A Focus on Trends of Robot Technology in Manufacturing Industry and China's Transformation

The concept of Industry 4.0 is defined by many technologies, some of which are: robotics and automation, Internet of Things (IoT), Big Data, Cloud Computing, 3D printing, smart sensors, Radio Frequency Identification (RFID), virtual and augmented reality (AR), Artificial Intelligence (AI), advanced security systems, Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS), etc. Industry 4.0 has a significant impact on the automation of production processes, by causing numerous changes in three segments: companies, technology and workers. Developed countries worldwide have their own strategies on Industry 4.0, which offer guidelines on its implementation in production processes, with the aim of their complete flexible automation. The core technologies on which Industry 4.0 rests have led to a complete transformation in production processes, especially in the automotive industry. The core technology of Industry 4.0, especially in the automotive industry, is robot technology, i.e., the implementation of industrial and service robots in production processes. China has been the leading country in the world to implement industrial robots in production processes in the last eight years. The paper provides an analysis of the implementation of industrial robots and service robots in the automation of production processes in the automotive industry with a focus on China. The paper also analyzes vehicle production in China, as well as the readiness of production processes in the automotive industry for the implementation of Industry 4.0. The analysis of the automation of production processes in the automobile industry in China was carried out for two reasons. The first is that China has a growing middle-class population, so demographic trends are encouraging the growing demand for certain products, such as cars. Another reason is that in China (as in Japan, Russia and Western Europe) the average age of factory workers is increasing (the labor force is older), thus the performance of certain tasks becomes more difficult so greater efficiency is not achieved. In the past four years, there has been an increasing trend in the application of second-generation industrial robots–collaborative robots. This trend is expected to grow in the future due to the implementation of Industry 4.0. Robotic technology is the basic technology of Industry 4.0, which is indicated by the research that shows that the automotive industry production processes will become ‘smart‘‘ production processes in the years to come.