The European Commission, industry and academia have agreed to launch a Public Private Partnership (PPP) in Robotics, to help Europe-based companies take a larger share of the €15.5 billion annual global robotics market.
Neelie Kroes, European Commission Vice-President for the Digital Agenda, said "A strong robotics industry is key to Europe's future competitiveness. Growing our robotics industry means new jobs and a strong European manufacturing sector. "
Robotics is a key driver for Europe's growth and competitiveness. Three millions jobs are created or maintained worldwide as a result of using one million industrial robots. Europe's robotics industry is highly successful, accounting for about a quarter of the global production in industrial robotics and a 50% market share in professional service robotics. The domestic and professional service robot markets are expected to grow by 40% in the coming years with the strongest growth in rescue, security and professional cleaning applications. By 2020, service robotics could reach a market volume of more than 100 billion euros per year.

Read the full Press Release here.