Service Robotics Market to Experience Significant Growth
The global service robotics market size is estimated to grow from USD 21.4 billion in 2020 to USD 65.23 billion by 2027, at a CAGR of 28.17% from 2021 to 2027. Service robots in the military and defense sectors are gaining popularity for new applications, like bomb disposal. For instance, in December 2018, it was announced that the British Army would deploy bomb disposal robots, Unmanned Ground Vehicles (UGVs), which are equipped with high-definition cameras, an adjustable manipulation arm, and advanced haptic feedback, among others. Harris Corporation has been awarded the contract to deliver its T7 UGVs (56 robots) by December 2020 to the UK government.To get more news about Robotics as a Service, you can visit glprobotics.com official website.
South Korea, Japan, China, and Singapore are making considerable investments in AI RD, including AI interface with robotics. These recent efforts made by countries in Asia are rapidly narrowing the gap between their region and the United States. The market has also seen an influx of new companies, backed up by venture funding, including robotics companies, with robots for niche or specific tasks. Regulatory bodies, such as the FDA and USDA, have been encouraging these new startups to launch their solutions into the market for industries from food processing to the healthcare sector.
The factors mentioned above are expected to drive the adoption of service robots over the forecast period. Additionally, the increasing demand for automated solutions from dynamic industries, like e-commerce/retail, is also expected to drive the deployment of service robots, making the segment faster growing than the industrial robots segment. The service robots market is fragmented and comprises several global and publically traded companies vying for attention in a somewhat contested market space. Further, major strategic decisions in publicly listed service robot companies are expected to change the competitive landscape. For instance, the acquisition of Bastian Solutions, a significant material handling company, indicates Toyota Industries’ intention to strengthen its presence across the North American materials handling solutions industry amid the e-commerce boom.
Service productivity and process improvement have gained importance across the service industry, as they can dramatically drive down the delivery cost. Supported by this are the robot innovations taking place, allowing these service industries to operate autonomously, with augmented human capability and capacity. More extended training and onboarding, rising benefit and compensation rates, and shortages in labor are some of the significant factors driving more and more warehousing, distribution, and fulfillment facilities to invest in automated solutions. As technology improves and the applications become broader and more flexible, robotics is being adopted by a more significant number of warehouse operations across regions.
The increasing level of e-commerce business has led prominent retail vendors to adopt logistics and warehouse service robots, such as AGVs. For instance, Kroger entered into a partnership with United Kingdom online supermarket, Ocado, to use its technology to manage warehouse operations, automation, logistics, and delivery route planning, in the United States. This partnership is set to revolutionize the retail sector with the aid of AMH equipment in the region.
The higher costs of robotic systems are associated with effective and robust hardware and efficient software. Automation equipment includes higher capital expenditure required to invest in automation technologies (an automated system can cost millions of dollars to design, fabricate, and install). Moreover, these products need periodic maintenance, and the pressure lies on the end user of that equipment, which faces maintenance costs through the robots’ lifetimes. For instance, the price of da Vinci, a surgical robot, is about USD 1.5 million and costs around USD 1,900 in replacement parts per operation. These factors are expected to challenge the adoption. These products also require a higher level of maintenance than a manually operated machine. Generally, they have a lower degree of flexibility regarding possible products (even flexible automation is less flexible than humans, the most versatile machines of all).
