A3 Unveils Advocacy Principles to Accelerate Robotics and Automation Adoption Across the U.S.

Advocacy principles address the need for government leadership to help maintain and expand the role of the United States as a world leader in applying innovative and modern automation, robotics and manufacturing technologies

ANN ARBOR, Michigan – The Association for Advancing Automation (A3), North America’s largest automation trade association representing more than 1280 organizations, has unveiled five principles to help drive support and expansion of the robotics and automation industries in the United States. With these principles in place, the U.S. government can work with industry and robotics leaders to drive discussion and enact the policy initiatives needed in the coming years to maintain U.S. automation, robotics and manufacturing leadership.

The 2024 robotics market is projected to reach $38.24 billion in 2024, according to research firm Statista, with the U.S. forecasted to generate $7.846 billion or 20.5% of the market. However, according to the International Federation of Robotics (IFR) World Robotics 2023, 73% of all newly deployed robots were installed in Asia, with 15% in Europe and only 10% in the Americas.

“Innovation is the lifeblood of the American economy and workers in robotics are key to ensuring the U.S. can compete globally,” said Jeff Burnstein, president of A3. “However, the skill sets required for today's robotics careers are quite different from traditional manufacturing roles. Government leadership is critical to addressing the serious supply chain problem of providing a sufficient workforce of technicians and engineers for the robotics and automation industries.”

“There is an urgent and immediate need for government leadership in the domain of advanced robotics and automation technologies,” said Brendan Schulman, Chair of the A3 Advocacy Committee and VP of Policy & Government Relations at Boston Dynamics. “I was pleased to work in collaboration with the other members of the Advocacy Committee to develop these principles, and commend A3 for its leadership on these important issues.”

The Five Advocacy Principles

The five principles address factors essential to the continued evolution and growth of automation, robotics and manufacturing in the U.S. The full version of the Advocacy Principles is available on the A3 website. In summary, it includes:

1: The United States needs a national government strategy for robotics.

The United States lacks a cohesive national robotics strategy for capitalizing on opportunities and managing both real and perceived risks amongst the populace. Other countries, including China, Japan, South Korea and Germany, have established national strategies for robotics to provide overarching goals and strategy to enhance their global competitiveness and economic prosperity.

2: Communicate with us: Robots create better, more productive jobs.

Robots and automated technologies create jobs that are better paying, safer, greener, more productive and more rewarding than the physical tasks robots tend to do. For example, new robotics roles pay about 30% more on average than entry-level, non-robotics manufacturing jobs. The U.S. government should partner in helping the robotics and automation industry tell the story of how these technologies are used to bring back jobs to the United States and to increase worker productivity and safety.

3: We need to boost workforce training, robotics education and career inspiration.

Upskilling America's workforce is critical to strengthening the nation's leadership and resilience. Careers in robotics and automation are growing, well-paying and offer new opportunities for employment. When robots take on dull, dirty and dangerous jobs, workers have new opportunities for doing more engaging work that takes advantage of their unique capabilities. The U.S. government should fund, facilitate and promote workplace training programs that leverage automated technologies.

4: Make improvements to economic and tax policies.

The ability of U.S.-based manufacturing to compete globally is directly tied to manufacturing productivity. However, U.S. manufacturing productivity has been static (or even declining) for the past two decades, and other nations are catching up. The U.S. government should re-examine its economic and tax policies to support the development, manufacturing and adoption of robotics technologies that will boost U.S.-based manufacturing.

5: The government should invest in new and emerging applications for robotics that will benefit society and humanity.

Advanced robotics are poised to bring unprecedented benefits to society in ways we are only beginning to imagine, including support for older adults, retirees, those with disability challenges and underserved populations. Government programs should research, explore, incentivize and invest in new and emerging robotic applications, and help lead the development of standards that ensure safety in new applications.

Advocacy for Self-Sufficiency

As discussed in A3’s new Advocacy Principles, it is a primary government objective to bring jobs and manufacturing back to the United States, and for the country to become more self-sufficient in the manufacture of essential products. Automation and robotics technologies will play a key role in these policy objectives, keeping our economy competitive while also enhancing worker safety and productivity across countless industries. Government policymakers at all levels should have an interest in the benefits that these technologies can bring their constituents, and in understanding how their policy initiatives can help further these interests.

These Advocacy Principles represent key drivers for the support and expansion of the robotics and automation industries. While the focus is on the United States, these principles would also benefit allied countries in other regions, and A3 welcomes their broader adoption by government officials elsewhere.

About Association for Advancing Automation (A3)

The Association for Advancing Automation (A3) is the leading global advocate for the benefits of automating. A3 promotes automation technologies and ideas that transform the way business is done. Members of A3 represent more than 1280 manufacturers, component suppliers, system integrators, end users, academic institutions, research groups and consulting firms that drive automation forward worldwide.

A3 hosts a number of industry-leading events, including Automate 2024 (May 6-9, 2024, in Chicago), The International Robot Safety Conference (October 1-3, Cincinnati, Ohio); Autonomous Mobile Robot & Logistics Conference (October 8-10, 2024, Memphis, Tennessee); and the A3 Business Forum (January 20-22, 2025, Orlando, Florida).

For More Information

Deb Kling
Association for Advancing Automation
(734) 929-3264

Kelly Wanlass
HCI Marketing and Communications, Inc.
(801) 602-4723