Study: Robot Use Could Jump 2.5x by 2025

Falling prices for industrial robots could multiply their use in handling "automatable" tasks from 10% today to 25% in 10 years, predicts Boston Consulting Group.

The firm says such an increase would help reduce average labor costs 16% worldwide. The shift also would hike demand for skilled workers to operate the machines, senior partner Hal Sirkin tells Reuters.

The U.S. auto industry is likely to be one of the strongest adopters of robots, according to the report. It notes that a robotic spot-welding system costs $8 per hour to operate compared with $25 per hour for a human welder.

Sirkin points out that industrial robots cost about one-tenth as much today as they did a decade ago. He predicts the cost of robotic spot-welding systems, one of the biggest applications for such automated devices, will drop 22% by 2025.

BC says about 75% of new robotic applications over the period will occur in four manufacturing areas: cars and other transport equipment, computer/electronics, machinery and electrical equipment. The study says about 80% of today's industrial robot purchases are in China, the U.S., Japan, Germany and South Korea.