Robotics (Global Market)

Main article: Robots (robotics)

Main article: Robots in the United States

2022

Robotics in Logistics

• How Robotics and Automation Will Inform Supply Chains

2021

2019

Global Robot Market Reaches $34 Billion

According to estimates by research firm ResearchAndMarkets, the global robot market reached $34 billion in 2019. Broken down by segment, the automotive industry accounts for the largest share of the industrial robotics market (about 32%).

The industrial robotics market in the electrical and electronics industries is likely to have been hit hardest by the Sino-American trade crisis as Asian countries (e.g. China, Japan, Republic of Korea) are leaders in the production of electronic products and components.

In terms of geographic regions, Asia Australia and are the world's fastest growing industrial robot markets. In 2019, these regions accounted for more than 67% of the industrial robotics market. The main drivers of this growth are the demand for industrial robots from small and medium-sized enterprises in,,, and China. Since Japan South Korea India 2013, China has been the largest robot market in the world and continues to grow dynamically. The five major markets, including China, Japan, the Republic of Korea, and, USA Germany account for about 75% of total robotics sales in 2019. Europe is the second leading region in the industrial robotics market, followed by America.

The volume of the global robot market in 2019 reached $34 billion

The global service robotics market was valued at more than US $17 billion in 2019 and is expected to show significant growth over the next few years. The increase in growth will be due to the high cost of labor, the lack of qualified employees, increased investment in research and development, as well as an increase in understanding of the benefits of service robots and an increase in demand for automation in the professional and personal sectors.^[1]

What to expect from robots in 2020

In early December 2019, Chris Harlow, director of product development at the robotics company Realtime Robotics, told what to expect from robots in 2020 and beyond.

Harlow immediately noted that the robotics industry is experiencing an unprecedented heyday. Driven by growing diversification, the global robotic development sector is growing rapidly, so that its total cost is already more than $100 billion.

Chris Harlow, Director of Product Development at Realtime Robotics, told what to expect from robots in 2020

Industrial robots have ceased to be the preserve of heavy industry or huge factories. Collaborative robots that are supposed to interact with people in a collaborative work environment have helped expand the corporate customer base - now it also includes medium and even small businesses engaged in light production, material processing, product sales, etc.

However, Harlow believes that collaborative robots are unlikely to last long in the market. Of course, it was small desktop devices with limited power that allowed industrial automation to get outside of large factories and factories. However, the time of these robots seems to be coming to an end as they have fulfilled their role and must yield to the latest models.

The demand for robots with limited power (collaborative robots) has already reached a maximum, because limiting power reduces the functionality and capabilities of these robots; the market turned out to be saturated, - said Harlow. - By 2025, manufacturers will stop investing in such systems, and traditional robots will be replaced by more advanced technologies to create an integrated robotic solution.

The demand for robots with limited power (collaborative robots) has already reached a maximum, because limiting power reduces the functionality and capabilities of these robots

Part of this shift will be due to the fact that the development of traditional industrial robots also does not stand still. For a long time, these robots were limited to production cells, but thanks to expanding functionality, improved computer vision systems and sophisticated security systems, they are gradually being allowed to work with people.

Industrial robots will become more profitable and attractive solutions because they will be much easier to program, explains Harlow. - As robotic automation spreads to new industrial sectors such as logistics and electronic assembly, the ability to quickly program will gain more weight and play a major role in further introducing robots to a wide variety of areas. The catalyst for this development will be the transition from script-based programming to graphically oriented programming with application development based on the maximum use of ready-made modules.

Harlow warns that regulators could slow the pace of robotics development in the medium term.

In the 2020s, he says, artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies will move from the Wild West to a more controlled regulatory environment. The introduction of mandatory legislation will inevitably slow down the pace of progress and affect the development of robotics. For example, developers of AI and machine learning algorithms will have to confirm their safety. This approach will slow down the speed of the development of video surveillance systems, which are the main element of the audiovisual systems of new robots, which gradually learn to perform increasingly complex tasks, such as completing or sorting parcels.

