The Dutch Robotics Agenda involves a short, middle and long term vision of the current status of robotics development in the Netherlands and how to move forward.
Robert Loos
Executive Summary
Robotics is booming! The Netherlands: don’t miss the train!
- Global perspectives for robotics are optimistic.
- Huge opportunity for the Netherlands to become an important global player in robotics.
Strengths and Opportunities
- Large social need for robotics e.g. in healthcare due to the aging population and in agriculture due to shortage of labor.
- Dutch universities are highly ranked in high-tech research and development and already have a large part of the technology needed available.
- The Netherlands has a lot of innovative high-tech mechatronic engineering companies supplying components for the robotics industry.
- The Netherlands has a worldwide leading position in milking robots.
- The Netherlands has a positive innovation climate, with direct connections between companies and knowledge institutes.
Weaknesses and Threats
- There are not enough engineers in the Netherlands.
- There are not enough investors in robotics in the Netherlands.
- In society there is skepticism about robotics. Social acceptance of robots is an issue.
How to seize the opportunity?
- There is a shift from traditional industrial robots towards service robots.
- More commercialization driven by valorization.
- Improved technology, focusing on the interaction of humans with robots.
- Technological breakthroughs in the field of 3D perception, motion/task programming, soft/compliant actuation, and cognitive learning algorithms.
- Actions on safety, standardization, public awareness, and human capital.
- More exchange of knowledge and collaboration within the robotics field, both between disciplines and between application fields.
Required Actions
- Government: become launching customer of robots. Invest in start-up and spin-off companies; invest in robotics research & development as well as in coordination actions.
- Societal institutions: stimulate the acceptance of robots e.g. by public debate and ‘free zones’.
- Knowledge institutes: realize technological breakthroughs; perform research into social practices and relations; develop a safety framework for service robots.
- Educational institutes: deliver more and better-educated students in robotics.
- Companies: invest in care, cure, agro&food and professional service robotics; join forces in the whole value chain, of suppliers, robot producers and engineering firms; create business cases.
- Community (RoboNED): stimulate knowledge exchange and collaboration.
Download the Strategic Agenda to read the full Roadmap.
Author(s)/Published by: Ir. D.J.B.A. Kranenburg - de Lange
Source: RoboNED
