International Federation of Robotics
 | |
| Abbreviation | IFR |
|---|---|
| Formation | 1987 |
| Type | NGO |
| Legal status | International Federation |
| Purpose | International co-operation in the field of Robotics |
| Headquarters | Frankfurt |
Region served | World |
Membership | national robotics associations, robotics companies, robotics institutes |
The International Federation of Robotics (IFR) is a professional non-profit organization established in 1987 to promote, strengthen and protect the robotics industry worldwide.[1]
Activities
The purpose of the International Federation of Robotics is to promote research, development, use and international co-operation in the entire field of robotics, industrial robots as well as service robots. The IFR is also coordinator of the annual International Symposium on Robotics (ISR), one of the oldest conferences for robotics research, founded in 1970.[1]
The IFR's statistical department publishes the study World Robotics every year.[2] This publication contains detailed statistical data for some 50 countries, broken down by application areas, industrial branches, types of robots and by other technical and economic variables. In 2011 the worldwide sales of industrial robots is estimated with US$8.5 billion. Including the cost of software, peripherals and systems engineering the annual turnover for robot systems is estimated to be US$25.5 billion in 2011.[3]
Members
Today nearly all international industrial robot suppliers and 14 national robots associations are active members of IFR, including the biggest robot using countries like US (RIA), Japan (JARA), South Korea (KOMMA), Taiwan (ROBOAT), Germany (VDMA), Italy (SIRI) or Spain (AERATP). A full list of members is available on the IFR website. Headquarters of this umbrella organization of national robotics associations is in Frankfurt, Germany.
| Country | IFR Member Associations | Website |
|---|---|---|
 Spain |
Asociación Española de Robótica (AER) | http://www.aeratp.com |
 United Kingdom |
British Automation & Robotics Association (BARA) | http://www.bara.org.uk |
 Denmark |
Danish Industrial Robot Association (DIRA) | http://www.dira.dk |
 Norway |
Federation of Norvegian Industries | http://www.norskindustri.no |
 Japan |
Japan Robot Association (JARA) | http://www.jara.jp |
 South Korea |
Korea Machine Tool Manufacturers'Association (KOMMA) | http://www.komma.org |
 Malaysia |
Malaysia Robotics and Automation Interest Group (myRAig) | http://www.myset-myraig.com |
 Austria |
Austrian Society for Automation and Robotics (ÖGART) | http://www.ihrt.tuwien.ac.at |
 United States |
Robotic Industries Association (RIA) | http://www.robotics.org |
 Italy |
Associazione Italiana di Robotica e Automazione (SIRI) | http://www.robosiri.it |
 Sweden |
Swedish Industrial Robot Association (SWIRA) | http://www.swira.org |
 France |
Syndicat des machines et technologies de production(SYMOP) | http://www.symop.com |
 Taiwan |
Taiwan Automation Intelligence and Robotics Association (TAIROA) | http://www.tairoa.org.tw |
 Germany |
VDMA Robotics + Automation (VDMA R+A) | http://www.vdma.org/r+a |
Organizational structure
The organizational structure of IFR includes following bodies.[4]
General Assembly
The General Assembly is the supreme body of the Federation that determines policy. It is composed of the nominated delegates of national associations and the Research Committee.
Executive Board
The IFR Executive Board consists of a maximum of twelve voting members:
- eight members representing the geographic regions North America, Europe, Asia and Rest of the World,
- the President,
- the Vice President,
- two representatives of the Research Committee
Statistical Department
The Statistical Department publishes the yearly report World Robotics. The national robotics associations are supporting the department, which is hosted by the German member VDMA Robotics + Automation association.
Industrial Robot Suppliers Group
This is a permanent working group representing the global industrial robotics industry. The group consists of the members that are industrial robot manufacturers or other member companies in the field of industrial robotics. The group is headed by a chairman voted from the working group. The main focus of the Industrial Robot Suppliers Group is discussing the market relevant data for the further development of the global industrial robot statistics World of Robotics. Other topics include promoting the industrial robotics industry. Regular meetings are held a minimum of twice a year in conjunction with robotics exhibitions.
Service Robotics Group
On 9 October 2002, a Service Robotics Group was founded. This group is open to all interested service robot member companies offering service robot products, components or related services. The IFR has proposed a tentative definition, "A service robot is a robot which operates semi- or fully autonomously to perform services useful to the well-being of humans and equipment, excluding manufacturing operations."[5] Objectives of the group are to further the interests for the mostly small and young companies working or entering this area to assist them in market assessment and in raising their profile in the eyes of other industries, the media, and government bodies. The group supports the Statistical Department to create an annual Statistics of Service Robots. Regular meetings of the group are held on the occasion of the annual International Robotics Conference (ISR).
Research Committee
This committee consists of the Research and Development Institutes members. It nominates among its members a Chairman and a maximum number of five further members, in order to be send to the General Assembly as representatives with voting rights. It is the Committee's responsibility to develop and promote the International Symposium on Robotics ISR. The Research Committee meets annually during the ISR.
Key persons
- President: Shinsuke Sakakibara (FANUC)
- Vice President: Arturo Baroncelli (Comau)
- General Secretary & Statistical Department: Gudrun Litzenberger (VDMA)
- Chairman, Research Committee: Alexander Verl (Fraunhofer IPA)
- Chairman, Industrial Robot Supplier Group: Andreas Bauer (KUKA Robotics)
- Chairman, Service Robotics Group: Martin Haegele (Fraunhofer IPA)
Notes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "History of Industrial Robots" (PDF). International Federation of Robotics. 2012. Retrieved 2012-11-17.
- ↑ "IFR Statistical Department". Retrieved 2009-05-24.
- ↑ "The continuing success story of industrial robots". International Federation of Robotics. Retrieved 2012-11-11.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 "Organisation IFR". International Federation of Robotics. Retrieved 2012-11-11.
- ↑ Provisional definition of Service Robots English, 27th of October 2012
External links
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Industrial robots. |