Key Takeaways:
– The U.S leads in AI research, design, and software applications. However, it lacks scale in manufacturing drones, robots, and droids.
– China is dominating in large-scale efficient manufacturing and is investing significantly in robotics, creating a robust industry.
– The U.S needs to incentivize investing in drones, robots, and droids to rebuild its industrial base and competitive marketplace.
The Future is Drones, Robots, and Droids: Time to Act
In the battle of technological dominance, the United States excels in artificial intelligence (AI). But the challenge is that it struggles with the large-scale manufacturing of drones, robots, and droids, the next big thing. This scale-efficient manufacturing is where China is now leading.
The Driving Forces behind Droids
Two key factors are pushing the evolution of droids. The first is AI— the domain the U.S currently leads, by having generated groundbreaking research, designs, and software applications. Leveraging AI, even the simplest robots can perform complex tasks, revolutionizing the way we conduct our lives and businesses.
However, the second driver pinpoints a problem. The production of droids requires a type of large-scale efficient manufacturing that the U.S is currently lacking. Droids, being the natural evolution of both consumer and industrial robotics and drones, need such manufacturing.
China’s Robust Robotics Industry
Today, China exhibits a robust robotics industry supported by a deep supply chain of companies. This has been greatly demonstrated at the recent 2024 China Robot Show. Apart from this, China is investing significantly in the sector, pumping in at least $2.8 billion for drone, robot, and droid (DRD) development.
China’s humanoid droids from both startups and established companies are already showcasing spectacular capabilities. The production of these shares similarities with drones and robots as they all require scale manufacturing and the lowest possible cost.
U.S Response: Incentives for Investment
To compete with China, the U.S needs to establish incentives to encourage investment in the DRD supply chains. This strategy would involve driving investment through government policy, Department of Defense programs, and legislative actions such as the Inflation Reduction Act and Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.
Furthering this, the U.S should also consider nearshore or friendshore options where necessary for efficient supply chain management. This would involve coordinating multiple government departments such as Defense, Energy, Commerce, Homeland Security, and the Environmental Protection Agency.
Addressing the U.S Manufacturing Gap
Despite considerable progress made by the U.S, such as the Department of Defense’s Replicator Initiative, the nation is still struggling to keep up with China’s manufacturing capabilities. This includes failing to meet the growing demand for drone parts due to insufficient scale manufacturing.
However, the demand signal sent out by Ukraine presents an untapped opportunity for the U.S. Capitalizing on this could help the U.S develop its own supply chain, gain experience, and drive up its large-scale, low-cost production capabilities.
Bracing for the Future
There’s no doubt that the future belongs to droids, robots, and drones. To compete globally, the U.S needs to push forward to rebuild its industrial base and develop competitive industries. This necessitates a large-scale investment in research, skills development, component manufacturing, and fostering manufacturing capabilities.
The U.S needs a comprehensive strategy to implement industrial policy across multiple departments. These strategies must incentivize free market investment and revitalize the national industrial base. If the current state remains unchanged, the U.S may lose out in the drone market and miss the next massive market that droids represent as it continues to import Chinese drones.
Drones, robots, and droids must become the spine of a substantial U.S effort. It’s important for defense, manufacturing, and the anticipation of a larger market in the future. The U.S needs to offer attractive incentives for investment in drones, robots, and droids to gain a competitive edge in this high-stakes technology race.