"Industrial robots are a key part of manufacturing progress." Junji Tsuda, President of the International Federation of Robots.

With the development and maturity of advanced science and technology, industrial robots have become the leading role in manufacturing industry. Industrial robotics technology covers such fields as vision recognition, skill learning, fault prediction using artificial intelligence, man-machine cooperation and simple programming. It can improve the productivity of manufacturing industry and expand the application field of robots.

According to IFR data, global shipments of industrial robots will reach 421,000 in 2018 and 630,000 in 2021, with an annual growth rate of 14%.

Source: IFR

Five industrial robots account for 73% of the world market.

According to IFR statistics, the global sales of industrial robots in 2017 were 381,000, while China, Japan, South Korea, the United States and Germany accounted for 73% of the total market.

China: In 2017, China's industrial robots market accounted for 37% of the global market, completing 138,000 units of sales, surpassing the total European and American markets (1124,000 units). According to the division of suppliers of industrial robots in the Chinese market, more than 100,000 industrial robots are foreign brands, and the market share of local industrial robots in China dropped from 31% in 2016 to 25% in 2017.

Japan: Japan, as a leading manufacturer of industrial robots such as Ankawa Electric Machinery, Kawasaki, Europeans and Buiyue Seiko Epson, supplied 57% of the world's industrial robots in 2017, an increase of 45% compared with 2016. Most of these robotic products are sold to North America, China, Korea and Europe. In addition, the sales of Japanese industrial robots in Japan increased by 18% compared with the previous year, to 45566 units.

Korea: Korea has the highest share of industrial robots in the world, eight times more than the global average (85/10,000 employees). But in 2017, shipments of Korean industrial robots fell by 4%, to 39732 units.

Source: IFR

The United States: As a highly mechanized country, the United States maintained seven years of continuous growth in industrial robots in 2017, reaching 33192 units, an increase of 6%.

Germany: As the fifth largest industrial robot market in the world, Germany's sales of industrial robots reached 21,404 in 2017, an increase of 7% over the previous year, ranking first in Europe.

The biggest application area of industrial robots: automobiles

In 2017, industrial robots used in the automotive sector accounted for 33% of total shipments and increased sales by 22%. With the reduction of robot size, improvement of adaptability, easier programming and lower cost, the automation status of small and medium-sized automobile enterprises will also be optimized.

The market of power electronics industry reached 12,100 in 2017, an increase of 33% compared with the previous year, accounting for nearly 30% of the total supply of industrial robots in 2017.

The application of industrial robots in metal industry (including industrial machinery, metal processing, etc.) is increasing gradually. In 2017, the demand of industrial robots accounted for 10% of the total market supply, and sales increased by 55%. In response to this rapid growth. In addition, large metal and metal products enterprises are implementing industrial 4.0 automation strategy, including robotics technology, to quickly respond to changes in market demand, in order to achieve the benefits of economies of scale.

In addition, the application scenarios of industrial robots include chemical industry, rubber, plastics and food.

China's Industrial Robot Patent Layout ranks first in the world

According to an Intellectual Property Rights Analysis and Review Report of Robot Industry issued by the State Intellectual Property Office today, as of December 2017, China and Japan were the key patent distributors in the field of industrial robots. China had the largest patent distribution, accounting for 36.5% of the global total, followed by Japan, whose patent distribution accounted for 24.4% of the global total, and their patent distribution accounted for 24.4% of the total. As high as 61%, occupying an absolutely important technical position.

Geographical Distribution of Protection in the Field of Global Industrial Robots

Source: State Intellectual Property Office

In terms of time span, China has surpassed Japan in patent applications before and after 2006, ranking first in the world.

Application Trends of Major Protected Areas in the Field of Global Industrial Robots in the Past Twenty Years

Source: State Intellectual Property Office

As of December 2017, there were 111306 patents/applications involving industrial robots in China, of which local brands accounted for 93.4% of the total, while Chinese enterprises were the main force of applications.

In terms of the composition of patent technology for industrial robots in China, the number of applications for mechanical ontology and control system is the largest, with little difference. Driving agencies rank third, and perception systems have the least number of patents.

Analysis of Technology Distribution in the Field of Industrial Robots in China

Source: State Intellectual Property Office

At present, Europe and Japan are the main suppliers of industrial robots. Abb, Kuka, Fanako and Anchuan Electric Machinery, the four robotic giants, occupy about 50% of the global market share of industrial robots, and the foreign-funded enterprises represented by the four giants also occupy the Chinese market.

Regional Distribution of Some Manufacturers of Global Industrial Robots

Source: State Intellectual Property Office

The development time of domestic industrial robots is relatively short, and it is still in its infancy. The production time of domestic industrial robots is only eight years. It is understood that the technology of domestic industrial robots is 15 years behind the four leading industrial robots in foreign countries, even compared with the second-class foreign enterprises, it will also be 5-10 years behind. After 40 years of reform and opening up, China's manufacturing industry started late, but developed rapidly. In the view of the industrial control editor,