Some of Europe's leading research institutes, universities and automation technology companies are planning to bring industrial robotics to the masses. The masses in this case are Europe's 200,000-plus smaller manufacturing firms, who will have access to intuitive, affordable self-assembly 'light' robots if the EU's SMErobot project within the 6th Framework Programme project is successful. Industrial robots are commonplace in high-volume manufacturers. Almost a million are in service worldwide, and their numbers are on the increase. However, robots are scarce in SMEs due to their cost and complexity. The SMErobot project aims to rectify this.
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