International Federation Of Robotics Research Articles

The impact of artificial intelligence application on enterprise environmental performance: Evidence from microenterprises

The progress of artificial intelligence (AI) technology is an important way to solve the problem of global sustainable development. This paper discusses how AI, as a new scientific force, affects the pollution reduction of enterprises from a micro perspective. In this paper, the robot data provided by the International Federation of Robotics and pollution data of industrial enterprises in China are used for empirical analysis to test the effect of AI on pollution performance of enterprises. The results show that the application of AI can reduce enterprise emissions through technological innovation effect and labor substitution effect, and this result remains robust after sample substitution and variable substitution. Further heterogeneity analysis shows that AI has a more significant impact on enterprises in big cities and southern cities, as well as large enterprises, old enterprises and non-technology-intensive enterprises. The research results of this paper provide an effective reference for solving how to achieve green and sustainable development of artificial intelligence applications.

Does artificial intelligence affect firms’ inner wage gap?

ABSTRACT This paper studies the effect of artificial intelligence on firms’ inner wage gaps. We use data from the International Federation of Robotics (IFR) and China’s A-share listed firms from 2011 to 2019. The results indicate that artificial intelligence is conducive to narrowing the wage gap. After considering the potential endogeneity problems in the relationship between artificial intelligence and the wage gap and a set of robustness tests, the main effect still persists. Mechanism analysis shows such an effect is more pronounced when firms are intensively skilled or have weakened managerial power. Further analysis shows that artificial intelligence primarily reduces the wage gap in technology-intensive industries.

The impact of robots on informal employment: evidence from China

ABSTRACT Informal employment, which has grown rapidly in recent years, is closely related to individual welfare, and is inevitably influenced by the rise of robots. Against this backdrop, this study aims to explore the impact of robots on informal employment. Applying a probit model and using data from the China Family Panel Studies in 2014, 2016, and 2018 and the International Federation of Robotics, this study reveals that robots do not have a significant impact on unemployment or labour force participation, but significantly increase the probability of informal employment. Further heterogeneity analysis indicates that robots have a greater positive impact on informal employment in the central and western regions of China. Moreover, individuals working in non-routine task-oriented industries, with higher general or specialized skills, exhibit a lower probability of being informally employed under the influence of robots. This study provides empirical evidence to maintain job market stability in the era of automation in China, which can also be used by policymakers in other countries.

Robot adoption and enterprise R&D manipulation: Evidence from China

Robot adoption has profoundly affected economies and societies as part of the continuous evolution of technology and associated industrial transformations. We use the country-industry-year industrial robots dataset published by the International Federation of Robotics, and refer to the “Bartik instrumental variable” method to construct the robot adoption index of listed companies in China's manufacturing industry. Through empirical tests, we find that robot adoption significantly inhibits enterprise research and development (R&D) manipulation, and the findings remain unchanged during a series of robustness tests. Based on information asymmetry and principal-agent theory, we propose that robot adoption inhibits enterprises' R&D manipulation through information, human, and governance effects. Furthermore, high media attention, low-intensity regional tax administration, the academic experience of CEOs, and high-quality internal controls are conducive to the adoption of robots to suppress R&D manipulation. Moreover, digital transformation and robot adoption play complementary roles in inhibiting R&D manipulation. Finally, we verify that robot adoption can improve enterprises' production efficiency and reduce enterprise fraud. Overall, we enrich the research on robot adoption and enterprise R&D manipulation and provide experience for preventing enterprise R&D manipulation and promoting industrial robots to better serve the high-quality development of the real economy.

Artificial intelligence empowers enterprise innovation: evidence from China’s industrial enterprises

ABSTRACT Against the background of China’s economic transformation, it is of great practical significance to explore the impact of artificial intelligence on enterprise innovation to promote innovation-driven development strategies. Using patent data from Chinese industrial enterprises and robot data provided by the International Federation of Robotics, this study empirically tests the impact of artificial intelligence on improving the innovation abilities of Chinese enterprises. The study finds the following: (1) Artificial intelligence significantly improves enterprise innovation, and this conclusion remains valid after robustness tests. (2) Artificial intelligence optimizes the skill structure of the enterprise labour force, increases enterprise R&D expenditure, and strengthens the technology spillover effect, thus improving enterprise innovation. (3) The domestic market and the development of the Internet have further strengthened the role of artificial intelligence in promoting enterprise innovation. (4) Artificial intelligence is more helpful in promoting the innovation ability of technology-intensive, general trading, mixed trading, and non-state-owned enterprises. This study provides important policy implications for promoting the deep integration of artificial intelligence and real economy and realizing high-quality economic development.

