國內協作機器人（cobot）市場最近甚是熱鬧。多家企業先後釋出了最新的協作機器人產品，而兩家行業領先企業，節卡和越疆更是幾乎同時宣佈完成超3億元融資的訊息，一時間，協作機器人這一細分賽道，火熱程度前所未有。
事實上，隨著智慧製造轉型的加速和人口紅利的消失，機器人的更多應用已是必然。憑藉其靈活性和易用性，以及更低的價格，協作機器人在最近幾年的發展更是迅速。根據市場研究公司Interact Analysis的最新報告，儘管全球協作機器人市場在2020年出現負增長，但後續發展預測樂觀。具體情況怎樣，請看以下譯文。
China and the US Set to Drive Post-Covid Surge in Collaborative Robot Sales中國和美國將推動疫後協作機器人銷售激增
Leading market research company Interact Analysis has released a new report on the collaborative robot market. The report reviews what turned out to be a difficult 2019 and a tumultuous 2020 but gives reason for optimism for the sector from now up to 2028, with significant growth predicted.
領先的市場研究公司Interact Analysis釋出了一份關於協作機器人市場的新報告。該報告回顧了2019年的艱難和2020年的動盪，但給出了從現在到2028年該行業樂觀的理由，並預測會有顯著增長。
As is the case with many industries, Covid-19 has severely affected the short and medium-term outlook for the collaborative robot sector. In 2020 the market saw negative growth for the first time -11.3% in revenue terms, and -5.7% in shipment terms. Factory and warehouse closures slowed down demand; and customers became more cautious about investment, leading to delays or even cancellations of orders. But Interact Analysis’s research indicates that there will be a V-shaped rebound for the industry which will result in growth of nearly 20% in 2021, surpassing 2019 market size.
與許多行業一樣，新冠肺炎疫情嚴重影響了協作機器人領域的短期和中期前景。2020年，該市場首次出現負增長——銷售額下降11.3%，出貨量萎縮5.7%。工廠和倉庫的關閉減緩了需求；客戶對投資變得更加謹慎，導致訂單延期甚至取消。但Interact Analysis的研究表明，該行業將出現V形反彈，2021年將增長近20%，市場規模超過2019年。
Thereafter up to 2028 there will be an annual growth rate of the order of 15-20%. The forecast has been lowered considerably compared to the equivalent 2019 report, the main reasons being, besides the Covid effect, competition from small articulated and SCARA robots in industrial settings, and the slower than expected increase in cobot installations in non-industrial applications but, in these turbulent times, the outlook looks good for the sector.
此後到2028年，年增長率將在15-20%左右。與2019年相同的報告相比，該預測大幅下調，主要原因是除疫情效應外，工業領域來自小型關節機器人和SCARA機器人的競爭，以及非工業應用中協作機器人安裝的增長低於預期，但在當前動盪時期，該行業的前景看起來不錯。
The impact of Covid-19 on the cobot market varies from region to region. The virus started in the Asian regions and then moved to Europe and North America. As a result, normal business operations and commissioning of automation projects in the Asia-Pacific region will resume earlier than in other regions. This is important for the cobot market, as over 50% of cobots were shipped to Asian countries in 2020. However, only the Chinese and, interestingly, the North American markets are forecast to surpass the size of 2019, mainly due to large domestic demand. China has seen high take-up of cobots because the country, as the world’s largest manufacturing base, is suffering from a labour shortage and is in strong need of higher levels of automation to improve production efficiency. By 2022 all regions are predicted to have exceeded the 2019 market-size, with Western Europe, along with China and North America seeing the fastest growth rates.
新冠肺炎對協作機器人市場的影響因地區而異。病毒從亞洲地區開始，然後轉移到歐洲和北美。因此，亞太地區的正常業務運營和自動化專案除錯將比其他地區更早恢復。這對於協作機器人市場非常重要，因為2020年有超過50％的協作機器人是銷往亞洲國家。但有趣的是，只有中國市場和北美市場預計將超過2019年的規模，這主要是由於巨大的國內需求。作為全球最大的製造基地，中國勞動力短缺，迫切需要更高水平的自動化來提高生產效率，因此協作機器人在中國的使用率較高。預計到2022年，所有地區的市場規模都將超過2019年，其中西歐、中國和北美的增速最快。
Jan Zhang, senior director at Interact Analysis, told us: “Collaborative robots are still the new kid on the block. Their application potential hasn’t been fully exploited yet, by any means. At present, electronics is by far the biggest end-industry employing cobots, but their potential is now being recognized across a range of sectors. Their flexibility and ease of use makes them strong candidates for logistics, services and even education applications. Our research tells us that those non-manufacturing areas will account for 21.3% of collaborative robot revenues by 2024. Our little Cobot friends are certainly set to enjoy significant growth compared to other robot types.”
Interact Analysis高階總監Jan Zhang表示：“協作機器人仍然是新興產品。無論如何，它們的應用潛力還沒有得到充分開發。目前，電子產品是使用協作機器人的最大終端行業，但現在它們的潛力已在各個領域得到認可。它們的靈活性和易用性使其成為物流、服務甚至教育應用的理想之選。我們的研究告訴我們，到2024年，非製造領域將佔協作機器人收入的21.3％。與其他型別機器人相比，協作機器人肯定會獲得顯著增長。”