In 1999 some 940,000 industrial robots were at work and major industrial countries reported growth rates in robot installation of more than 20% compared to the previous year (see Figure ) The automotive, electric, and electronic industries have been the largest robot users; the predominant applications are welding, assembly, material handling, and dispensing. The flexibility and versatility of industrial robot technology have been strongly driven by the needs of these industries, which account for. | 28 Present State and Future Trends in Mechanical Systems Design for Robot Application Martin Hägele Fraunhofer Institute Rolf Dieter Schraft Fraunhofer Institute Introduction Industrial Robots Definition and Applications of Industrial Robots Robot Kinematic Design Industrial Robot Application Service Robots From Industrial Robots to Service Robots Examples of Service Robot Systems Case Study A Robot System for Automatic Refueling Introduction In 1999 some 940 000 industrial robots were at work and major industrial countries reported growth rates in robot installation of more than 20 compared to the previous year see Figure The automotive electric and electronic industries have been the largest robot users the predominant applications are welding assembly material handling and dispensing. The flexibility and versatility of industrial robot technology have been strongly driven by the needs of these industries which account for more than 75 of the world s installation numbers. Still the motor vehicle industry accounts for some 50 of the total robot investment Robots are now mature products facing enormous competition by international manufacturers and falling unit costs. A complete six-axis robot with a load capacity of 10 kg was offered at less than 60 000 in 1999. It should be noted that the unit price only accounts for about 30 of the total system cost. However for many standard applications in welding assembly palletizing and packaging preconfigured highly flexible workcells are offered by robot manufacturers thus providing cost effective automation to small and medium sized operations. A broad spectrum of routine job functions led to a robotics renaissance and the appearance of service robots. Modern information and telecommunication technologies have had a tremendous impact on exploiting productivity and profitability potentials in administrative communicative and consultative services. Many transportation handling and .
