Almost every second respondent in Germany sees the use of robots as an important to very important way of addressing the shortage of skilled workers in industry. 68% are in favor of robots supporting employees so that older people can stay in work for longer. 84% are of the opinion that skilled workers will be relieved in the workplace by machines taking over dangerous or unhealthy tasks. And 72% of employees also see the advantage of using robotics to prevent the migration of industrial production abroad.

If machines with digital technology are used in the workplace, control must always remain in the hands of humans - 45% of respondents in Germany are firmly convinced of this. This result is remarkable in an international comparison - in Japan, for example, less than a fifth (18%) advocate such a strict course. In China (35%) and the USA (38%), calls for human control are also significantly weaker than among employees in Germany.

This approach is in line with the 'Good Work Charter' of the European robotics industry, which always places people at the center of automation with robotics. "Robotics and AI software such as ChatGPT are shaping the jobs of the future. If we use these technologies correctly, we can improve working conditions enormously," says Patrick Schwarzkopf, Managing Director of the VDMA Robotics + Automation Association and member of the automatica Advisory Board.

Drivers from GreenTech

In addition, 72% of employees believe that manufacturing more GreenTech products is a great opportunity for Germany as an industrial location. Technology that helps to save energy, reduce emissions or achieve other sustainability goals makes factory jobs more attractive: 74% say that the production of GreenTech gives work a special meaning. The majority of respondents (82%) see the use of industrial robots as a way of scaling up the production of green technologies through mass production. This includes, for example, solar panels, batteries for electric cars or environmentally friendly heat pump heating systems made in Germany, which will be produced cost-effectively in large quantities in the future using robotics and automation.

The 'automatica trend index 2023'

The Automatica Trend Index was conducted with the support of the market research institute Toluna. A total of 5,000 survey participants in five countries were asked how robots and digitalization are changing the world of work: USA (N=1,000), China (N=1,000), Japan (N=1,000), UK (N=1,000), Germany (N=1,000).