Within ten years, intelligent, semi-autonomous systems will have revolutionised the UK economy, taking over mundane and hazardous jobs, improving the quality of life, and potentially adding as much as £150 billion to the country’s Gross Value Added (GVA), according to a new report.

The paper, Smart Machines Strategy 2035, comes from the Robotics Growth Partnership, an independent advisory body established by the UK Government in 2019 with the aim of putting the UK at the cutting edge of the global smart robotics revolution.

Published today (11th February), the new strategy provides a roadmap which highlights the transformative potential of smart machines in addressing societal challenges and boosting economic growth, but is also highly concerned with ensuring the UK can compete with global leaders in robotics like the US, China, and South Korea.

Research shows that, as of 2020, the UK uses 101 robots per 10,000 workers, significantly lower than similarly established economies such as South Korea (932), Japan (390), the US (255), China (246), and even Slovakia (175).

At the moment, according to the report, the UK is lagging behind in industrial robotics adoption due to perceived risks, regulatory hurdles, and conservative business practices, with the current smart machines ecosystem suffering from fragmentation and silos, limiting collaboration and scalability.

Added to that is the problem that smart machine startups often struggle to secure growth-stage funding compared to software startups, which the research claims is down to the longer life cycles and lower capital efficiency of robotics firms.

That has led to the UK’s rate of adoption for smart machines (18%) being half that of the Czech Republic (36%), and notably lower than neighbouring countries like France (42%) and Switzerland (40%).

To push the sector forward, the 2035 roadmap emphasises the need for the government to play a driving role in the adoption of the technology, for example by establishing an Office for Smart Machines that can use public procurement, joint industry projects, and financial incentives to accelerate their use and build a customer base.

The report also recommends the creation of a £100m Smart Machines venture investment fund, as initially proposed by a report from the Tony Blair Institute, using the Scottish National Investment Bank model to increase investments in smart machine startups to eight figure sums.

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Currently, data shows that only ten of the 2,204 robotics and automation companies tracked by Beauhurst have raised funds greater than £185m, and only two more than £500m, with the report suggesting that the lack of deals is hampering the UK’s ability to compete with other G7 nations.

Another hurdle is the lack of regulation surrounding smart machine tech, however the research indicates that the UK has an opportunity to lead in this area, by establishing standards, legislative frameworks, and controls that other countries could potentially follow as robotics take more hold over economies.

Underpinning this should be a comprehensive programme of training, skills development and further research that the report argues could make the difference in positioning the UK as a leader in the sector within the next decade.

Responding to the new strategy, Lord Patrick Vallance the UK’s minister  for science, innovation and technology, said: “Robotics and autonomous systems are an important technology across the UK economy, enabling better, faster work in greater comfort and safety, while supporting humans to focus on more valuable, creative work.”