Collaborative robots expected to grow into a multi-billion dollar market

With automation becoming more commonplace in the manufacturing environment, industry leaders are finding ways to make workflow more efficient. And its automakers that are expanding the applications and need for collaborative robots.

Photo Courtesy of Universal Robots.

A new report by MarketsandMarkets places the currently global collaborative robot market at US$110 but expects a surge in growth in the next couple of years. At a CAGR of 60% between 2016 and 2022, the report predicts the market to reach US$3.3 billion by 2022.

Collaborative robots are popular due to their high return on investment and low overall cost, attracting many small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs). However, the report demonstrates that it is the auto industry that is investing heavily in this technology. Other application in industries such as metal and machining, furniture and equipment, food and beverages, plastic and polymers, also boost the market. By 2022, collaborative robots used in the furniture and equipment industries will have experienced exponential growth.

In 2015, Europe was the largest market. Regulations have driven the market in order to reduce the need for safety fences between human and robots and as well as limit the number of collisions. Europe was an early adopter so it makes sense that they would hold the largest share.

These regulations are expected to expand globally and by 2018, the Asia-Pacific region is expected to surpass Europe and hold the largest share of collaborative robots through to 2022.

The major companies in the global collaborative robots market that have been included in this report are ABB Ltd. (Switzerland), KUKA AG (Germany), FANUC Corporation (Japan), Robert Bosch GmbH (Germany), Universal Robots (Denmark), Rethink Robotics (U.S.), Energid Technologies (U.S.), and MRK-Systeme GmbH (Germany), among others.

www.marketsandmarkets.com