China and the US reshape the automation landscape
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Robot installations provide context, but wellness OEM capabilities require factory-level evidence.
IFR recorded 354,000 new industrial robot installations in China, about 38,500 in the US and about 30,000 in Korea in 2025.
National automation investment does not prove the productivity or quality of a particular massage-chair factory.
Separate the national manufacturing ecosystem from an individual OEM’s process-validation capabilities.
MARKET CREATOR analysis: Compare automated processes, connected inspection records and recovery time, rather than simply robot counts. The boundary between human and machine tasks can help explain costs and quality.
2025 new installations: China 354,000; US about 38,500; Korea about 30,000. These are installations, not revenue or trade volume.
Individual actuator and vision patents require separate examination.
Production / Quality: What evidence links an OEM’s automation investment to fewer defects?