Simultaneous Use of Digital Technologies and Industrial Robots in Manufacturing Firms

Abstract

This paper presents the use of digital technologies and industrial robots in manufacturing firms. More importantly, we look at the relationship between the use of digital technologies and industrial robots within the Industry 4.0 concept. We also use a specific Industry 4.0 Readiness index to assess manufacturing firms’ Industry 4.0 readiness level and analyze the relationship between the achieved readiness level and the use of industrial robots. The research is based on data from 118 manufacturing firms from a European Manufacturing Survey. Based on statistical analysis, we present the results that show a significant correlation between the use of specific digital technologies and two types of industrial robots. Our study also points out that manufacturing firms with a higher Industry 4.0 readiness level tend to use industrial robots more frequently.

The Evaluation of Industry 5.0 Concepts: Social Network Analysis Approach

“…This firm size distribution scale is based on manufacturing innovations, defined by the European Manufacturing Survey's consortium [53]. Additionally, this distribution scale was used in previous EMS-related papers and articles, and was proven to be appropriate [21,[53][54][55][56]. As shown in Table 1, 65 small firms (45%), 57 medium firms (39%), and 24 large firms (16%) from Serbia took part in EMS 2022.…”