Suggestions from manufacturing robot sector South Korea 2018

In 2018, around 39.7 percent of companies manufacturing robots for industrial use would value an increase in support for research and development (R&D). According to the source, the industrial robot sector has been the leading source of revenue for the South Korean robot industry in recent years.

Growing pains

The robot industry was highlighted by the South Korean government as a key industry to support within the framework of implementing Industry 4.0 into the country’s economy. Nevertheless, the industry was still in the stages of early development compared to other global leaders such as Japan. South Korean companies stressed the limitations present in their facilities, both in the standard of available equipment and the costs of investment. Additionally, the domestic industry was weary of its close neighbor, China, catching up to them in the future.

Cause for optimism

A side-effect of the COVID-19 pandemic was the introduction of social distancing measures, and robots were an ideal way for companies to continue operations while greatly reducing the risk of infection. In a survey of South Korean robot company CEO’s, the overall opinion was that the robot industry would grow after the COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, most company leaders thought that promising sectors for robots would be those that were traditionally reliant on human labor, such as logistics and customer services. A common trait of these leading sectors during the coronavirus pandemic has been that workers were more exposed to potential infection through human contact.