Emergence of IoT in robotics to become key trend

The global smart robots market is expected to record a CAGR of about 21% until 2020, according to the latest research study released by Technavio.

“IoT connects the physical world of machines and robots with the Internet and carries out the task without any direct human intervention,” says Bharath Kanniappan, one of Technavio’s lead analysts for robotics research. “With increased focus toward building smart cities and factories, the demand for IoT-enabled personal service robots and collaborative robots is on the rise. Thus, vendors are developing IoT-enabled robotic vacuum cleaners, collaborative robots, and public relation robots.”

With the adoption of IoT in robots, industries were able to achieve increased production volume. KUKA, a global leading manufacturer of industrial robots and PC-controlled robots, implemented IoT in the new Chrysler Group’s Jeep Wrangler plant. KUKA implemented an intelligent system with Windows Embedded and Microsoft SQL Server that connected more than 250 assembly-line robots, over 60,000 device points, a controller, and backend systems. With the implementation of IoT, the Jeep Wrangler was able to produce a car at every 77 seconds and achieve 24 hours of production per day for more than eight years.

The global personal service robots market was valued at USD 1.63-billion in 2015. Personal service robots include robotic vacuum cleaners and public relation robots.

In the robotic vacuum cleaner segment, leading vendors such as iRobot and Electrolux entered the market in the late 1900s and early 2000s respectively. The earlier invented robotic vacuum cleaners had product limitations with low suction power and improper pattern alignment of floor cleaning. With time (post 2010), innovations have progressed with infrared sensors and longer battery life, which improved the quality of the robotic vacuum cleaners.

Public relation robots are highly capable of processing human languages, capabilities, and emotions. Hotels, restaurants, and hospitals are deploying humanoids to improve productivity and achieve high customer satisfaction.

Global smart mobile robots market

The global smart mobile robots market was valued at USD 631.9 million in 2015. Smart mobile robots (autonomous) are used in terrains and environments that are not easily accessible by humans. In the oil and gas and power industries, smart mobile robots are deployed for data collection and inspection in environments that are subjected to extreme conditions (high temperature). In the defense industry, smart mobile robots are deployed for bomb detection and surveillance. The aerospace and defense industry was the largest end-user of smart mobile robots in 2015.

The global smart mobile robots market found the majority of the demand from China and the US in 2015. High adoption of smart mobile robots in the industrial, agriculture, and healthcare sectors contributed to market growth in China. In terms of the revenue and demand for the smart mobile robots, China accounted for the highest shares in APAC in 2015.

Global collaborative robots market

The global collaborative robots market was valued at USD 138.7 million in 2015. APAC dominated the global collaborative robots market in 2015 with China and Japan contributing to a major market share in the region. With the Made in China 2025 initiative, aimed at making the country a global green manufacturing power hub, we expect increased adoption of robotics in the manufacturing industries. In 2015, on an average, China had only 36 robots per 10,000 employees, which is far lesser than South Korea, Japan, and Germany. By 2020, we expect China to have about 500 robots per 10,000 employees, out of which about 2%-5% are estimated to be collaborative robots.

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This research report titled ‘Global Smart Robots Market 2016-2020’, provides an in-depth analysis of market growth in terms of revenue and emerging market trends. This research report segments the market by personal service robots, smart mobile robots, and collaborative robots.