10 Trends That Shaped the Robotics Industry in 2022

Consolidation continues

There was plenty of consolidation in the robotics space this year. Amazon made a splash when it announced that it was purchasing consumer robotics leader iRobot for $1.7 billion.

Another major acquisition was exoskeleton maker Sarcos’ purchase of mobile manipulation maker RE2 for $100 million. Teredyne-owned AutoGuide and Mobile Industrial Robots became one unified AMR company. Alert Innovation announced that it is being bought out by Walmart.

The list goes on, as vendors showed heavy-duty platforms, mobile manipulators, and more sophisticated software at trade shows in 2022.

This kind of consolidation may be a sign that the robotics industry is maturing as major companies swallow up smaller ones to expand their automation efforts. We expect more mergers like this going into 2023.