Chancellor Philip Hammond is expected to outline plans in the next UK budget to make hundreds of millions of pounds available for universities and businesses to develop new technologies related to roboticsand artificial intelligence.
More than £500 million from the National Productivity Investment Fund (NPIF), which was created last year to help UK companies develop new technologies that are critical for productivity, will be allocated. Of this, £270 million will be earmarked for British businesses and universities to meet specific challenges with huge potential, which will include the use of robots to work in nuclear and offshore power generation, space and deep mining, according to The Independent.
Earl Yardley, Director at Industrial Vision Systems, commented on the news. "These announcements will ensure that UK manufacturing is placed at the centre of a better-balanced economy and demonstrates that investment in cutting edge industrial automation and Artificial Intelligence will drive manufacturing growth for years to come."
He added, "Investment in skills today will pay dividends for generations to come, enabling the UK to harness the technological innovations to deliver projects that improve business and communities and thus deliver economic growth."
Adoption of automation-related technology is growing rapidly, notes Yardley, who says that the performance of the manufacturing sector in the UK has changed significantly through continuous investment, and all for the better.
"UK factories continue to make products that are more competitive now than at any time in the modern era. This investment in the engineers of tomorrow along with cutting edge industrial automation ensures we are heading in the right path to make Britain the world leader in Artificial Intelligence and robotics," he said.
Pictured: 3D-vision-guided robotics: 3D vision enables random robotic bin picking
View the Independent article.
View more information on Industrial Vision Systems.
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