Building the European Robotics Platform EUROP The High Level View

Robotics is a technology at the cusp. Long accepted by industry to improve factory quality, performance and efficiency, robotics has for at least three decades been a key technology in engineering industries (automotive, electronics, etc.) for increasing industrial productivity and for competitive manufacturing. After decades of hype and disappointment, robots are at last moving out of the shop-floor to find their way into a range of new markets that promise to dramatically expand the robotics market and bring social and economic benefits to a gre a t e In industrial robotics, where Europe has one of the leading positions worldwide in both the production and usage of manufacturing based systems, advances in robotics technologies are allowing them to be applied in new, manpower-intensive areas such as food production, aircraft assembly and recycling of goods. As technology further develops, we will soon see the teaming of workers with robots so that the resulting networked systems become more capable and agile. Robots will thu s b e c o me wo r k e r s ' assistants and collaborators in all areas of production, providing more flexible approaches to manufacturing and assembly and bringing to these industries the benefits of increased productivity and quality, enhanced health and safety. The same technologies needed to drive forward industrial robots are also forming the basis of the emerging service robot market. Novel robot machines are thus increasingly finding their way into our homes, in hospitals and in other public spaces, in the form of self-navigating vacuum cleaners, lawn mowers, window washers, toys, or surgical robots. Robots will soon be capable of performing more challenging tasks though, in professional markets, in the home or at leisure. They will be operating in field areas like forestry, agriculture, cleaning, mining, freight transport, demolition, etc. New robot systems will also enable a greater proportion of the population to live independently in their homes (by providing personal assistance to the elderly and the infirm) and add further convenience to our daily life by helping us carrying out everyday chores. The robot service market, while small, is currently g r o wi n g e x p o n e n t i a l l y. I t wi l l b e c o me a ma j o r i n f l u e n c e o n mo s t a r e a …