Government spends £40 million to help UK farmers and surgeons use robots
Key Points
- The UK government is rolling out robotics adoption hubs across the country to help businesses adopt autonomous systems.
- The hubs will help businesses such as as farmers and surgeons use robots to improve their productivity and deliver better outcomes for patients and customers.
- The government cited estimates that robotics and autonomous systems could add £150 billion to the economy by 2035 if adoption is maximised.
The UK government announced on Friday 9 October that it is rolling out a new network of Robotics Adoption Hubs across the country.
These hubs are backed by £40 million in government funding and will be situated everywhere from Newcastle and the South West to Milton Keynes and South Wales.
The hubs aim to support local businesses and public services in adopting cutting-edge robotics technology to improve their efficiency and outcomes for people in these areas.
They will offer advice tailored to businesses and public services in the areas they are deployed, as well as hands-on demonstrations to help people adopt robotics in their business. In describing the innovations these hubs would help bring to businesses, the government focussed on the potential of robotics to transform medical care and farming.
It said that by surgeons adopting robotics technology, patients would benefit from less invasive procedures that lead to quicker recovery.
The government also noted that farmers could benefit from automated fruit picking machines, making completing a harvest much quicker and maximising productivity by freeing up agricultural workers to focus on other jobs.
Other opportunities for robotics adoption being supported by the hubs include waste and recycling management, as well as delivery drones and driverless vehicles.
Citing estimates that robotics and autonomous systems could add £150 billion to the economy by 2035 if adoption is maximised, the government said these hubs will help to bridge the gap between the potential of this technology and its current adoption by UK businesses.
“Quicker recovery for patients, more time for businesses to focus on the work that makes a real difference, and more food on our tables. That’s the impact cutting-edge robotics technology can have up and down the country,” said Minister for AI Kanishka Narayan.
“If we can harness robotics in every sector of our economy, we can speed up how we reindustrialise the UK. It really is that simple, but too often businesses and bosses don’t know where to start.”
These new hubs will tackle that problem head on – putting specialist expertise, advice, and support at their fingertips,” he said.