An approach to forecasting promising areas of development of the robotics industry based on statistical reports of the International Federation of Robotics (IFR) in conditions of economic uncertainty

A simple method of forming a forecast rating of the most promising directions of robotics development at the mo-ment is proposed, depending on the current market situation affected by unstable economic factors. The ad-vantage of the considered methodology is that, firstly, a relevant-processed array of data regularly published in the annual statistical collections of IFR - World Robotics is used as the basis of the analysis, secondly, the availability of varying preferences of factors affecting the economic situation, and, thirdly– simplicity. The results obtained can be used by interested organizations both for the development of conceptual documents on the development of robot-ics, and for the development of proposals for the initiation of commercial projects.

Exploring the impact of industrial robots on firm innovation under circular economy umbrella: a human capital perspective

PurposeA new round of technological revolution is impacting various aspects of society. However, the importance of technology adoption in fostering firm innovation is underexplored. Therefore, this study aims to investigate whether robot adoption affects technological innovation and how human capital plays a role in this relationship in the era of circular economy.Design/methodology/approachBased on the robot adoption data from the International Federation of Robotics (IFR) and panel data of China's listed manufacturing firms from 2011 to 2020, this study uses regression models to test the impact of industrial robots on firm innovation and the mediating role of human capital.FindingsThe results demonstrate that the adoption of industrial robots can significantly promote high-quality innovation. Specifically, a one-unit increase in the number of robots per 100 employees is associated with a 13.52% increase in the number of invention patent applications in the following year. The mechanism tests show that industrial robots drive firm innovation by accumulating more highly educated workers and allocating more workers to R&D jobs. The findings are more significant for firms in industries with low market concentration, in labor-intensive industries and in regions with a shortage of high-end talent.Research limitations/implicationsDue to data limitations, the sample of this study is limited to listed manufacturing firms, so the impact of industrial robots on promoting innovation may be underestimated. In addition, this study cannot observe the dynamic process of human capital management by firms after adopting robots.Practical implicationsThe Chinese government should continue to promote the intelligent upgrading of the manufacturing industry and facilitate the promotion of robots in innovation. This implication can also be applied to developing countries that hope to learn from China's experience. In addition, this study emphasizes the role of human capital in the innovation-promoting process of robots. This highlights the importance of firms to strengthen employee education and training.Social implicationsThe adoption of industrial robots has profoundly influenced the production and lifestyle of human society. This study finds that the adoption of robots contributes to firm innovation, which helps people gain a deeper understanding of the positive impacts brought about by industrial intelligence.Originality/valueBy exploring the impact of industrial robots on firm innovation, this study offers crucial evidence at the firm level to comprehend the economic implications of robot adoption based on circular economy and human perspectives. Moreover, this study reveals that human capital is an important factor in how industrial robots affect firm innovation, providing an important complement to previous studies.

Industrial Robots and the Employment Quality of Migrant Workers in the Manufacturing Industry