All this will restrain the pace of development of the industry, but so far the cumulative average annual growth rate of its growth is about 26%.^[2]

2018: Household Robots Market Size - $3.02 Billion

In 2018, the global market for household robots reached $3.02 billion, according to research company ResearchAndMarkets. The data was released on July 19, 2019.

This amount includes maintenance costs and other services related to the functioning of robots. If you do not take these services into account, then the market in 2018 is estimated at $2.77 billion. According to experts, by 2024 this revenue will amount to $9.13 billion, increasing by about 22.37% annually.

Roomba robot vacuum cleaner

According to analysts, the global supply of household robots in 2018 turned out to be equal to 10.3 million units, and by 2024 shipments will rise to 41.4 million units. The average annual growth rate of the market in question in physical terms is predicted at 26.16%.

Robots for home use are able to vacuum the floor, bring food, wash windows and perform other time and energy-consuming functions. Thanks to technological developments, such devices can be entrusted with both standard and more complex and creative tasks. 

Household robots at ResearchAndMarkets include, among other things, robot vacuum cleaners, window and floor crushing machines, pool cleaning, grass trimming, as well as companion robots, assistants and toys.

Experts say demand for domestic robots is increasing due to their practicality and convenience, which are achieved through features such as visualising spaces and identifying areas where robots should not fall into. Integration with smart voice assistants from Amazon and Google expands the functionality of such a technique.

Home robot usability combined with demand for household automation products such as cleaning is a major driver of this market growth, the study summarizes.^[3]

2017

In 2017, over 381 thousand industrial robots were sold in the world for $16.7 billion

On July 18, 2019, the Sberbank Robotics Laboratory shared with TAdviser the annual analytical review of the global robotics market.

The main trends in the global robotics market, highlighted by laboratory specialists:

• Global investments in robotics have achieved record results.
• Competition in the robotics industry is accelerating and getting tougher.
• The Russian market for robotic solutions is not developed and is still lagging behind world indicators.
• Artificial intelligence technologies are finding increasing use in robotics.
• Issues of applying ethics and law in robotics and artificial intelligence are becoming more relevant.

In most industries in economically developed countries, robots have already proven their effectiveness, which has led to an increase in global demand for them. According to estimates by the International Federation of Robotics (IFR), in 2017, sales of industrial robots increased by 31% compared to 2016. A total of 381,335 robots were sold.

The total market volume of industrial robots in 2017 amounted to $16.7 billion excluding the cost of software. Taking into account the software, the market estimate is even higher and amounts to more than $48 billion. Although the final data for 2018 has not yet been presented, according to preliminary information received by Sberbank from IFR, the growth in sales of robots in 2018 ranged from 1% to 10% compared to 2017. Thus, the estimate of the number of industrial robots sold in 2018 is up to 421,000. Despite the fact that the total number of robots installed in the world barely exceeds 2 million units, active robotization has left a noticeable mark on the global economy.

The World Economic Forum (WEF) estimates a 29% share of global production, which is already robotic to some extent.

The distribution of robots will continue, and by 2021 the total number of installed industrial robots will double compared to 2019. The growth in demand for robots is accompanied by a decrease in the cost of them: the average price for one industrial robot decreased from $45,500 in 2016 to less than $44,000 in 2017. At the same time, the share of "inexpensive" robots in the total volume of installations in 2017 increased compared to previous years. Such dramatic growth of the industrial robotics market is caused by a number of factors. The main one is the ongoing large-scale modernization of the Chinese industry: about a third of all global sales of industrial robots are in the Celestial Empire.

Another factor contributing to robotization is the use of 3D printing with composite materials and other state-of-the-art technologies for the production of robots that make them cheaper, more affordable and better.

