Survey Shows Increased Adoption of Robotics Motivated by Cost and Safety Concerns

Summary

Robotics adoption in North America is entering a pivotal moment. As industries like manufacturing, healthcare and automotive grapple with labor shortages and rising efficiency demands, automation has shifted from a luxury to a necessity, ushering in a paradigm shift that brings complex challenges around regulation, ethics and workforce integration.
 
Recently, QNX surveyed 1,000 decision makers from across the globe and North America to uncover insights into varies industries' continued adoption of robotics.

China leads while North America lags

China is outpacing global competitors with 89% robotics adoption compared to the global average of 50%. North America trails behind with less than half (45%) of organizations citing that they currently utilize robotics.
 
As a long-perceived leader in innovation, North America finds itself at a crossroads, needing to fully embrace automation to remain competitive or risk trailing even further behind other global superpowers. At this inflection point, 45% of North American organizations that are not yet utilizing robotics plan to do so within the next two years; however just 9% plan to take this step in the coming year.
 
Key drivers North American leaders attribute to their robotics deployment include: advancements in technology (88%), meeting customer expectations (85%), reducing costs (85%) and enhancing safety (84%). These findings underscore that robotics adoption isn’t driven by a single factor but by a combination of operational, safety and competitive factors. While cost reduction has long been a driver of automation across various industries, the almost equal emphasis on meeting customer expectations and enhancing safety highlights a shift in priorities from robots just as a tool of efficiency to being essential for delivering consistent quality and maintaining worker wellbeing.

Oh worker, where art thou?

A key driver of robotics adoption in North America is the widening workforce gap. Two-thirds (66%) of survey respondents shared that ongoing labor shortages directly influenced their organization's decision to invest in robotics. This is especially evident in sectors like healthcare and manufacturing, where demand continues to outpace the availability of skilled workers. These results echo findings from Deloitte and The Manufacturing Institute that predict up to 3.8 million additional skilled workers will be needed in the U.S. manufacturing sector by 2033 and 1.9 million of these positions will remain unfilled.
 
Robotics offer the potential to fill these positions and increase overall job satisfaction by eliminating dangerous, repetitive or physically demanding tasks, allowing human workers to focus on more strategic and value additive responsibilities.
 
An overwhelming majority of North American organizations (99%) provide some form of upskilling or training to help workers implement robotics. As with any new technology, employee buy-in is paramount for adoption and acceptance, which is moving in the right direction in North America, with 92% of organizations believing that involving employees in robotics planning is important.

Trust in robotics is strong, but adoption varies

Globally, 77% of technology leaders expressed trust in robotics to perform essential industry functions. Leaders are more trusting of this technology for more repetitive, mundane tasks like those related to assembly lines, logistics and material handling. However, this comfortability lowers for tasks related to customer service or medical procedures.
 
As robotics systems become more capable and autonomous, trust isn’t just given; it needs to be earned and maintained through continued reliability, safety and transparency.

Safety, security and standards

Perceived security risks stand as a significant friction point when it comes to global robotics implementation, with 58% of respondents expressing concern. In North America this number increases to 61% but lowers significantly in the APAC region with only 40% citing security concerns.
 
In regard to safety, under one third of survey respondents shared that their organization has experienced a safety risk while working alongside robotics in separate workspaces. At the same time, 89% believe organizational safety measures currently in place are effective at averting such accidents.
 
We’re at a transition point from experiencing robots in fixed environments, to physically working with and alongside these technologies, so ensuring the safety and reliability of robotics systems is more critical than ever to maintain trust and protect workers. It’s important that safety standards are consistently updated and followed to reflect these advancements.
 
Companies should look to regulatory bodies like the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) to ensure they are achieving safety milestones and ensure their building with safety from the ground up. The organization’s most recent guidelines released earlier this year, ISO 10218-1, focus on standards directly tied to this area reflecting the growing presence of robotics unleashed from their protective cages, now working side by side with humans.
 
The age of the robot is no longer hypothetical; it’s here. Robots are no longer solely confined to the factory floor and are becoming increasingly integrated in our daily lives from being present in hospitals, to your car and even your local fast food joint. North America needs to holistically embrace this transition by investing in workforce training, updating policies, and fostering a culture of robotic trust and collaboration or risk falling even further behind on the global stage.