Survey finds 53% of manufacturers adopting industrial robots to improve quality

A survey conducted by ABI Research between Q4 2024 and Q1 2025 in the United States, Germany, and Malaysia revealed that 53% of manufacturers are in the early stages of adopting new industrial robot hardware, while 28% have already implemented industrial robots in their facilities. The survey identified industrial robot deployment as a key strategy for improving manufacturing process quality, with 40% of respondents prioritizing it, compared to 34.1% in the prior study. Additionally, 19% of respondents plan to adopt industrial robots within the next five years, and 33% are considering collaborative or mobile robots in the same timeframe.

The survey included responses from manufacturing engineers to C-level executives, primarily IT managers and above, with equal representation from the three countries. Respondents cited a lack of expertise, insufficient implementation time, and inadequate skills as the main barriers to adopting automation technologies. Concerns about job displacement by automation were minimal. Decision-makers emphasized the importance of onboarding, ongoing support, AI integration, and Open APIs as key product features.
The survey also explored perceptions of generative AI in manufacturing. Half of the respondents believe generative AI can optimize tool paths, a capability supported by tools like ABB’s Robot Studio, NVIDIA’s Isaac portf...