As we move into the future, and innovation turns out to be considerably further developed, most capital cities will become 'smart cities'. Smart cities drive advancement, have connected residents, optimize governance, and make better use of precious resources. The desirable life and expanded utilization in cities need something that can make a genuinely necessary balance. AI-powered humanoids or robots are expected to bring that equalization and move beyond in the city's structural advancements. Yaskawa India is one of the renowned organizations that cater quintessential products & services in the smart city domain. Headquartered in Bangalore (motion control division) and Gurgaon (robotics), the desire for continuous evolution and improvement to meet customer needs has made Yaskawa India, a leader in the space of motion control products and Robotics automation. In the below excerpt, Ajay Gurjar, COO- Robotics Division tells us about Yaskawa India’s role and positioning in the market for smart city products.

In conversation with Ajay Gurjar, COO-Robotics Division, Yaskawa India Pvt. Ltd.

According to Markets and Markets, the service robotics market is projected to grow from USD 37.0 billion in 2020 to USD 102.5 billion by 2025; it is expected to grow at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 22.6% from 2020 to 2025. How is Yaskawa India placed in this market?
The industrial automation in India is expected to have a CAGR of 10-12 percent over the period of 2015-2022, further supplemented by certain macroeconomic factors. These factors are poised to positively affect manufacturing vis-à-vis the increasing population, present lower per capita consumption, and the increase in purchasing power. However, the level of automation in India is relatively low compared to the global standards. Still, it is getting redefined upwards with the support of Make in India & Atamnirbhar Bharat (self-reliant India) campaigns. Wholly, the environment is very much encouraging for Robotics and Yaskawa as well, considering the automation opportunities so far.

With the ability to work in tandem with humans, modern robotic systems are able to adapt to a rapidly changing environment. What kind of products and services does Yaskawa provide to customers in this changing phase of time?
The Robotic solutions that we offer have core strengths majorly in applications like Arc welding, Spot welding, Handling, Pick, pack & palletizing, foundry & forging, Painting, and many more which serve to the industries viz. automotive, machine tools, FMCG, textile, plastic and rubber, building automation, and metals & mining.

We do offer Yaskawa Human Collaborative Robot 10 (HC10) & HC10DT hand-carry a new generation of robotics that is capable of using and built with the industrial-strength for which Yaskawa is known for. We also offer a highspeed welding technology and ultra-low spatter welding, MOTOPAC WL 300 Plus named as EAGLE i.e. Enhanced Arc Welding for Low Spatter. In our servo torch, we have sigma-7 series servo motor, which makes high speed and synchronous welding wire feed control possible.

Kindly brief us about your Yaskawa Robot Training Centre and how do you meet the organization's skill needs.
Yaskawa has been training both professionals from the industry and engineering students who are the future user of automation technology. Last year, we initiated a unique program to train industry professionals on Robotics. The course included the basic training focusing on Yaskawa controller YRC 1000 & DX200. Our Robot specialists trained 150 plus manpower from more than 81 companies, while successfully encouraging skill development campaigns in India and resolving their real-time concerns to reduce downtime.

Automating a process via RPA can be very expensive to analyze, develop, program, implement, and maintain. If it doesn’t save a con- siderable amount of labor, cost, and time, it may not be economically viable. How do you overcome these challenges?
Yaskawa India Robotics, as a onestop solution provider, makes it very much economically viable and reduces the amount of labor, cost and time. To adopt RPA, it is important for organizations to re-imagine processes using design-thinking principles to create winning customer experiences and end-to-end solutions while managing compliance and governance. Enterprises to focus on Integration of Robotic Process Automation and emerging technologies to improve customer experiences, resulting in higher revenues, greater competitiveness, and increased market share.

Over the years of your operations, Yaskawa has written numerous great success stories to its name. Please enlighten us.
In the last 10 decades, Yaskawa has implemented multiple world’s first technologies; some of which were Japan’s First all-electric Robot, DC servo motor, AC Drive with Vector Control & motion controller pack series, etc. These innovations left the mark not only in the company’s success, but also helped the industry segment to grow. 100 Years ago, Yaskawa started with motor manufacturing and was the first one to put forward the concept ‘Mechatronics’, merging ‘Mechanism’ and ‘Electronics’ in the late 1960s, which is now widely used around the world.

What further innovation do you plan to include in your robotics technology offerings?
Our technological innovations include the pioneered notion of I3-Mechatronics with Yaskawa Cockpit. This three-dimensional digital data solution implies AI in robotics with exposure of current industrial development of industry 4.0. Recently, Yaskawa has introduced its Motoman Human Collaborative Robot-HC20DT, IEC-standard IP672 realized on all axes with anti-dust and drip-proof protection class3 function. The Robotics vision for the future is to aid better delivery in hospitals, rehabilitation centers, and education, and evolve into comprehensive human-assist solutions.