Cobots and AMRs can assist producers enhance high quality, accuracy, productiveness, and profitability, mentioned Ujjwal Kumar, group president of Teradyne Robotics, throughout his Automate 2025 keynote. Credit score: Mark T. Hoske, Management Engineering
DETROIT — In contrast to different automation, humanoid robots aren’t but prepared for widespread utilization in manufacturing, mentioned Ujjwal Kumar, ME, the group president of Teradyne Robotics, in his keynote at Automate 2025. Teradyne is the guardian firm of Common Robots and Cellular Industrial Robots.
Kumar gave his presentation, “Tech hype versus industrial want: Separating science fiction from scalable options,” on the annual commerce present and convention of the Affiliation for Advancing Automation’s (A3). Automate had greater than 875 exhibitors, over 40,000 registrants, and greater than 140 convention classes on robotics, machine imaginative and prescient, synthetic intelligence, and different industrial automation matters.
Producers have a number of necessities for robotics that humanoids can’t but meet, mentioned Kumar. They embrace security, reliability, and the power to simply match into current infrastructure.
Autonomous cellular robots (AMRs) can transfer materials autonomously and reliably. Collaborative robotic arms mounted on AMRs are already working in industrial functions and have confirmed their maturity over the previous 10 years, Kumar mentioned.
The function of bodily AI, educating, studying, and adaptation is right here now, he added. This contains dynamic path planning and adaptive behaviors. Kumar confirmed a video of a robotic putting in a drill bit in a hand drill, choosing up a block of wooden, and drilling. One other video clip confirmed a robotic folding eyeglasses closed and placing them right into a case.
Don’t get caught up in humanoid robotic hype
Kumar asserted that advances in robotics might result in unprecedented transformation of workplaces and folks’s day by day lives. Amid that pleasure, differentiating between hype and actuality is necessary, he noticed.
Automation must drive actual worth, mentioned Kumar. How can AI-enabled robots profit business, and the way can scalable, open platform applied sciences advance automation?
Robotics and AI make headlines nearly day by day, Kumar identified. Humanoids appear like they’re prepared for plant flooring use at the moment, however scaling such robots to industrial settings stays a problem. Headlines about humanoid robots can distract from actual wants, he noticed.
“We don’t have the luxurious of chasing science fiction,” mentioned Kumar. “We have to ship ROI (return on funding) now.”
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Perceive the labor equation
Kumar drew comparisons between his first job at Normal Motors in 1999 and at the moment.
“Now I see a variety of issues able to be solved, and the entire ecosystem has to work collectively,” he mentioned. “We’re within the entrance seat with a number of of you to unravel labor, ergonomic, and different challenges.”
Kumar claimed that the labor equation is damaged throughout industries, with too few expert employees out there (see picture beneath). In accordance with the United Nations, 2024 statistics confirmed that developed economies have been shedding workforce capability as shopper demand surges. The inhabitants aged 65 and over will exceed these 24 and youthful quickly after 2035, it famous.
Throughout industries, there are fewer fingers to maintain factories working, and even fewer to do bodily demanding jobs, Kumar mentioned. “There’s a widening hole between the work that wants doing and out there employees,” he mentioned. “We should align factories with the expectations of the following era.”
In accordance with March 2025 information from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Bureau of Labor Statistics, 622,000 manufacturing jobs are unfilled, and that’s earlier than latest reshoring efforts, Kumar mentioned.
“We’ve got a 20% labor pressure scarcity for sturdy items manufacturing,” he added. “We’d like automation options to step in instantly, not later. We’d like scalable options that work at the moment.”
The labor equation is damaged for manufacturing, and cobots and AMRs can assist, mentioned Teradyne’s Kumar. 2024 U.N. numbers present that, in developed economies, the inhabitants 65 and over will exceed these 24 and youthful quickly after 2035. Supply: Mark T. Hoske, Management Engineering
Humanoids supply promise, have limits
The attract of humanoid robots is robust, pushed by science fiction, Kumar mentioned. Goldman Sachs has predicted a $38 billion marketplace for humanoid robots by 2035. Morgan Stanley has mentioned 63 million humanoid robots might be deployed by 2050, globally, with 75% of job classes affected.
Candidates for humanoid utilization embrace elder care, catastrophe response, and, finally, manufacturing. To get from at the moment’s ideas to widespread plant-floor functions, humanoid robots have a protracted approach to go, mentioned Kumar. He acknowledged that Agility Robotics, Boston Dynamics, and others are making progress.
