Big players as robotics manufacturers - is South Korea ahead of us?
The IFR revealed the trends in robotics in South Korea in an article the other day. These include that corporations such as Samsung, LG, Hyundai, Doosan or Hanwha are increasingly involved in robotics as manufacturers. They see robotics as a growth engine.
It's time to take a look at what developments there are in our country that involve large companies beyond robotics. So the question is whether our corporations see sales potential with their own robotics products. Notwithstanding this, there are countless collaborations between corporations and robotics companies, including those from the startup scene. One of the best-known partnerships is probably that of VW and Wandelbots. However, this is only about solving their own problems, not about new business models for the corporations.
Bosch's Apas has been on the market for many years, but has not prompted Bosch to make a major commitment. However, Bosch subsidiary BoschRexroth is increasingly acting as a technology partner for robotics incl. AMR manufacturers. The main company seems to be more interested in small-scale robotics (lawn mowers), e-mobility and artificial intelligence. Here they are aware of the increasing connection between robotics and AI, as this interview with Prof. Haddadin shows(link). Siemens joined Rethink Robotics earlier this year via a contribution in kind (know how). The Silicon Valley subsidiary of Siemens has a stake in Wandelbots. Siemens had previously invested in Magazino. Jungheinrich is also involved there as an industry representative. Jungheinrich's competitor, the Kion Group has invested in Quicktron. Although Jungheinrich and Kion are heavyweights within their industry, they cannot be described as big players.
BMW wants to distribute AMR together with Google
BMW founded IDEALworks GmbH at the end of 2020 with the aim of becoming a leading provider of autonomous robot solutions. With the Smart Transport Robot, a proprietary development, other industries are also to be served. IDEALworks is collaborating in AMR leasing with ALPHABET, Google's parent company. One of the technology partners is Stäubli. The question here is whether BMW will become a competitor to its own suppliers such as Kuka, Grenzebach & Co. in the medium term.
Schaeffler has been active for decades - but now increasingly - in areas of robotics, including ultrasonics. Schaeffler will also offer motors for cobots from 2022(link).
Big players pay a premium on acquisitions
For many an innovative robotics company, this may be a promising option: Korean companies are buying market players quite aggressively (i.e. at high prices). As is well known, Boston Dynamics went to Hyundai. The advantage of acquisitions, if you can afford them: Quick access to a product that is often already market-ready, which can then be distributed internationally for the benefit of all, thanks to the company's own sales force. Hyundai has had its own headquarters in Munich for several months. The Korean boss has made 20,000 contacts via LinkedIn within a short period of time, but the extent to which these will lead to sales cannot be judged.
In general, the question arises as to whether the groups are "maintaining" their robotics divisions properly. Hanwha's newsletter focuses almost exclusively on Q-Cell (solar), although Freise Automation is a very active cobot integrator here and has also had its own subsidiary for a few months. The robots from Doosan are appreciated on the German market for their quality, but sales are only noticed to a limited extent.
The very large companies can therefore be seen not only as customers, but also as potential sales partners or even investors. At the same time, the question of the correct valuation of robotics companies arises once again. Rainbow Robotics, which first became known in Germany through the Hanover Fair, is apparently valued at almost 500 times its previous year's sales or - even more remarkably - at over €400 million. In Germany, companies like Franka Emika or Wandelbots, with their initially low sales, would probably not have found such acceptance on the stock market.
Robots are widespread in Korea - soon for us too?
Another interesting aspect of the article is the reference to the wider use of cobots in Korea compared to Germany. This is not surprising, as there are 855 robots per 10,000 employees in South Korea, but only 346 in Germany(source). Germany certainly has some catching up to do. However, this is currently being realized, as shown by the stronger cobot demand from small and medium-sized enterprises, but also by the beginning use in previously shunned places. One example is the restaurant trade. If one believes in gastronomy as a customer, the robotics market in areas such as Tyrol or Graubünden is likely to be rather larger in gastronomy than in industry there. This is because the industry is more strongly represented there than some people think, but it already has a basic equipment of robots. However, it must also be noted that South Korea does not have access to the favorable labor potential of migration as we do. If a German supermarket operator finds female sales assistants too expensive, he employs fewer and resorts to Eastern European shelf stockers, for example, so that the trained saleswoman can concentrate on the supermarket checkout as well as the counters. This option does not exist in Asiastian countries such as Korea, Japan, Taiwan or China. In South Korea, real wages (i.e., adjusted for inflation) grew roughly 2% per year over the past decade(link), while in Germany they grew less than 1%(link).
Taken from said article is this video of a neuromeka at work:
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The author of this blog is significantly involved in the AI/ robotics project Boost-Bot. He advises robotics companies and investors on market (entry)/business development and funding/subsidies. The standard book on cobots is also written by Guido Bruch.