# Simultaneous Use of Digital Technologies and Industrial Robots in Manufacturing Firms
###### Abstract  
This paper presents the use of digital technologies and industrial robots in manufacturing firms. More importantly, we look at the relationship between the use of digital technologies and industrial robots within the Industry 4.0 concept. We also use a specific Industry 4.0 Readiness index to assess manufacturing firms' Industry 4.0 readiness level and analyze the relationship between the achieved readiness level and the use of industrial robots. The research is based on data from 118 manufacturing firms from a European Manufacturing Survey. Based on statistical analysis, we present the results that show a significant correlation between the use of specific digital technologies and two types of industrial robots. Our study also points out that manufacturing firms with a higher Industry 4.0 readiness level tend to use industrial robots more frequently. digital technology; industrial robot; industry 4.0; manufacturing firm; European manufacturing survey; readiness index +
Footnote †: journal: Applied  
135890  
their state of development concerning the Industry 4.0 vision and therefore fail to identify concrete fields of action. To overcome growing uncertainty and dissatisfaction in manufacturing firms regarding the idea of Industry 4.0, new methods and tools are needed to provide guidance and support to align business strategies and operations [9]. Therefore, in the last few years, different readiness models have been developed [10; 11; 12; 13]. These models differ in the areas they include and the measurement approaches. It is a common approach that these models classify manufacturing firms based on the achieved readiness level. Some models focus predominantly just on the use of Industry 4.0 enabling technologies [14; 15] as the sum of digital technologies and advanced manufacturing technologies, including industrial robots. All these models neglect the inter-relationship between specific types of technology, especially based on the Industry 4.0 readiness level of a manufacturing firm. With these issues in mind, our research presents the diffusion of seven selected digital technologies that present vital elements of the Industry 4.0 concept and the use of five types of industrial robots. Firstly, the relationship between digital technologies and the use of industrial robots is analyzed in general. Besides analyzing the general diffusion of digital technologies, this paper also presents a possible Industry 4.0 readiness index and assesses the Industry 4.0 readiness of Slovenian manufacturing firms. Additionally, the study aims to examine the relationship between manufacturing firm Industry 4.0 readiness level in terms of digital technologies' use and the use of specific industrial robots. Since the research is focused mainly on the identification of Industry 4.0 enabling technologies, there is a considerable research gap in studying the relationships between enabling technologies and advanced manufacturing technologies. Our main interest was studying the relationships between enabling technologies and the use of industrial robots in manufacturing firms. The cited literature shows that there is insufficient knowledge about the link between digital technologies and industrial robots. The main aim of our study is to provide an initial understanding of the simultaneous use of specific digital technologies and different types of industrial robots. Therefore, we propose the following research questions:  
* RQ 1: Is the use of industrial robots independent of digital technologies, or is there a correlation? * RQ 2: Which of the proposed digital technologies is more associated with the use of Industrial robots? * RQ 3: Are Industry 4.0 readiness levels and the use of industrial robots independent of each other, or is there a correlation? The remainder of this paper is organized as follows: Section 2 gives an overview of the relevant literature on industrial robots and their connection to digital technologies. Additionally, we describe existing Industry 4.0 readiness models.