In 2022, Lithuanian Robotics Association became a member of the International Federation of Robotics (IFR), which unites more than 80 largest representatives of the robotics market from 20 countries. Becoming a part of the global ecosystem opens access to information and successful business cases of market leaders as well as builds a bridge to the new markets for Lithuanian robotic market players, allowing them to present their innovations on a global scale and be ahead of the curve.
Despite its relative youth compared to global robotics developments in recent decades, the Lithuanian robotics, automation, and AI sector has experienced a renaissance during the period of COVID-19. This has accelerated the implementation of robotics solutions in the Lithuanian industry and has doubled or in some cases even tripled the turnovers of robotic companies.
Market Research Future (MRFR) predicted that by 2030 the value of this sector will reach 214.68 billion US dollars, which means that the average annual growth of robotics will reach 22.8 percent. Market researchers name robots becoming more and more affordable as a reason for such a breakthrough, adapted not only to large-scale industry but also to the needs of small and medium-sized businesses.
Increased demand both locally and internationally suggests that Lithuanian hi-tech companies are proving to be ahead of the curve with their solutions. In seeking to offer the same or even higher levels of hi-tech engineering and expertise than longer-established competitors in the market, Lithuanian robotics companies have also shown themselves to be a lot more flexible in adapting needed solutions for the manufacturing or service industries. Autonomous mobile robots that transport goods inside factories or automated cross-docking warehouses, quality control, and disinfection robots, an ever-growing demand for industrial robots and their flexibility.
Lithuanian robotics companies are already carrying out complex and international projects, for example, using their developed robots to automate the warehouses of one of the world’s largest shipping companies in the Netherlands. Among the products created and implemented projects by Lithuanian companies are a fully automated assembly line for Internet of Things devices, a metal bending robot, the smallest lasers in the world, and advanced biometric systems based on artificial intelligence. For more companies in the country to implement these and other technologies, the Lithuanian Robotics Association and its members are planning to start developing RaaS (Robotics as a Service). That’s a model that will invite companies to rent robots for several months and thus ensure their suitability for their business.
In 2020 around 350 industrial robots were installed in Eastern European countries (Baltic states, Bulgaria, Ukraine, Moldova, Belarus) out of which the leader is Lithuania with more than 100 new robots being installed during 2020.