The International Federation of Robotics (IFR) reported that sales of industrial robots increased by 18% to a record $13.1bn in 2016, as a range of new industries started to buy robotics systems, leveraging IoT to create brownfield growth. Robotics companies are also partnering with IoT leaders and launching internal IoT development programs, heavily focused on analytics and diagnostics, in a race to lead in the further proliferation of IoT-enabled robotics. The industrial robotics sector has been helped by an increasing demand for more sophisticated machines, that have more capabilities than simply welding car bodies and lifting heavy loads – able to also perform complex functions for electronic component production. The growth in adoption of robotics has led to an uptick…