It's been almost a lifetime wait for robotics guru Djitt Laowattana, but automation and robotics systems are beginning to reshape the country.
These technologies are seen as a game-changer for the country's industrial sector. The government is keen on adopting policies in the Thailand 4.0 era that will ensure economic mobility over the next few decades.
Since the financial crisis of 1997, Thai economic growth has been driven by the export and manufacturing sectors, but GDP growth has registered a slow pace of 3-4% a year. Average income per person has hovered at US$6,000 a year, signalling a middle-income trap.
The manufacturing sector is facing a labour shortage, so upgrades using automation and robotics systems are growing in importance.
Assoc Prof Djitt is one of the key movers behind many government master plans. The founder of the Institute of Field Robotics (FIBO) says automation and robotics systems will create many positive changes in the country.
Assoc Prof Djitt shows how to assemble a robot. He is the founder of the Institute of Field Robotics (FIBO).
Now 57, Assoc Prof Djitt set up FIBO at King Mongkut's University of Technology Thonburi (KMUTT) after graduating with his doctorate from Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh. He is an academic lecturer at KMUTT.
Assoc Prof Djitt says he was inspired by Japanese cartoons about robot heroes, which sparked his enthusiasm for engineering and robotics as a young boy living an impoverished life in Saraburi.
Since those days, he has pursued his robot dreams, setting himself apart from the other students who opted for medical school or other engineering fields.
Unfortunately, robotics was unavailable at Thai universities, so Assoc Prof Djitt took the initiative to invent his own welding robot for a senior project before graduating with a bachelor's degree in engineering from KMUTT.
After completing the degree, he was awarded two scholarships for further study overseas. First up was Japan, where he studied precision mechanics and robotics in Kyoto. The last scholarship was granted by Carnegie Mellon for his master's and doctoral degrees -- both in robotics.
Assoc Prof Djitt says that during this period he created a snake-shaped robot for bowel surgery and a robot for fast assembly work. These inventions were later sold and became commercial products.
Upon his return to Thailand, he suggested that KMUTT set up FIBO, which was founded in 1995.
Assoc Prof Djitt proposed to the university that the institute should operate by itself, free of the government's annual budget, using fees generated by consultant services for business operators.
"At that time, many people did not believe in and declined to use automation and robotics systems that could enhance production capacity and cut operating costs," he says. "Because Thailand had abundant workers, business owners were rarely accepting of robots working.
"As a matter of fact, we always knew that automation and robotics systems could replace human beings working in dangerous places such as an overheated area or a very high, narrow place, and the robot can repeat its job action with accuracy."
In the first two decades after setting up FIBO, Assoc Prof Djitt's major work was churning out experts in robotics, releasing research papers and developing pieces to be applied to the production process, as well as organising an international competition in applied robotics and information technology.
The competition led to further awareness among the public, as several teams from Thailand joined the stakes and reached the final round. The winning Thai teams gave the country a solid reputation in the robotics world.
TRCC 422R is a football-playing robot created at King Mongkut's University of Technology Thonburi.
But it was never a smooth path for Thai students, who had to grapple with huge budgets during the preparation and building of robots before competition.
"Thai students didn't have much money to build robots, so only second-hand components were affordable for them and they didn't have any sponsorship," Assoc Prof Djitt says. "We had the Siang Kong Market to buy used components and reassemble the designed robots, but it was ridiculous when Thai students were on the global stage with the used-components robots to perform at lower efficiency than other rivals. Finally we would enter the final round, but there was no medal."
He says these problems helped the Thai students learn how to fix and reassemble second-hand robots, giving them strong skills in maintenance and problem solving.
Despite the great strides made by FIBO, career opportunities in Thailand failed to keep pace with the legions of robotics experts cranked out by educational institutes.
Assoc Prof Djitt says Thailand still lags far behind Japan and the US in competitiveness, particularly in the realm of technology and innovation utilised in the business and industrial sectors. But he says he can't give up and he always believes that every obstacle is like a new chapter from which to learn and gain experience.
He cites the Lord Buddha's maxim that human beings should learn why they suffer and then seek a way of resolving the obstacles or problems they face. Only then will they gain new wisdom from their suffering.
"Yes, it is the well-known Four Noble Truths that Buddhist people always know," he says.
The must-do thing for FIBO is to encourage business operators to enhance their productivity and efficiency through robotics and artificial intelligence, though so far the response from operators has been slow.
The automation system of Melbourne-based Anca Group at Hemaraj Industrial Estate in Rayong. FIBO is collaborating with Anca to produce more skilful human resources in robotics.
The May 2014 coup was something of a watershed for the robotics field after the military-led government ordered all migrant workers to register their local presence with the Labour Ministry.
Migrant workers across the country, fearing a crackdown, returned in the millions to their home countries, and many firms relying on low-skilled workers had to stop their operations for many days, causing massive losses and disruptive risks to business.
"It was a stimulus factor for companies of all sizes, because they had to start looking at automation and robotics systems to assist their operations," Assoc Prof Djitt says.
Moreover, the public sector has prioritised automation and robotics systems as a vital concern. The Board of Investment (BoI) launched incentives for investors to invest in or upgrade automation systems for production lines.
According to BoI data, several large enterprises, including listed companies, have applied for the incentives to the tune of 15 billion baht in combined investment value.
The incentives include tax holidays, corporate tax exemptions and special tax deductions for capital expenditure on automation and robotics systems.
Furthermore, other government agencies have offered funds to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and new entrepreneurs, as well as provided consulting services from educational institutes to companies that want to adopt these systems.
Assoc Prof Djitt says the necessity of automation and robotics systems was clear from the results of a 2014 FIBO survey.
The poll of 512 industrial firms found that those companies that did not make the switch to high technology to improve their productivity were apt to be out of business within three years.
"Many companies were not concerned about relying on too many migrant workers, until one day they were forced to learn many severe lessons," Assoc Prof Djitt says.
The government's current master plan for automation and robotics systems includes raising capital expenditure on development of such systems by 200 billion baht over the next five years.
The plan estimates that roughly 500,000 robot and automation units will be installed this year alone at production lines. Demand for these systems in the manufacturing sector is forecast at 10,000 units a year over the next few years.
The government aims to raise the number of robotics experts to 1,400 people within five years, up from 200 at present.
Some 30% of Thai manufacturers have already adopted robotics systems in some form. In the first phase of development, the government wants to raise the number to 50% under the five-year plan.
With strong government support and a clear-cut plan, Thailand should be able to reduce expense from importing automation and robotics systems by US$4 billion (131 billion baht) a year during the first stage of development, Assoc Prof Djitt says.
"Ultimately, Thai manufacturers will not be able to avoid utilisation of these systems, and finally they will be forced away from a labour-intensive process that requires massive costs," he says.
Assoc Prof Djitt predicts that further progress towards automation will mark a new era for the country, while Myanmar, Cambodia and Vietnam will become production bases for labour-intensive industries.
Migrant workers will relocate from Thailand to seek economic opportunities, since the country will no longer need cheap labour.
"My effort is to push business awareness of this sector, and my dream is coming true," Assoc Prof Djitt says. "I have created a fundamental infrastructure, which is ready now, and this sector needs new-generation experts to push robotics down the runway and take off for the new era."
Assoc Prof Djitt set up FIBO to cultivate robotics experts.
The automation system of Melbourne-based Anca Group at Hemaraj Industrial Estate in Rayong. FIBO is collaborating with Anca to produce more skilful human resources in robotics.
TRCC 422R is a football-playing robot created at King Mongkut's University of Technology Thonburi.