The International Federation of Robotics predicts that 93,800 professional service robots will be installed from 2012 to 2015, and that the majority of them will be used for defense and agriculture. Sales of personal and domestic service robots will also increase, primarily for household and entertainment applications.
In this blog, we'll examine some of the results of the IFR's report on service robots (registration required). In a blog post last week, we looked at the IFR's report on industrial robots.
Unit numbers are much smaller for service robots than for industrial robots. Like a Freedonia Group study we discussed last month, the IFR distinguishes between professional service robots and those aimed at domestic and personal use, and it found that professional robots comprise the vast majority of service robots.
The International Federation of Robotics expects 93,800 professional service robots to be sold from 2012 through 2015, with the majority of them being used for defense and agriculture applications. (Source: International Federation of Robotics)
Personal and domestic service robot sales are also expected to grow dramatically. The majority of these robots will be used for housework and yardwork. (Source: International Federation of Robotics)
In 2011, according to the IFR, professional robot unit sales increased 9 percent over 2010, and their dollar value increased 6 percent. The largest category (6,570, or 40 percent of the units sold) was defense machines, mostly unmanned aerial vehicles. "Field" or agricultural robots, such as milking systems, came in second at about 5,000 units, or 31 percent.
Robotic logistical systems, such as courier systems and automatic guided vehicles for factories, accounted for 13 percent of professional service robots sold in 2011 (about 2,100 units). As we've discussed in our comment boards, not everyone would define automated conveyor systems as "robotic." Medical robots, especially those that assist in surgery and therapy, accounted for 6 percent (about 1,000 units).
Other categories had unit sales well below 500, including construction and demolition, rescue and security, mobile, professional cleaning, inspection and maintenance, and underwater robots.
Between now and 2015, the IFR expects logistical systems and medical robots to be among the fastest-growing types of professional robots, partly because they're both long-established sectors. That makes total sense to me. But defense and agricultural robots will remain by far the largest categories. Although the defense numbers don't surprise me, I wouldn't have guessed that the agricultural category would be so huge.
Professional service robots have a much higher cost per unit than the Roomba vacuuming your living room floor or robots that do yardwork, come in hobby kits, or are sold as toys. The exception to the lower-cost rule for domestic and personal robots is the technology-dense class of personal assistance robots used to help the handicapped. The two costliest types of professional service robots are medical robots (averaging about $1.5 million) and underwater robots (about $850,000).
Unit sales of household robots -- those that do housework and yardwork -- increased by 15 percent in 2011, to 1.7 million, the IFR said. Sales of robots for entertainment and leisure, such as toys and hobby kits, increased 12 percent, to 841,000. Although many research projects are focused on personal assistance robots for the handicapped, only 156 of them were sold in 2011. However, the IFR expects sales of such robots to reach 4,600 by 2015. Rapid growth is also expected for robots for home security, surveillance, and personal transportation.
This research more or less supports the same trends I'm seeing in my own writing about robots, but you're right, agriculture is a bit of a surprise. Defense, of course, is going to be a leader in this space. It will be fun and interesting to see how personal service robots come more into play over the next few years, as there seems to be a boom in that industry at the moment. Thanks for sharing this report, Ann!
Ann, Thanks for the report. It's interesting that defense applications are one of the biggest areas of growth for service robots but I guess that drone technology is really expanding at this point in time. Also interesting that use of agricultural robots is growing. Thanks for the report.
Elizabeth and Ann, I wonder if these numbers include farm equipment, such as tractors, which drive themselves. The tractors do not only drive themselves, but the attached equipment dispenses seed, fertilizer and other items, automatically and differentially. I talked to one farmer and he says the only thing he has to do is engage the device (plow, seeder, etc.) and that only for liability reasons.
Al, the growth in the number of military robots over the last few years has been huge, as has the variety. It's by no means limited to drones: there are UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles), UGVs (same for ground) and USVs (same for submersible). The last category actually has multiple names and acronyms, such as AUV (automated underwater vehicle)--typical military. There's also a huge variety within the first two categories, less so with the submersibles. I suspect that's because so much of the design effort there goes to keeping the electronics and mechanics dry.
Lou, that's a really good question. I also wonder if that category includes robotic trucks and tractors. I suspect it does. Milking machines was the only example given in the report's executive summary.
It's amazing to hear that there are 1.7 million household robots out there. Even though I've written about them in the past, I have to admit I never see any of them in the homes of relatives or friends.
Two of my friends have Roombas. Both have named theirs (one is Wilbur) and the things just wander around the house at what appears to be when the robot decides to. When it gets tired, it just goes back and plugs itself into its charger.
Both friends are Asians and Asians don't wear shoes in the house so Wilbur doesn't have to do much work anyway. Wilbur has about the same stress level as my dog who doesn't even have to vacuum the floor.
Wish I could see those graphs fully. I can’t make out the words on my screen. No way to open them up separately either.
I can’t afford a Roomba, but my tax dollars buy military and farming bots for other people. Such is the way of life.
C
Charles, I am with you. I don't know anyone who has a robot, either. However, as I have lived in Portugal for three years, where people quite often don't even have computers, that is not surprising! But even my friends in the states remain relatively robot-free. I think personally, though, a Roomba would be great! Maybe I can order one online. :)
Interesting point, naperlou. That could definitely explain the high numbers in agriculture. But do tractors really do work without humans guiding them? I don't know alot about farming, but I don't imagine they plow the fields without someone in the driver's chair...or do they? Isn't that a bit dangerous? But like I said, this is not my area of expertise, so I would love to know. And excuse my ignorance, any farmers out there.
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