“For the first time, there are more than 1,000 service robot suppliers worldwide, led by Europe at 50% of the market, followed by 25% for Asia and 25% in North America,” said Dr. Werner Kraus, vice chair of the IFR Service Robot Group and head of the Robot and Assistive Systems Department at Fraunhofer IPA. “Most are in business services, not consumer.”
Autonomous mobile robots (AMRs), largely in logistics, represent a third of the professional service robot market, according to Kraus.
He also cited the existence of more than 50 cleaning and disinfection robotics providers, as well as the growth of social robots for telepresence applications.
In healthcare, surgical robots led, with rehabilitation and assistive systems such as exoskeletons still early in commercialization, Kraus said.
“Exoskeletons have varied uses, such as caregiving, but of course, they can be used to support workers lifting heavy weights or doing repetitive tasks,” said Dr. Christopher Müller, director of the IFR’s statistical department. “There are passive versus active systems; we only consider the active ones.”
Construction robotics will also increase because of labor shortages, digitalization, and 3D printing, said Kraus. He noted that several robotics providers are looking at applying painting robots beyond automotive.
In agriculture, milking robots are a noteworthy segment, particularly in Europe.
“Sales channels have also shifted to online,” added Kraus. “As robots enter the open world, we expect them to enter unknown environments and to interpret and anticipate human needs.”
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