Machine and manufacturing migrant workers in the new era are side by side cooperation and interaction of the new labor force form. Based on the dynamic survey of China’s floating population in 2011 and the data collected by the International Federation of Robotics, the Bartik instrument variable method is used to analyze the impact of industrial robots on the employment quality of the floating population in manufacturing industry at the city level. As the city scale expands, industrial robots have an inverted U-shaped effect on the employment quality of manufacturing migrant workers. Industrial robots have a positive U-shaped influence on the number of hours that migrant workers in manufacturing work, with an inflexion point of 1.3721 units per 10,000 workers. The influence of industrial robots on migrant workers’ working conditions in the manufacturing sector was U-shaped, and 1.668 units per 10,000 workers marked the tipping point. Nevertheless, industrial robots have an inverse influence on the occupation stability of migrant workers in the manufacturing industry. Precisely, the installation density of industrial robots in the manufacturing industry has a detrimental impact on the occupational stability of migrant employees. Industrial robots are negatively associated with the working conditions of migrant workers employed in manufacturing. There were detrimental effects on the employment quality of manufacturing migrant workers in cities with higher and lower population densities. In the end, for every manufacturing farmer using an industrial robot, the likelihood of being miserable and almost happy went up by 2.64 percent and 5.59 percent, respectively, while the likelihood of being happy went down by 7.62 percent.

The impact of artificial intelligence on firms’ energy and resource efficiency: Empirical evidence from China

As a strategic technology, artificial intelligence is leading a new round of technological revolution and industrial upgrading that plays an essential role in cultivating emerging industries. This paper employs robot application data compiled by the IFR (International Federation of Robotics) and Chinese firm-level data to empirically investigate the impact of artificial intelligence applications on the energy and resource efficiency of firms. From 2005 to 2014, the energy efficiency of industrial enterprises had an upward trend, and the level of artificial intelligence showed a significant increase in China. Based on our findings, artificial intelligence has a positive and significant impact on improving the energy and resource efficiency of Chinese firms. Controlling for endogeneity issues, the results are robust. Artificial intelligence affects the energy consumption of enterprises through scale, structural, and efficiency effects. Structural and efficiency effects are greater than the impact of scale effects. Therefore, artificial intelligence saves energy consumption and improves energy and resource efficiency. Regarding considerably increasing energy demands, the development of artificial intelligence offers a unique opportunity to improve the energy and resource efficiency of enterprises, thus adjusting the energy and economic structure of a country.

Industrial Robots and Regional Fertility in European Countries

In this study, we examine whether the long-term structural changes in the labour market, driven by automation, affect fertility. The adoption of industrial robots is used as a proxy for these changes. It has tripled since the mid-1990s in the EU, tremendously changing the conditions of participating in the labour market. On the one hand, new jobs are created, benefitting largely the highly skilled workers. On the other hand, the growing turnover in the labour market and changing content of jobs induce fears of job displacement and make workers continuously adjust to new requirements (reskill, upskill, increase work efforts). The consequences of these changes are particularly strong for the employment and earning prospects of low and middle-educated workers. Our focus is on six European countries: Czechia, France, Germany, Italy, Poland and the UK. We link regional data on fertility and employment structures by industry from Eurostat (NUTS-2) with data on robot adoption from the International Federation of Robotics. We estimate fixed effects linear models with instrumental variables in order to account for the external shocks which may affect fertility and robot adoption in parallel. Our findings suggest robots tend to exert a negative impact on fertility in highly industrialised regions, regions with relatively low educated populations and those which are technologically less advanced. At the same time, better educated and prospering regions may even experience fertility improvements as a result of technological change. The family and labour market institutions of the country may further moderate these effects.

Towards low-carbon development: The role of industrial robots in decarbonization in Chinese cities

Technological advancements have played a key role in improving energy efficiency and reducing emissions, and industrial robots are important carriers of intelligent manufacturing and industrial upgrading. Although various countries and regions are under pressure to reduce their carbon emissions, a consensus has not been reached on whether industrial robots can help. This study investigates how industrial robots affect carbon emissions by categorizing industry data from the International Federation of Robotics (IFR, 2010–2018) into city-level variables. The empirical finding revealed that cities' carbon emissions have been significantly reduced by the application of industrial robots. By using the penetration of robots in Chinese cities as an instrumental variable constructed through the combination of employment level and robot imports, the beneficial role of robots is further verified by a plausibly exogenous test. The mechanism analysis revealed that industrial robots contribute to cities' decarbonization by enhancing energy efficiency and green technology efficiency. The heterogeneity analysis showed that the effect of industrial robots on decarbonization is more pronounced in megacities, advanced manufacturing bases, and low-carbon pilot cities. This study empirically confirms the positive role of industrial robots in carbon emission reduction, provides evidence for industrial robots’ technical characteristics of decarbonization, and proposes novel ideas for achieving net-zero carbon emissions.

