Scotland’s public services face a perfect storm of challenges. An ageing population increasing demand, workforce shortages limiting capacity, and budget constraints restricting investment. Traditional approaches alone cannot address these pressures and, so, we must find innovative solutions that enhance service delivery while maximising the economic impact of every pound spent. Robotics offers precisely this dual opportunity – transforming our public services while creating the foundation for sustainable economic growth.
Robotics solutions are already delivering tangible benefits across multiple public sectors. In healthcare, Edinburgh-based Bioliberty’s soft robotic glove is revolutionising stroke rehabilitation with sensors that tailor exercises to individual patients. In social care, Scottish researchers are deploying conversational robots to combat isolation while monitoring health indicators. For infrastructure, robotic systems are making maintenance of Scotland’s offshore wind turbines safer and more efficient, while reducing fuel consumption by up to 97%.
These aren’t futuristic concepts but practical applications addressing today’s most pressing challenges. Their impact extends beyond improved service delivery. When we strategically align public sector adoption with domestic capabilities, we create a powerful economic multiplier that transforms necessary expenditure into investment.
This virtuous cycle connects public service needs to Scottish innovation, driving business growth, creating skilled jobs, opening export opportunities, and generating tax revenue for further public services. The question is: how do we systematically capture both service improvements and economic benefits?
Scotland possesses world-class innovation assets but faces systemic challenges in connecting promising technologies with both public service deployment and local manufacturing. Initiatives like the Scottish Government’s CivTech programme have made excellent progress in identifying innovative solutions to public sector challenges, with £14 million recently allocated to AI-focused projects from firefighter safety systems to educational tools.
However, our innovation ecosystem still struggles to provide clear pathways from successful pilots to widespread adoption and domestic manufacturing. Bioliberty illustrates this challenge perfectly – despite developing its stroke rehabilitation technology in Scotland with public funding through Innovate UK and incubation support, it has had to pivot toward North American markets due to barriers in accessing domestic procurement pathways. This represents a double loss: Scottish patients miss out on innovative care solutions, and the economic benefits flow overseas rather than strengthening our domestic economy.
To break this cycle, we must reimagine public procurement as a strategic economic tool that considers potential for local manufacturing, job creation, and export opportunities alongside immediate service benefits. The key lies in creating stronger connections between public service needs, innovation programmes, and manufacturing capabilities.
Scotland already possesses the fundamental building blocks needed to implement this approach. The National Robotarium provides a world-leading facility where researchers, industry partners, and public sector organisations collaborate on robotics and AI solutions. The National Manufacturing Institute Scotland (NMIS) offers critical expertise in transforming innovative designs into manufacturable products. The Digital Process Manufacturing Centre in North Ayrshire enables businesses to access digital and data-driven manufacturing expertise. Additionally, the Smart Things Accelerator Centre (STAC) provides crucial support for Scottish technology startups moving from concept to commercialisation, helping bridge the gap between innovation and market adoption.
What these institutions need, alongside programmes like CivTech, is stronger coordination and strategic alignment. The Scottish Government’s £321 million allocation to Enterprise Agencies, with its focus on helping businesses innovate and scale, provides resources to strengthen these connections. The expanded £15 million Enterprise Package specifically targeting business clusters in advanced manufacturing and deeptech creates further opportunities.
The emerging Deeptech Supercluster – announced last year by Mark Logan, former chief entrepreneurial adviser to the Scottish Government – represents the final piece in this innovation jigsaw. Building on Scotland’s existing strengths in AI, data science, and robotics, this initiative could create a coordinated ecosystem that accelerates both innovation and commercialisation. Recent developments in Australia provide a useful model – its National Robotics Strategy, adopted in May 2024, demonstrates how a coordinated approach can accelerate adoption while building domestic capabilities.
For Scotland to capture these benefits, we need a strategic approach built on two key elements: aligning public procurement with domestic manufacturing objectives, and creating environments where service providers and manufacturers collaborate from concept to deployment.
Public finance minister Ivan McKee recently described data as “the lifeblood of our public services.” If data is the lifeblood, robotics provides the hands that deliver care, maintain infrastructure, and support frontline workers.
The National Robotarium is committed to supporting this vision, and the conversation about robotics in public services will be a central theme at Futurescot’s Transforming Public Services event in May. This gathering provides an ideal forum to bring together decision makers with Scotland’s robotics expertise.
Across healthcare, social care, education, and infrastructure management, robotics offers Scotland a unique opportunity to address service challenges while building economic resilience. The foundations are in place – now we need the strategic vision and collaborative will to connect them.
Stewart Miller be speaking at Transforming Public Services 2025 on Thursday, May 8, at Strathclyde University’s Technology & Innovation Centre in Glasgow. Register HERE.
