"The third edition of the World Robotics R&D Programs Report covers the latest developments in the funding programs, including updates for 2022," says Prof. Dr. Jong-Oh Park, Vice Chair of the IFR Research Committee and member of the Executive Board.

As the overview shows, the world's most advanced robotics countries - measured in terms of annual installations of industrial robots - China, Japan, the USA, South Korea, Germany and the EU are pursuing very different research and development strategies:

Research & development in robotics - official funding programs

In China, the "14th Five-Year Plan" for the development of the robotics industry was published by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) in Beijing on December 21, 2021 - the strategy focuses on promoting innovation. The aim is to make China a global leader in robotics technology and industrial progress. Robotics is part of a total of 8 key industries over the next 5 years. To implement the national science and technology innovation agreements, the special program "Intelligent Robots" was launched on April 23, 2022 as part of the National Key Research and Development Plan with a financial volume of USD 43.5 million. As the latest statistical yearbook "World Robotics" by the IFR shows, China has reached a robot density of 322 units per 10,000 workers in the manufacturing industry: this puts the country in fifth place worldwide in 2021 - in 2018, China still ranked 20th (140 units).

In Japan, the "New Robot Strategy" aims to make the country the world's leading center for robot innovation. The Japanese government has provided more than USD 930.5 million in funding for 2022. Key sectors are manufacturing (USD 77.8 million), care and medicine (USD 55 million), infrastructure (USD 643.2 million) and agriculture (USD 66.2 million). The action plan for the manufacturing and service sectors includes projects such as autonomous driving, advanced aviation and the development of integrated technologies at the heart of the next generation of artificial intelligence and robots. As part of the "Moonshot Research and Development Program", a budget of USD 440 million has been made available for robotics projects, which will run over a five-year period from 2020 to 2025. According to the IFR's statistical yearbook "World Robotics", Japan is the world's leading manufacturer of industrial robots and supplied a total of 45% of the global supply in 2021.

The 3rd Basic Plan for Intelligent Robots in South Korea aims to develop robotics as a core industry of the fourth industrial revolution. The Korean government has allocated USD 172.2 million for the "2022 Implementation Plan for the Intelligent Robot". From 2022 to 2024, a total of USD 7.41 million has been earmarked for the "Full-Scale Test Platform Project for Special-Purpose Manned or Unmanned Aerial Vehicles". The IFR's statistical yearbook "World Robotics" shows an all-time high of 1,000 industrial robots per 10,000 employees for the country in 2021. This makes South Korea the nation with the highest robot density in the world.

With a budget of USD 94.30 billion and a duration of seven years (2021-2027), Horizon Europe is the EU's most important framework program for research and innovation. The main objectives are: Strengthening the EU's scientific and technological foundations, promoting innovation capacity, competitiveness and employment in Europe, as well as implementing priority citizen concerns and sustainably strengthening socio-economic models and values. The European Commission is providing a total of USD 198.5 million for the robotics-related work program 2021-2022.

The German High-Tech Strategy 2025 (HTS) is the fourth edition of the research and innovation program in Germany. The federal government will provide around USD 69 million per year until 2026 - a total budget of USD 345 million over five years. The "Technology for People" program was launched as part of HTS 2025. This program aims to use technological change in society as a whole and in the world of work for the benefit of people. Research topics include: digital assistance systems such as smart glasses, human-robot collaboration, exoskeletons to support employees in their physical work, as well as solutions to make work processes more flexible and support mobile working. According to the IFR's "World Robotics" report, Germany is the largest robotics market in Europe - with a robot density of 397 units per 10,000 employees, it is in 4th place worldwide.

The National Robotics Initiative (NRI) in the USA is supported by the US government and is used for basic research and development in the field of robotics. The NRI 3.0 program, announced in February 2021, builds on the previous NRI programs and aims to research integrated robotic systems. The US government supported the NRI 3.0 fund with USD 14 million in 2021. Collaboration between academic, industrial, government, non-profit and other organizations is encouraged. NASA's "Moon to Mars" project, for example, aims to establish a long-term presence near and on the moon.

The projects are aimed at research and technology development that will significantly increase robotic capabilities to support human space exploration and scientific missions. For the Artemis lunar program, the US government plans to allocate a budget of 35 billion US dollars between 2020 and 2024. The IFR's statistical yearbook "World Robotics" shows that robot density in the United States has increased from 255 units in 2020 to 274 units in 2021. This puts the country in 9th place worldwide, with the USA in 3rd place in terms of annual installations of industrial robots.