Robots on the shop floor

According to the “Future of jobs in India: A 2022 perspective” report published by EY and jointly commissioned by Ficci and Nasscom, about 70 per cent auto executives recognise the strategic importance of smart connected products for the industry and 55 per cent state big data and cloud computing as one of the key technology drivers in the industry. Fifty per cent of the respondents described robotics and automation to be one of the most impactful technologies for the Indian automotive industry. With robotics being increasingly adopted in the sector, repetitive job roles such as painting and welding are being threatened. At the same time, job roles in robotics programming and maintenance will be more in demand. Indian automotive companies are increasingly deploying robots on the shop floor. Making its way through die-casting and welding, robots have enabled almost 70 to 100 per cent automation in weld shops, press shops, cast shops and paint shops. Paint and welding shops are expected to be completely automated by 2020.