How does industrial intelligence affect capacity utilization?—Analysis based on green development perspective

This study focuses on exploring the relationship between industrial intelligence and capacity utilization based on the perspective of green development. Based on a fixed effect model, using data from the International Federation of Robotics (IFR) and China’s A-share listed enterprises from 2011 to 2019, this study empirically analyzes the influence of industrial intelligence on enterprises’ capacity utilization. The benchmark regression results reveal that industrial intelligence has a negative effect on enterprises’ capacity utilization. The results are robust to several econometric concerns. Moreover, mechanism analysis indicates that industrial intelligence affects enterprises’ capacity utilization through the productivity effect, the green innovation effect, and the scale expansion effect. When considering the heterogeneity at regional levels, we find that enterprises in the central and western regions are more affected by industrial intelligence. Our findings provide guidance to enterprises and policymakers in addressing industrial overcapacity and green development issues in China.

Micro Data on Robots from the IAB Establishment Panel

Abstract Micro-data on robots have been very sparse in Germany so far. Consequently, a dedicated section has been introduced in the IAB Establishment Panel 2019 that includes questions on the number and type of robots used. This article describes the background and development of the survey questions, provides information on the quality of the data, possible checks and steps of data preparation. The resulting data is aggregated on industry level and compared with the frequently used robot data by the International Federation of Robotics (IFR) which contains robot supplier information on aggregate robot stocks and deliveries.

Effect of Industrial Robots on Employment in China: An Industry Level Analysis.

China has been the world's largest market for industrial robots since 2013. Industrial robots improve accuracy, safety, and efficiency in industrial production but have a substantial impact on the labor market. This investigation uses the task-based model to explore the relationship between industrial robots and employment across industries. This study uses industrial robot data from the International Federation of Robotics and employment data from the China Statistical Yearbook from 2010 to 2019 to examine robot applications' influencing mechanisms on labor demand in different industries in China. The results show a significant positive correlation between robots' exposure and labor demand for IT, health and social services, science research and technical services, and management of water conservancy and environmental industries. Based on the results, the use of robots promotes high-skilled talent employment and some third-sector employment, like education, food and beverages, utilities, household appliances, and transport. However, multiple regression analysis reveals that the use of robots has reduced employment in traditional industries such as agriculture and mining.

Robots and protest: does increased protest among Chinese workers result in more automation?

Abstract The rising level of automation has increasingly attracted scholars' attention. On the other hand, there are many studies of the consequences of social movements, but relatively fewer studies focus on their economic consequences, and even fewer studies have examined their consequences on automation. This article bridges the gap between the two literatures by hypothesizing that a rising number of labor protests will lead to a higher level of automation. We argue that political economy factors influence the adoption of more automation. Protests anticipate higher wages and labor costs; contest for social power with employers and the state, and, in extreme cases, pose a public relations challenge to employers, which will likely push employers to replace human workers with robots. We empirically test the relationship by using two protest event datasets in China, the China Labor Bulletin and Collective Action from Social Media and robot data from the International Federation of Robotics. Statistical analysis shows that provinces and industries that have more protests also tend to concentrate more robots, and the results are robust to most specifications and placebo tests. The findings have implications for both understanding the mechanism explaining rising automation and the consequences of social protests.

Tracking the Rise of Robots: The IFR Database

Abstract We present and analyze the dataset on the international distribution of industrial robots by country, industry, and application provided by the International Federation of Robotics (IFR) since 1993. After describing the IFR we point out specificities and limitations of its dataset. We explain the process of data collection, develop a correspondence table between the IFR industry classification and the ISIC rev. 4 industry classification, and clarify the applied compliance rules. We further compute average implicit depreciation rates inherent to the robot stocks in the IFR dataset in the range of 4–7% per year between 1993 and 2019. We also find that the share of industrial robots that are not classified to any industry or application has sharply declined since 2005.

