Last month, I met with representatives of the The National Robotarium in Holyrood for a fascinating discussion about the enormous potential of robots to drive economic growth. It is essential we fully support and harness this potential as Scotland stands at a critical juncture in the global robotics revolution.
I was given a demonstration of the amazing Boston Dynamics ‘Spot’ robot, and its movement and agility were particularly impressive. It was especially interesting to hear how its incredible learning capabilities are supporting manufacturing, logistics and data capture, across sectors including industry, farming and search and rescue.
Robots are very much the future and will prove critical for national economic growth. It is estimated robots could generate £184bn to the UK economy over the next ten years and will help significantly to address Scotland’s specific challenges around productivity and labour shortages. It is very important we invest in this now to not fall behind internationally.
Moreover, robots will be key in addressing other major challenges facing Scotland in the coming years. In Health and Social Care, robots will drive innovation delivering efficiency savings within our NHS and improving patient outcomes. In offshore and renewables, robotics will assist in operating and maintaining our energy supply in the clean energy transition.
For all these reasons I support the call of The National Robotarium to create a national agency ‘Robotics Scotland’ to coordinate a strategy and drive manufacturing growth. In addition, they have called for the launching of a National Healthcare Robotics Initiative, a Marine Robotics Innovation Programme and a National Robotics Skills Strategy. By embracing these recommendations, we can be at the forefront of this global robotics revolution and create thousands of high-skilled jobs for people here in Scotland.
