Is the U.S. far behind in robot applications? After 15 years, ten top universities restarted the 'National Robotics Roadmap”

Robotics technology has a history of 70 years, and the United States has been leading the way since its inception.

As of 2009, when the United States released the National Robotics Roadmap for the first time, the United States’ application in industrial applications (such as automobiles, aerospace, and home appliances, etc.) has been reduced to the global fourth place.

Since 2015, the United States has continued to increase its adoption of robotics technology, ranking tenth in the world. The Asian robot market has expanded by 5-10% of the U.S. market. times.

China is "far ahead" in this field. In 2023, China purchased approximately 52% of robots sold, indicating that robotics is no longer a national priority in the United States. .

Recently, ten top American universities including the University of California, the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Texas at Austin, and General Electric Vernova jointly released the latest version of the U.S. Robot Roadmap, which lasts for 70 years. page, which summarizes 60 two-page white papers from industry and academia, providing guidance and planning for the future development direction of robotics technology.

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Paper link: https://hichristensen.com/pdf/roadmap-2024.pdf

The roadmap begins by discussing the major trends that will have a broad impact on society as a whole in the next decade. These trends are key factors in shaping the future and have nothing to do with the development of robotics, but are the key factors in building the future of technology. Foundation.

The main business drivers for future robotics applications are then discussed in detail, covering a number of different industries from manufacturing to healthcare and leisure, revealing not only what drives economic growth but also The main factors of industrial opportunities are also pointed out the business potential behind these factors.

Then he also pointed out the challenges faced in realizing these business opportunities, including advances in material science, convenience of data acquisition, innovation in computing technology, and innovation in user interfaces. , also means that further research and development (R&D) is needed to overcome.

Finally, the article puts forward the main issues that need to be solved in order to maintain the growth momentum, which will guide future research directions and policy formulation and ensure that the United States maintains its leadership position in the field of global robotics. Specifically, Achieving this will require a series of actions and initiatives to address challenges, seize opportunities, and advance robotics to ensure America’s competitive advantage around the world.

Chinese robot companies can also find inspiration from this roadmap and think about countermeasures to expand the market.

Abstract

The field of robotics is at a turning point. Component technologies such as materials, embedded systems and artificial intelligence are experiencing exponential growth, which in turn is catalyzing the development of robotics. Significant progress. The field is changing rapidly, both in terms of scientific advancements and new applications, and robotics will have a profound impact on our daily lives in the coming years, from home to work to leisure activities.

As of today, 82% of the world’s population already lives in urban environments, and it is expected to increase to 90% by the middle of this century. This will undoubtedly have an impact on infrastructure, logistics, construction and safety, and everything from manufacturing to services to home activities and leisure will benefit from the use of automation and robotics.

Social trends also clearly point out the need to increase the use of robotics technology. For example, it is necessary to relocate manufacturing industries such as automobiles and semiconductors to the United States.

Moreover, after the COVID-19 epidemic, society has a labor shortage problem. According to data from the Federal Reserve System, only seven workers are available for every ten open industrial jobs. If there are no "tools" to Increase productivity and economic growth will be seriously threatened.

The working population is also aging at a rate of 8 hours a day, which means that the labor force will decrease over time, and the number of people over 65 years old will increase significantly, which will have a significant impact on Challenges arise for the health care system and for those who wish to remain in their own homes for extended periods of time to maintain quality of life.

In a world of rapid technological change, society also needs mechanisms to continuously provide workforce training to maintain and promote economic growth.

Over the past four years, the U.S. National Robotics Program has ended, the Congressional Caucus on Robotics has had no activity (the last event was in May 2019), and national agencies have Investments in robotics so far have been mostly uncoordinated and small-scale investments.

There are signs that robotics is no longer a national priority in the United States, posing risks to the United States’ long-term competitiveness.

Main Recommendations

In the past four years, the National Robotics Initiative (NRI) was terminated.

In 2011, NRI was initially created as a multi-agency research and development program involving the National Science Foundation (NSF), the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), the U.S. The National Institutes of Health (NIH), the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), and later the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and other federal agencies also joined in.

Now, there is a need for a program like NRI that is supported by multiple agencies and has a cross-agency application.

The effectiveness of NRIs has been proven, and when implemented, the process is more efficient: in standard funding models, applications are often rejected because they are not a good fit for a specific program or institution Being rejected leads to reduced innovation efficiency.

Socio-economic-technological ecosystems are dynamic, complex, and interconnected, connecting "research and development" to real-world, large-scale In practical implementation, federal investment in research and development can achieve the greatest social benefit only if the entire ecosystem is fully considered during the initial design.

Now there is a need to quickly bring practical implementation insights back into research and development programs to minimize waste and maximize success.

The researchers recommend creating a system that includes those responsible for economic competitiveness (U.S. Department of Commerce, Department of Transportation, Federal Aviation Administration), health (Department of Health and Human Services) and safety (Department of Defense, Department of Defense, Federal Aviation Administration) Department of Energy), and an interagency working group with representatives from key research and development agencies (NSF, DOE, DOD, NIST).

The working group will be responsible for ensuring that the design and implementation of research programs are closely linked to development and demonstration programs and should bring together project managers and executors from academia, industry and government. , to increase communication and connections across the entire ecosystem.

The working group should liaise with other interagency working groups (e.g., Artificial Intelligence, NITRD) to ensure coordination and reduce duplication of efforts.

During the last roadmap cycle (2020-2024), the Congressional Robotics Caucus was disbanded, and researchers recommended reactivating the caucus.

Given all the societal benefits outlined in this report, it is critical that robotics becomes a national priority.

There is now a Congressional Artificial Intelligence Caucus, which is somewhat laudable, but many key parts of robotics, such as mechanical design, soft robotics, and control, are not directly governed by AI. As covered by the core group and other committees, interaction with the physical world is at the core of robotics, distinguishing robotics from artificial intelligence while also making it complementary to modern artificial intelligence.

Also need to consider how to support industry in the development, adoption and use of robotics. This should be through programs such as the National Manufacturing Institute, SBIR program, etc., but there should also be more Many targeted plans.

Finally, training and retraining the workforce is critical.

There is already a significant labor shortage in society, and as demographics evolve, this issue will become an even greater priority.

Without an adequate and trained workforce, quality of life and economic growth will be challenged, and the United States needs to invest in training and education in technical schools, colleges, and continuing education programs.

In short,

1. Robotics will transform society and may become as ubiquitous within the next decade as computer technology is today. It seems that the United States is developing too slowly at present, so robotics should once again become a national government priority;

2. There should be funding for robotics R&D (research and development), innovation and Leveraging cross-agency coordination and a comprehensive perspective across industry, academia, and government is critical for the United States;

3. The Congressional Robotics Caucus should be reactivated to ensure that all levels Prioritize appropriately;

4. Funding programs across agencies need to be unified so that researchers, developers, and entrepreneurs have easier access to these opportunities;

5. Need to consider mechanisms to support U.S. industry to remain competitive across regions and countries;

6. Need to focus more on workforce training to address shortages, And make sure you adapt to new technologies.

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