Robots have been playing an ever-expanding role in contemporary society, enabling the automation of dangerous and repetitive tasks in a wide range of applications. Now the COVID-19 pandemic is putting robots to the test. Written in plain language and free of technical jargon, this white paper aims to provide decision-makers with a primer on the use of robots and their potential in the fight against COVID. We survey how other countries around the world are making use of robots during the present health crisis, describe the current state of affairs in Canada, and provide recommendations on how we can better leverage our robotics capabilities to benefit Canadians in this challenging time.
To understand how to best make an impact with robots here in Canada, we conducted interviews with robotics industry professionals and stakeholders in areas as diverse as hospitals, public health, public transportation, manufacturing/retail industries, education, and government labs. We used these dialogues, along with our collective 130 years of experience working across the spectrum of the field to identify Canada’s biggest strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities for robotics innovation.
Ultimately, it is our view that Canada needs a unified robotics roadmap, tying industry, government and academia together with a clear mandate for specialization and persistent investment in the robotics industry. With the right strategic investment focus going forward, Canada could reignite its robotics innovation pipeline as an important growth engine for the post-pandemic economic recovery.