World Robotics 2003

Citation

Mann, C.J.H. (2004), "World Robotics 2003", Kybernetes, Vol. 33 No. 7. https://doi.org/10.1108/k.2004.06733gae.002

World Robotics 2003

United Nations Publication – co-authored by International Federation of RoboticsNew York, Geneva2003i-xiv + 370 pp.ISBN 92-1-191059-4ISSN 1020-1076Price: on application – e-mail: jan.karlsson@unece.org

This annual publication is produced by the United Nations in co-operation with the International Federation of Robotics (IFR). Mr Jan Karlsson, Team Leader, Statistical Division, the UN Economic Commission for Europe, with the assistance of the IFR secretariat, wrote this publication and also the previous yearbooks. The text covers statistics, market analysis, forecasts, case studies and profitability of robot investment.

The UN and the IFR announce that it is the world's only publication which presents comprehensive global statistics on industrial robots as well as on service robots, in uniform tables which allow for consistent country comparison. It contains detailed statistical data for some 20 countries, which have been broken down by application areas, industrial branches, types of robots and by other techno-economic variables. The data on production exports and imports are presented for a selection of countries – also includes a section on “Trends in robot densities”, for example: the number of robots per 10,000 employed. Neither 2002 nor the years to 2006 are left out with analyses for the former, and forecasts for the latter, presented. Other sections cover a number of case studies, and what is described by the authors, as “hands-on” information has been compiled.

Some readers will obviously want the text as a “book shelf” reference to join the precious volumes which have served them so well, others may want to read the text from cover to cover.

Most of us, however, will be well satisfied with the ten-page Executive Summary which is in effect an excellent précis of the salient data.

C.J.H. MannBook Reviews and Reports Editor