The government has vowed to level up the country's robotics industry development to drive new industrial use cases and related startups as the global robotics market is expected to surpass 1.7 trillion baht in the next five years.
"The support of robotics development will deliver a crucial opportunity for Thailand, including the emergence of new startups which could create economic value for the country and the use of robots in the industrial field," said Digital Economy and Society (DES) Minister Chaiwut Thanakamanusorn.
"Thailand has the potential in robotics much more than in the past and it is necessary to drive its growth rather than just focus on robotics competitions or prototype development."
He was speaking at the launch of World RoboCup 2022, an international robot competition, which is being held this week at Bitec, Bang Na.
The event, which runs until Sunday, includes the robot competition gathering participants from 45 countries, an exhibition and a symposium.
Mr Chaiwut said robotics and artificial intelligence (AI) are among 12 S-Curve industrial targets for Thailand 4.0, which can support smart industries and smart cities.
The government recently rolled out a law to waive the capital gains tax for 10 years for both local and foreign investors in local startups associated with the 12 targeted industries, including robotics, he said.
Citing the Digital Council of Thailand, he said the capital gains tax waiver could add 320 billion baht in investment in local startups by 2026, indirectly add more than 400,000 jobs and generate 790 billion baht for the country's economy.
Danuch Tanterdtid, vice-minister for the Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation, said Thailand's robotics industry was worth 350 billion baht in 2021.
It is estimated the global robotics market would reach 1.7 trillion baht in the next five years, he said, adding this outlook offers a golden opportunity for engineering students to engage in the robotics industry.
Jackrit Suthakorn, dean of the Faculty of Engineering at Mahidol University and chairman of the 25th edition of RoboCup, said having this event in Thailand will facilitate the exchange of knowledge and inspire youngsters to gain real experience of a robotics competition.
"We have startups who established robotic businesses inspired from RoboCup in the past decade," he said.
He said Thailand has the potential to use robotics for healthcare, as assistance for senior citizens as well as in the security and service sectors, such as serving meals in restaurants.
There are a lot of online tools and lower hardware prices in the robotics industry. "This is the right time for us to take the opportunity," Mr Jackrit said.
"Thailand targets to have 10,000 engineers for robotics and AI within the next five years," he said. At present, there are 28,000 graduates in all engineering fields per year.
He said a two-year short course on robotics and AI will be organised to produce engineers in these fields with a degree to serve market demand.
Peter Stone, president of the International RoboCup Federation, which has organised the World RoboCup since 1997, said Thailand has wanted to host the event over the past decade.
"By having this event in Thailand for the first time, this is a major milestone to reflect Thailand's potential in the region," he said.
"This will inspire the new generations in robotics and AI fields to create new innovations, not just rescue or soccer robots, but also those in real industries," he said.
"As soon as students try to program the robots to do things, they realise how difficult it is. And they need to work really hard to understand how to program them to do things that seem very simple to people," Mr Stone said.
He said Thailand needs to build an innovation ecosystem and encourage young people who have ideas to put them into practice.
Jareeporn Jarukornsakul, chairperson and group chief executive of WHA Corporation Plc, an industrial estate operator which is the main supporter of RoboCup 2022, said robots are now used heavily in logistics and on integrated industrial estates.
WHA also has a goal to become a technology company by 2024 through the use of new advanced technologies, she said.
