The market for industrial service robotics is growing: according to the International Federation of Robotics (IFR), global sales of industrial service robots grew by 25% in 2016, with almost 60,000 units sold worldwide. An increase is also expected for the period from 2018 to 2020, averaging between 20% and 25% per year. Europe is the global hotspot for service robotics: around 290 of the 700 or so manufacturers worldwide are based here and supply almost 90% of all service robots for agriculture, construction and building.

Research for service robotics
So it's no wonder that research institutions, universities, companies and even politicians are committed to driving service robotics forward. For example, the German government has launched the PAiCE (Platforms | Additive Manufacturing | Imaging | Communication | Engineering) technology program. The funding program of the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy is also represented at Automatica. An excerpt from the research projects can be seen at its stand in Hall B4.

One of these is Seronet. The Service Robot Network SeRoNet aims to develop a growth-oriented, open platform that supports the development of customer-specific solutions. Companies such as Kuka, MLR, Ruhrbotics, Daimler TSS, Klinikum Mannheim and Transpharm Logistik, the universities of Ulm, Stuttgart, Paderborn and Mannheim and the Karlsruhe Research Center for Information Technology are involved. The project is coordinated by the Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Engineering and Automation IPA.

The project is creating an open IT platform for service robotics. Users can jointly develop software on this platform and manufacturers, service providers and users can exchange information on individual requirements. The aim is to significantly reduce software development costs in professional service robotics. At Automatica, interested trade visitors can find out how they can participate in the Seronet project as part of an open tender.

Automatica, Hall B4, Stand 331