Outlook report on the future of European assembly automation

Abstract

Purpose

This roadmap is primarily concerned with the adaptive assembly technology situation in Europe, a topic of particular interest as assembly is often the final process within manufacturing operations. Being the final set of operations on the product, and being traditionally labour‐intensive, assembly has been considerably affected by globalisation. Therefore, unlike most technology roadmaps, this report will not focus solely on particular technologies, but will strive to form a broader perspective on the conditions that may come to influence the opportunities, including political aspects and scientific paradigms. The purpose of this paper is to convey a complete view of the global mechanisms that may come to affect technological breakthroughs, and also present strategies that may better prepare for such a forecast.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper describes a technological roadmap.

Findings

This paper provides a complete overview of all aspects that may come to affect assembly in Europe within the next 20 years.

Originality/value

The paper gives an original Evolvable Ultra Precision Assembly Systems FP6 project result which will be of general interest for strategic R&D.

Citation

Onori, M. and Barata Oliveira, J. (2010), "Outlook report on the future of European assembly automation", Assembly Automation, Vol. 30 No. 1, pp. 7-31. https://doi.org/10.1108/01445151011016028