“These are necessary steps, however early ones,” mentioned Kumar. “With at the moment’s labor shortages, we can’t begin with what is feasible. We have to begin with what is required. Kind follows operate, not the opposite manner round.”
Battery life for humanoid robots is usually two to 4 hours, payload is usually round 20 kg (44 lb.), deployments are within the pilot section, and laws are immature, he mentioned. These programs usually are not but prepared for widespread deployment in manufacturing or warehousing.
Most humanoids require lively management and are doubtlessly unstable for a lot of functions, added Kumar. He cited a Deutsche Financial institution prediction from February 2025, that mentioned the humanoid robotic market would increase from $75 billion in 2025 to $1 trillion by 2050.
Industrial automation should meet 5 wants
“I don’t see humanoid robots considerably impacting manufacturing anytime quickly,” Kumar mentioned. “Job robotics are extra environment friendly and cost-effective. Humanoid robots have compelling alternatives in lots of functions, however not for manufacturing and logistics, not but.”
In accordance with producer suggestions, there are 5 necessities for automation:
Security and reliability
Actual, measurable outcomes with productiveness and accuracy
Improved work environments
Match current infrastructure
Ease of use with quick, versatile deployment and seamless integration — and not using a battalion of customized programmers
Respondents to a 2024 Common Robots manufacturing survey mentioned they need automation to enhance product high quality, improve productiveness, enhance accuracy, and enhance funds. Credit score: Mark T. Hoske, Management Engineering
From the 2024 Common Robots producer survey (see above), respondents need actual, measurable outcomes:
54% enhance product high quality
50% improve productiveness and meet rising demand
49% enhance accuracy
36% enhance funds (chopping prices, elevating earnings)
Why cobots and AMRs match at the moment’s automation wants
At current, humanoid robots are extremely variable, with out economies of scale, requiring months or years of planning, however automation must implement adjustments extra quickly, mentioned Teradyne’s Kumar. Right now’s robots can tackle instant wants with flexibility, he mentioned.
Automation must ship on payload, precision, ease of integration, and manufacturing stream, in addition to be tailor-made for the atmosphere, Kumar defined. Robots are higher off with wheels now.
Cobots are designed to work alongside individuals and might deal with duties in workcells exactly, with out added complexities. They’re usually the suitable instruments for the job, Kumar mentioned.
Platforms matter, from stand-alone robots to scalable options, he mentioned. Common Robots has pioneered an ecosystem with companions to adapt applied sciences for a variety of functions, from welding to palletizing.
Greater than 50 options can be found by way of the UR+ community to unravel actual buyer issues. The open platform supplies an open platform, velocity, ease of integration, and depth of choices as a result of nobody firm can do all of it, mentioned Kumar.
For instance, the Robotiq PE20 palletizing system at Common Robots’ Automate sales space can function with an 18 kg (39.6 lb.) payload at 12 cycles per minute with imaginative and prescient steering. It matches into current end-of-line configurations with no customized code required, mentioned Kumar.
The three- to five-year imaginative and prescient from Teradyne Robotics isn’t catching up, however staying forward, he mentioned.
“Automation received’t be non-compulsory. It’s foundational,” Kumar asserted. “Automation empowers, doesn’t change, the workforce. Don’t construct across the robotic. Construct round the issue.”
Mixtures of AMRs and collaborative robots are already out there. Teradyne’s MC600 cellular manipulator lately received an RBR50 Robotics Innovation Award.
Robots and automation can assist business now
Kumar listed 5 methods during which automation can assist business now:
Begin with operate: Construct options round your duties.
Harness expertise: Use mature, useful, well-integrated automation. Too many industries are caught in Trade 3.0.
Embrace open ecosystem: Leverage platforms that speed up integration.
Put money into flexibility: Select applications that evolve with you.
Upskill the workforce: Practice individuals to collaborate with automation instruments.
Use a regular configurable platform for {hardware} and software program, Kumar recommended. Teradyne Robotics’ ustomers embrace Analog Units, Matthews Worldwide, NVIDIA, and Siemens.
The UR+ ecosystem has greater than 300 companions, 500 functions, over 400 programs integrators, and greater than 200 authentic tools producers (OEMs) with 100,000 cobots shipped.
The MiR Go ecosystem for Cellular Industrial Robots exceeds 60 companions, has greater than 150 functions, contains 50 programs integrators, and 4 OEMs with 11,000 AMRs shipped.
“Our resolution is to work with you and companions to develop the instruments that all of us want at the moment,” concluded Kumar.
Editor’s observe: This text was syndicated from The Robotic Report sibling web site Management Engineering.
