German auto supplier Bosch is investing heavily in automation and humanoid robotics as it seeks to adjust to the crisis in the country's automotive sector.
"Bosch is shaping the future - on wheels and with arms," said the company's head of digital, Tanja Rückert, at the industry event Bosch Connected World in Berlin on Wednesday.
Chief executive Stefan Hartung argued that with the advent of humanoid robots, the demand for Bosch solutions is rising rapidly. He held out the prospect of developing this segment into a “business worth billions.”
The supplier is pursuing a clear division of roles. Bosch does not intend to act as a manufacturer of humanoid robots itself, but rather to supply the “brain and nervous system” for these systems as a partner.
Microelectromechanical systems (MEMS sensors), in which Bosch is already the global market leader, play a key role by giving robots a sense of touch, enabling them to distinguish a delicate glass object from a robust one, for example.
It is a highly lucrative business, with estimates suggesting that the market volume for MEMS sensors is set to grow to over $19.2 billion by 2030.
To accelerate industrialization, the group has established a new unit, Robert Bosch Robotics GmbH, and is consolidating its activities for the Asian market at the new Bosch Robotics Centre China.
Partnerships with start-ups such as the German company Neura Robotics are intended to drive the development of cognitive robots. Bosch is using a data treasure trove - unique in the industry - from over 230 of its own plants worldwide as the basis for training artificial intelligence.