New EU Members on the Market of Industrial Robots – Analysis of Post-accession Developments

One of the most noticeable changes related to the Industry 4.0 is growing investment in industrial robots, and in manufacturing automation in general. The main purpose of this paper is to explore the recent trends in the international market of industrial robots over two last decades, and then to assess the achievements of selected new European Union member states in respect of industrial robots’ implementation and its consequences to domestic labor market. Research based mostly on International Federation of Robotics and International Labour Organization data showed that automation processes in new EU member states were recently much faster than in top 10 countries with largest operational stocks of industrial robots. On the other hand still lower labor costs and relatively high labor productivity can result in slower implementation of industrial robots in their manufacturing industries.

As “robots are moving out of the cages” – toward a geography of robotization

ABSTRACT There is currently a great deal of confusion about the impact of robotisation, mainly due to the lack of clarity in research on timeframes and technologies. To overcome this, we distinguish between two basic narratives. The first - 'robots in the cages' - is an old story of automation which means that the industrial robots are pre-programmed high-precision machines that are used on a large scale but only in few industries. In contrast, the emerging story - 'robots are moving out of the cages' - is about the more flexible and autonomous robots at present used on a small scale in the service sector, albeit the application areas are expanding rapidly.The objectives of this paper are first to analyse these two stories in terms of their technological, industrial and organisational characteristics, second, to examine the geographical pattern of global competition for robotisation in these narratives, and third, to discuss briefly the policy challenges involved. For the analysis, we use information from the International Federation of Robotics, the EPO Worldwide Patent Statistical Database (PATSTAT) and the Dealroom.co start-up database.

Does the Application of Industrial Robots Have the Effect of Improving Human Capital

In recent years, the large-scale application of robots in industrial production is one of the most prominent features. The operational stock of industrial robots is growing rapidly in China nowadays. According to the statistics from the International Federation of Robotics, the operational stock of industrial robots in China accounts for about 27% of the global total in 2018. The large-scale application of robots in production is bound to increase the technical complexity of production environments. As the skilled labor has stronger adaptability and shorter adaptation time, does the new intelligent environment formed by the application of robots increase the demand for skills, encourage the individual to increase the investment in human capital, and improve the level of human capital?This paper firstly combines the relevant literature to investigate the human capital improvement effect of industrial robot application and its transmission mechanisms from a theoretical perspective. Secondly, based on the micro data from China Family Panel Studies, this paper empirically examines the impact of industrial robot application on the level of human capital, conducts robust tests by replacing the measurement indicators of human capital and industrial robots and the samples by region and industry, and uses robot penetration in other countries and optical cable density in China as the instrumental variable to solve endogenous problems. Furthermore, the interaction term regression and the mediation model have been adopted to examine the transmission mechanism. At last, this paper compares the differences in the human capital improvement effect of industrial robot application under different factor endowments.The results suggest that: （1）The application of industrial robots has a significant impact on human capital. After replacing the measurement indicators of variables and the samples with different dimensions and considering the endogeneity, the conclusion still holds.（2）The application of industrial robots not only promotes the growth of household income, but also results in the job alternation and the transformation of industrial structure to increase the level of human capital.（3）When the factor endowment in production environments changes, the human capital improvement effect of industrial robot application will also change. Compared with capital-intensive and non-technology-intensive regions, the application of industrial robots has a greater impact in labor-intensive and technology-intensive regions.

Automation approaches in the automotive industry: Germany, Japan and the USA in comparison

Current analyses of technological change take it for granted that we are living in a time of rapidly increasing automation. But is the thesis of accelerating automation correct? This study develops a historical assessment of the development of process technologies in the automotive sector from the early 1990s until 2018. The focus is on three central automobile manufacturing countries: Germany, Japan and the USA. The two main questions are: 1) What approaches to automation are being pursued in the automotive industry? 2) How do automation approaches of German, Japanese and US companies differ? The major goal of the analysis is to test the hypothesis of an accelerated automation (and potentially disruptive technological change). The study is based on a combination of qualitative and quantitative data. The qualitative analysis consists of 439 articles on automation from automotive industry print outlets. The study also uses the figures provided by the International Federation of Robotics on the development of robot installations.