Another important factor is the significant increase in investment in this industry. According to The Robot Report (TRR), robotics investment continues to grow at a rapid pace. The total amount of financing for the ten largest transactions in 2018 exceeded $11.5 billion. For comparison, the ten largest transactions of 2017 in total amounted to $700.6 million (an increase of more than 16 times). Along with investments, the number of patents for robotic development is increasing. Applications related to robots have tripled over the past decade, according to IFI Claims, a patent monitoring and research firm. China leading the patent race - it accounts for 35% of applications submitted, which is twice as much as the second place. Japan

According to earlier data from IFR, from 2019 to 2021. almost 1.7 million more devices will be sold. Sales can grow by an average of 14% each year. Another research organization, IDC, gives a more optimistic forecast. Their analysts see the volume of the industrial robotics market by 2022 exceeding $210 billion, including software. In our opinion, this is not without reason, since the main factors of the dynamics will be a gradual decline in prices for robotics, high demand for products and an ongoing increase in investment. There are no prerequisites that the influence of these factors will decrease. The automotive and electronics industries consume almost two-thirds of all industrial robots produced in the world. These industries account for 33% and 32% of all sales, respectively, as in 2018. The automotive industry is undergoing a big change and therefore requires more advanced robots. In connection with the EU program to reduce emissions by 2030, European automakers plan to increase the production of low-carbon cars and are gradually switching to fully electric transport. All this is against the background of high consumer requirements for quality and customization of products. As a result, robot sales in the automotive industry increased by 22% in 2017.

In the leading countries of the robotics industry - Japan, China, South Korea - the main driver of demand for robotics was the production of electronics. It is the electronics industry that accounts for 32% of all global supplies of robots. The demand for robots in this industry is growing rapidly: in 2017, sales increased by 33% compared to 2016.

Although the metalworking industry has ceded quantitative leadership, it still demonstrates a powerful growth rate of installed robots. According to IFR, in 2017, robot sales in this industry increased by 55% compared to 2016 and reached more than 44,000 units in all subcategories: in the production of metals, metal products, industrial equipment. The least robotic industries include the nuclear industry, shipbuilding, aircraft construction, mining, agriculture. According to IFR, in 2017, only 6055 robots for agriculture and about 300 robots for mining were sold worldwide. Data on sales of robots for the nuclear industry, shipbuilding and aircraft construction have not been disclosed at all, but, according to an approximate estimate by IFR, do not exceed 1000 units. The reason for this is that robotization of these industries is still complex and expensive at the current level of technology. That is why we expect breakthrough technologies to be created in these industries, next big thing will appear in robotics. It is noteworthy that it is these five industries that are traditionally strong in Russia. Therefore, the growth of domestic robotics can be expected in them, according to the Sberbank Robotics Laboratory.

In turn, the growth rate of professional service robotics, according to IFR, in 2017 amounted to 85%, which is a multiple of the growth rate of industrial robotics (31%) and world GDP (3.7%). As a result, 109,500 professional service robots were sold worldwide in 2017. According to experts, in 2018, 50% more robots were sold than in 2017. As a result, the market volume by 2018 reached $8.7 billion. According to experts, from 2019 to 2021, sales of professional service robots will increase annually by an average of 21%.

The market for personal service robots is also growing actively. So, in 2017, about 2.4 million educational and entertainment (edutainment) robots were sold (12% more than in 2016) and 6.1 million household robots (31% more than in 2016).

North America dominates the service robot market. It is followed by Europe - thanks to the growing demand for service robots in the defense, medical, and construction sectors. The main player in the service robotics market is the United States - 45% of service robots are produced in America. However, Asian manufacturers are actively catching up with the leader: in recent years, they have increased their share from 30% to 43%. At the same time, Europe accounts for only 12% of all robots produced. According to IFR, there are 719 key manufacturers of service robotics in the world, of which 155 are startups. Despite the leadership in the number of service robots sold, America is still inferior to Europe in the number of manufacturers.

In the review section on the robotics market in Russia, experts analyzed the strengths and weaknesses of the industry and came to the conclusion that the domestic industry does not yet use all its potential and is faced with a choice - to catch up with world leaders or play ahead of the curve.

You can get acquainted with the full version of the review by following the link.

