Service Robotics Market: The Next Big Thing in Technology and Innovation
Types and applications of robotics
Robotics is one of the critical technologies of the future, in which the problems of mechanics, new engineering and information technologies, and hardware schemes for obtaining information about the environment (sensors, sensors, etc.) are intertwined with the problems of artificial intelligence and the creation of control systems for complex dynamic objects in conditions of uncertainty. In recent years, robotics has been experiencing a new round of development, covering more and more areas of human activity.
The modern robotics market extends extremely widely — from self-driving warehouse loaders and agricultural combines to autonomous chatbots and voice assistants with elements of artificial intelligence.
Robotics is traditionally divided into two big groups:
However, the traditional boundary between these segments is gradually blurring as a result of the development of industrial use of service robotics; mobile industrial robotics, which allows you to reconfigure robots from one activity to another quickly; the emergence of collaborative robotics, which ensures the joint performance of complex tasks by humans and robots.
Industrial robots have been on the market since the middle of the last century, and another direction of robotics is developing at the most rapid pace today — service.
Service robots
Service robots include two groups: professional service robots (to benefit from the provision of services) and personal robots (for use in everyday life). Unlike companion robots or personal robots intended for individuals, which are perceived as toys or home assistants and are not yet adapted to mass consumption, professional robots, on the contrary, are in demand on the market.
Initially, a service robot requires much higher flexibility than an industrial robot, a more developed ability to navigate in a rapidly changing environment, and adjust its immediate actions on the go to achieve the ultimate goal. An industrial manipulator at the conveyor requires fundamentally less effort and investment on the developer’s part for its creation than, for example, a robotic electric car.
Many experts are confident that the robotization of the industry will reach saturation point in the foreseeable future. At the same time, the service sector will provide immense scope for developing and implementing a wide variety of autonomous systems for many decades to come. The growth rate of professional service robotics is more than 2.5 times higher than the growth rate of the industrial robotics market.
The average price of a professional service robot is also noticeably lower than an industrial one, which makes this segment more dynamic. Such industries as medicine, logistics, and military affairs are particularly actively undergoing robotization.
The trend towards using logistics systems in non-manufacturing industries is mainly due to the ability to solve warehouse problems of large e-commerce companies with their help. Healthcare institutions are also engaged in logistics with the support of the AKP. Logistics systems account for 41% of all PSPs sold.
The increased attention of logistics customers to devices of varying degrees of autonomy provokes a steady increase in global trade volumes, including retail, primarily digital, using Internet communications. The simplicity and accessibility of online purchases increase the load on logistics centers and communications, making it necessary to optimize the procedures previously performed by people with the involvement of robots.
The segment of robots for control and maintenance is developing dynamically. This category covers a wide range of robots - from inexpensive standard devices to expensive specialized installations. Robots perform a wide range of tasks; they are actively used for in-line oil refining and construction inspection to assess pipe damage and fix methane leaks.
The popularity of medical robots in the world is growing. The fastest-growing sector of medical robotics is surgical robots and rehabilitation devices. In addition, the demand for auxiliary robots for the aging population in Europe and Asia is constantly growing.
The sales volume of agricultural robots is constantly increasing. Sales of agricultural robots, used, for example, in crop production and horticulture, are expected to increase by an average of about 50% per year.
Sales of active human exoskeletons that support the ergonomics of work, reducing the burden on the employee, are also growing. This type of robot has excellent growth potential.
Exoskeletons are robotic suits, from a prosthesis to fully enclosed spacesuits, which increase the strength of human muscles and allow you to restore lost functions or support the skeleton and reduce muscle load. Exoskeletons are used in production to ease the burden on workers, in medicine — for rehabilitation and military purposes.
领英推荐
The demand for robots to work in public places is increasing. We are talking about telepresence robots and robot promoters. The development focus is shifting towards robots that patrol, monitor, inform, accompany and entertain.
Asian companies with solid competitive solutions are strengthening the market for robots working in public places.
At the same time, the market of personal robots is rapidly developing: entertaining, educational, engaged in cleaning residential premises or ensuring their safety, as well as combining these functions in various combinations. Personal service robotics includes robots for personal use: vacuum cleaner robots, home companions, toy robots for children, and educational robotic constructors.
Such robots cost even less in development and production than professional service robots. Still, they should also be in demand by tens and hundreds of millions — when the consumer gets used to them, as in his time with smartphones, for example. According to forecasts, sales of all types of robots for personal and household needs in 2022 may exceed 61.1 million units (worth $ 11.5 billion). Sales in the individual robotics market largely depend on the population’s standard of living and other social factors.
The largest service manufacturers are European and American companies: their share is about 45% of the market. American companies dominate in the logistics systems segment, and European companies overlook the field of medical robotics. European and Asian companies produce mainly agricultural robots for field work, occupying 45% of the market for this equipment.
Trends of further development
As experts note, we expect an active development of the logistics and healthcare sector in future periods. The main directions will be warehouse management and surgical robots, as well as medical telepresent robots, which will allow paying particular attention to monitoring and servicing the aging population.
By 2030, “smart” agriculture will occupy a significant part of the world market. This expansion will be based primarily on the already well-developed market of milking robots and, from 2025, on the market of agricultural robots for cultivating fields. In this area, the high demand for rural robots will ensure the need to solve resource conservation problems and increase production through the development of “precision” agriculture and the automation of agricultural work. Currently - at a transitional stage - robots will monitor the health of animals and plants. It is evident that the growing presence of robotics in the agricultural sector is caused by pressure on the industry, often due to a combination of industrial, consumer, and environmental requirements.
Also, many experts say that service and logistics robots, unmanned aerial vehicles, as well as robotics for cleaning and maintenance will receive the most significant investments from interested companies.
The annual growth rate of the service robotics industry will be 21.5%. Thus, the global robotics market will grow from about $ 25 billion this year to $160-260 billion by 2030, while the market share of robots for professional services will reach $ 170 billion, and sales of industrial and logistics robots will exceed $ 80 billion.
According to forecasts, from 2020 to 2030, the sales volume of service and logistics robots will be 29% and 21%, respectively. In addition, with artificial intelligence and cloud robotics development, high-tech assistants in the travel industry will become even more common. For example, they can assist with hotel registration or translation of user requests into foreign languages.
According to analysts, the growth of the global market of service robotics is stimulated by the following:
- a surge in the introduction of service robots in several sectors,
- severe investments in research and development,
- high cost and shortage of skilled labour.
However, concerns about data privacy and regulation, the need for large-scale investments at the initial stage, and the high cost of maintenance hinder the development of this market. In addition, the COVID-19 pandemic has harmed the service robotics market – due to delays in production and maintenance, disruption of the supply chain, reduced business confidence, and shortage of raw materials due to restrictions on cross-border trade.
Among the regions in the market of service robotics, Europe dominated. But the Asia-Pacific region is expected to have the highest average annual growth rate of 24.2% during the forecast period.