The Rise of Robotics in the Automotive Industry: Key Innovations

Robotics are becoming increasingly integrated into all main aspects of driving and the automotive sector as a whole. Safety, practicality, and manufacturing are among the main areas where robotics is advancing experiences and processes, bringing features such as automatic braking, driver assistance, and facial recognition, as well as streamlined production lines.

IDTechEx‘s portfolio of Robotics & Autonomy Research Reports dives into the latest developments and forecasts for the next 10 to 20 years.

Safety in Radar and Level 2+

On a vehicle’s exterior, autonomy is implemented through radar technology that keeps the car aware of its surroundings and potential dangers. This may reduce the risk of collision and take some of the weight from the responsibility of the driver’s senses alone.

Front and side radars have individual responsibilities that overlap for certain features, including pedestrian automatic emergency braking (AEB), a feature of advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS).

Blind spot detection is another prominent feature of ADAS, enabled by side radars, used for lane-change assist and to ensure there is space around the vehicle to manoeuvre without risk of collision.

Backing out of parking spaces creates greater responsibility for side radars, where cross-traffic detection ensures no obstructions surround the vehicle when the driver doesn’t have a clear view. Front radars, on the other hand, require long-range and angular resolution, rather than the broad field of view needed for side radars, to identify objects ahead of the car in dark or low-visibility conditions.

IDTechEx’s report, “Automotive Radar Market 2025-2045: Robotaxis & Autonomous Cars“, presents IDTechEx’s latest research into radar technology and how it is advancing autonomous systems within vehicles for enhanced safety.

ADAS is also capable of adaptive cruise control, in which the vehicle uses its sensors, computing, and software to adjust its speed without driver input. Levels of autonomy are also gradually increasing, with Level 2+ seeing drivers able to remove their hands from the wheel while keeping their eyes on the road. Level 2+ also includes features such as Highway navigate on Pilot and City navigate on Pilot, with the market for its extensive features predicted to reach US$17.98 billion by 2045.

IDTechEx’s reports, “Passenger Car ADAS Market 2025-2045: Technology, Market Analysis, and Forecasts” and “Autonomous Driving Software and AI in Automotive 2026-2046: Technologies, Markets, Players“, cover the many features of ADAS and the way advanced software is revolutionising the vehicle experience.

In-Cabin Sensing and Passenger Protection

Inside the vehicle, multiple software functions are at play to ensure all aspects of safe driving are covered. In-cabin sensing enables the car to determine the driver’s state and monitor for potential compromises to their alertness via the driver monitoring system (DMS).

The Advanced Driver Distraction Warning (ADDW) is one of the main regulations driving development in in-cabin sensing technologies, with infrared technologies deployed in many new vehicles today to track drivers’ gaze and eyelid movements.

In-cabin sensing, however, is not solely concerned with the driver but also encompasses occupant monitoring systems (OMS) that use radar for passenger detection and vital-sign monitoring. IDTechEx‘s report, “In-Cabin Sensing 2025-2035: Technologies, Opportunities, and Markets“, highlights how in-cabin sensing systems can automatically assess all passengers in the vehicle, providing peace of mind on car journeys.

Robots in Production Lines

Behind the scenes, before vehicles even hit the road, robotics are increasingly being used in vehicle manufacturing production lines. Humanoid robots can be divided into industrial and non-industrial, with the former being heavier and requiring larger battery packs, and the latter requiring less force and suited to lightweight applications.

The automotive industry is expected to see the most adoption of humanoids due to their automation and large-scale production capabilities.

Collaborative robots (cobots), on the other hand, are designed to work alongside humans, are programmable as desired, and are flexible in the tasks they perform. Their machine vision and voice recognition make them ideal workers in automotive assembly lines, while also being low-cost and generating a small footprint with low power consumption.

IDTechEx‘s reports, “Humanoid Robots 2025-2035: Technologies, Markets and Opportunities” and “Collaborative Robots 2025-2045: Technologies, Players, and Markets”, explore the potential for robotics to reshape production lines and assist humans in manufacturing environments, to increase efficiency through automation.