BERLIN - (Business Wire) Germany’s R&D investments lead Europe, making the country an innovation hotbed and driving the service robotics segment. Germany holds 43 percent of Europe’s market share for robotics, making it the largest market in Europe by far and number three worldwide. Germany Trade & Invest will be presenting the advantages of its service robotics segment at this year’s International Robot Exhibition in Tokyo from November 25 – 28. Turnover in the robotics industry has been increasing significantly in recent years, up 13 percent to EUR 8.2 billion in 2007. Domestic production is also on the rise with an export ratio of 63 percent, making Germany an ideal production location to reach established markets in Western Europe and growing markets in Eastern Europe.
Already a clear European leader in industrial robotics, Germany’s service robotics sector is expected to grow in the coming years, creating a number of opportunities for investors. With Germany’s aging population, domestic service robots will be used increasingly to assist the elderly and disabled, allowing them to live at home with a higher quality of life. Other growing fields include entertainment robots, rescue and security applications, cleaning robots, and medical robots.
According to the EU’s annual scoreboard on R&D, Germany increased its spending by 8.9 percent in 2008 and held its lead as the EU’s largest R&D investor. The R&D spending increase by European countries outpaced both the USA and Japan. This commitment to innovation is a driver of the robotics industry, ensuring that Germany will maintain its competitive edge as the segment grows.
Exhibiting together with the Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Engineering and Automation (IPA), Germany Trade & Invest will highlight the latest developments in Germany’s service robotics segment. Fraunhofer IPA will have its cutting-edge Care-O-bot 3 on display, which will serve drinks to visitors of the exhibition at Booth SR 2-23 in East Hall 3. Additionally, Germany Trade & Invest will host the workshop session “The Future of Service Robotics in Germany” on November 26 in collaboration with the Fraunhofer IPA, Schunk, and KUKA Roboter.
Germany Trade & Invest is the foreign trade and inward investment promotion agency of the Federal Republic of Germany. The organization advises foreign companies looking to expand their business activities in the German market. It provides information on foreign trade to German companies that seek to enter foreign markets.
Germany Trade & Invest
Eva Henkel
P. +49 (0)30-200-099-173
F. +49 (0)30-200-099-111
Eva.Henkel@gtai.com
www.gtai.com