About the review of Sberbank:

The specialists of the Sberbank Robotics Laboratory chose the most promising technologies that will influence the development of robotics in the near future, and also followed the fate of the startups that were presented in the previous review. Based on all the data studied, a list of promising startups was compiled with a brief description of the technology and business model.

In cooperation with Sberbank's leading specialists in machine learning, sections were added on the problems of introducing artificial intelligence into the robotics industry and on related ethical and legal issues.

Global market volume exceeded $39 billion - Tractica

According to estimates by the analytical company Tractica, in 2017 the volume of the global robotics market amounted to $39.3 billion. Experts note that the robotics industry continues to undergo significant structural restructuring. Within its framework, one of the main trends is a reduction in the sector of traditional industrial robots and a decrease in their share in the robotics market as a whole.

Analysts estimated that in 2017, non-industrial robots provided 70% of total revenue, while in 2016 this figure was at 64%. Tractica expects further strengthening of the position of non-industrial robots. In 2018, their contribution to revenue will increase to 76%, and the market as a whole will increase to $52.7 billion.

Robot Market Forecast, Tractica Data

The results of the shift are already beginning to manifest themselves. Evidence of this - recent mergers and acquisitions, during which manufacturers of industrial robotics came under the control of players from other industries, including companies specializing in consumer electronics, - comments Director of Research Tractica Aditya Kaul (Aditya Kaul)

The expert also drew attention to the fact that the epicenter of robotics is increasingly shifting from Europe and Japan to the American Silicon Valley and China, where developments in the field of artificial intelligence are gaining momentum.

AI technologies such as in-depth learning, computer vision and natural language processing (NLP) are making a real revolution in terms of developing the autonomy and abilities of robots to interact with users, Kaul added.

Tractica named robots intended for consumers, corporate clients, healthcare, the military industry, as well as unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and autonomous transport as the most dynamic areas providing further growth in the robotics market.^[4]

Global robotics spending to reach $188 billion by 2020 - IDC

IDC forecasts that global spending on robotics and related services will more than double by 2020, rising to more than $188 billion from $91.5 billion in 2016. In addition to data on costs for robotics systems, system equipment, software, related services, as well as spare parts and accessories, the forecast for robotics costs now includes data on commercial purchases of drones and spare parts/accessories for them.

More than half of all expenses for robotics are provided by the production sector: discrete production accounts for 31%, and continuous production - 28% of all global expenses in 2016. The picture will remain about the same throughout the forecast period, and investments in robotics in these two areas will amount to almost $110 billion in 2020. The main application of robotics in discrete production is assembly, welding and painting, and in continuous production - the preparation of mixtures.

The three main segments of robotics spending in 2016, after the manufacturing industries, were mining ($8.0 billion), consumer ($6.5 billion) and healthcare ($4.5 billion). Their mutual position will continue throughout the forecast period, but by 2020 the consumer sector will significantly reduce the lag in spending from the mining industry. Among the industry-wide costs of robotics (i.e. similar applications in different industries) packaging and packaging in the warehouse economy will also be one of the largest segments during the five-year forecast period. The fastest growth in spending during 2015-2020. will be demonstrated by the consumer sector, healthcare and retail.

In terms of technology segments, in 2016, purchases of robotic systems, including consumer devices, industrial and service robots, as well as purchases of related parts and accessories, amounted to * more than $40 billion. Costs for related services (application administration, training and training, hardware implementation, system integration and consulting) amounted to * more than $20 billion in 2016. The fastest growing segment of robotics spending is the purchase of drones and spare parts/accessories for them - by 2020, costs here will grow to almost $20 billion.

Geographically, Asia Pacific (including Japan) will account for more than two-thirds of all global robotics spending during the forecast period. The EMEA region is the second largest in terms of expenses in 2016 - they amounted to * $14.7 billion; followed by the Americas region ($12.9 billion). In the Asia-Pacific region, total robotics spending will more than double during the forecast period 2015-2020, and it will be the fastest growing region; this is followed by the Americas region, which will outpace EMEA in total spending by 2018.

Notes