Total Cost of Ownership remain significant, service speed and spare availability have become increasingly important. TCO and RoI have become two significantly important factors.

Other key factors are:
Competitive pricing – Multiple models are used to offer lower upfront costs
Easy to use robots – By using a mix of easier to 'teach' robots and in-house training sessions for customer employees
Service turnaround – Focus on developing modular spares, inventory stocks, regional warehouses, etc., and
Brand reputation – Developing a strong reference base of established and reputed customers within their focus end-use segments.

Is there a fine balance between total automation and safeguarding jobs?
New technologies, including automation and algorithms, will create new high-quality jobs and vastly improve the job quality and productivity of the existing work of human employees. Such augmentation of existing jobs through technology is expected to create new tasks which will open up opportunities for an entirely new range of livelihoods for workers. At the same time, however, it is also clear that the technological advancement is set to reduce the number of workers required for certain work tasks which are repetitive. It is critical that businesses take an active role in supporting their existing workforces through reskilling and upskilling. New technology adoption drives business growth, new tasks creation and augmentation of existing jobs, provided it can fully leverage the talents of a motivated and agile workforce who are equipped with future proof knowledge and skills to take advantage of new opportunities through continuous training and upskilling. Conversely, skills gaps among workers and among an organisation’s senior leadership may significantly hamper new technology adoption and therefore business growth.

Dr Amit Bhingurde leads as Chief Operations Officer, TAL Manufacturing Solutions Ltd, a 100% subsidiary of Tata Motors Ltd. Dr Bhingurde is recognised as one of the national leading experts in robotics and automation, in the arena of innovation and manufacturing. He possesses a proven excellent executive management track record of over 27+ years of experience driving innovative growth in robotic industry of India. He bears a wealth of knowledge in robotics, automation and automotive engineering.