Collaborate to Automate: How Teradyne Robotics is Powering India’s Smart Manufacturing Future
#TeradyneRobotics #CollaborateIndia2025 #CollaborativeAutomation #CollaborativeRobots #UniversalRobots
February 2025 : In the rapidly evolving landscape of industrial automation, collaborative robots (cobots) are transforming manufacturing processes worldwide. As India emerges as a key player in the global supply chain, the demand for flexible and intelligent automation solutions is on the rise. In this exclusive interview with Zinnia Banerjee, Poi Toong Tang, Vice President - Sales, Asia Pacific, Teradyne Robotics, shares insights on the growing adoption of cobots in India. He discusses how Teradyne is leveraging AI, strategic partnerships, and customer-centric solutions to drive efficiency and innovation.
Zinnia Banerjee: How do you perceive the evolution of the collaborative robots (cobots) landscape in India?
Poi Toong Tang: The landscape is indeed evolving rapidly, but with distinct regional characteristics. In developed markets like Korea and Japan, we see a clear driver in the aging population and the resulting labor shortage. Low birth rate further exacerbates these issues. In India, while there’s a vast population, the dynamics are different. The rise of the gig economy and a shift in younger generations’ preferences towards more “fancy” jobs are making manufacturing less attractive. This creates a hidden labor challenge. Furthermore, the geopolitical situation is driving multinationals to diversify their manufacturing bases, with India becoming a significant beneficiary. This influx of investment will intensify the need for skilled workers and, consequently, automation solutions. We're seeing a surge in interest in collaborative robots and other automation technologies as companies seek to address these challenges.
Zinnia Banerjee: How is Teradyne Robotics leveraging its resources and expertise to help businesses in the Indian market address the specific barriers?
Poi Toong Tang: One key aspect is investment. Investment into new technology, into developing more new products, and developing more new products could come organically, as well as partnership. Partnership in AI both organically and through strategic partnerships. For instance, our collaboration with NVIDIA on AI integration is aimed at enhancing the capabilities of our collaborative robots and AMRs. We believe in bringing value to our customers, and in India, this means providing solutions that address the unique challenges of a rapidly expanding manufacturing sector.
Zinnia Banerjee: With increasing focus on automation, AI, and digitalization, what key trends do you foresee shaping the cobot industry in the next 5-10 years?
Poi Toong Tang: When we look at the long-term trajectory of robotics technology, AI is undoubtedly a central focus. However, I believe we’re still in the early stages of its development, particularly in the realm of ‘physical AI’. We see a lot of progress in digital AI, like the large language models used in tools such as ChatGPT. But translating that intelligence into physical actions, into robots that can truly understand and interact with their environment, that's where the real frontier lies.
Physical AI, as I envision it, will enable robots to perform tasks with greater autonomy, to learn and adapt in real-time. This will directly translate to benefits for our customers: easier programming, faster operations, reduced downtime, and the ability to reconfigure production layouts with unprecedented speed. This is crucial as consumer demands become increasingly sophisticated and personalized.
Think back to the early days of mass production. Henry Ford famously said customers could have any color car they wanted, as long as it was black. That model is obsolete. Today, manufacturers need to balance the efficiency of standardized production with the flexibility to cater to a wide range of customer preferences.
The challenge is amplified by the shifting global landscape. We’ve moved away from the era of pure globalization and standardization. Now, we’re seeing a rise in protectionism and nationalism, which means companies need to adapt to diverse regional markets. This requires agility and responsiveness.
The key question is: how quickly can manufacturers adapt to these changing demands? How fast can they reconfigure their operations to meet the needs of different markets and individual customers? I believe this will be the defining challenge for the next five to ten years, and physical AI will be a critical enabler in meeting that challenge.
Zinnia Banerjee: In a competitive market, how is Teradyne differentiating itself in terms of solutions and services?
Poi Toong Tang: We are always open to strategic partnerships that bring collaborative advantages. While our collaboration with NVIDIA and Siemens are prime examples, we are actively exploring opportunities with other technology providers across the globe, including in Asia and India. We believe in leveraging the expertise of our partners to accelerate innovation and deliver comprehensive solutions to our customers.
Regarding “physical AI”, we are actively researching and developing new technologies that enable robots to perceive, understand, and interact with their environment more intelligently. We believe this will be a key differentiator in the future.
Zinnia Banerjee: What is Teradyne’s strategy for accelerating cobot adoption in India? Are there specific industries or markets where you see the biggest growth potential?
Poi Toong Tang: We focus on raising awareness of the benefits of collaborative robotics through events like Collaborate India. We work closely with our partners to demonstrate the value of our solutions and provide hands-on training and support. We also emphasize the importance of understanding our customers’ specific needs and developing customized solutions that address their challenges. We encourage our customers to share their problems and challenges with us, so we can work together to find innovative solutions. We believe that by fostering a collaborative ecosystem, we can accelerate the adoption of collaborative robotics in India.
We aim to serve a wide range of industries. However, we have been more successful in certain industries like automotive, electronics, and welding. We tend to focus more on industries where we can deliver the most value and where we have a strong understanding of customer needs.
Zinnia Banerjee: Can you share real-world success stories where Teradyne’s solutions have significantly transformed production efficiency and quality for manufacturers in India?
Poi Toong Tang: We work with several leading automotive manufacturers in the region (like Lóreal, CATI, Carl Zeiss India etc), helping them automate various applications on their production lines. We have been able to deliver significant improvements in productivity, efficiency, and quality. We’ve helped them optimize their assembly processes, reduce cycle times, and improve overall operational performance. This includes tasks from basic assembly to complex welding applications.
We recognize that each market has unique challenges. In India, we focus on working closely with our customers and partners to adapt our solutions to their specific needs. For example, we've seen a strong demand for welding solutions in India, and we're working with our partners (Lorch Smart Welding and Smooth Robotics etc.,) to develop customized applications that address this need.
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