Sales of global logistics robots surged 110% in 2019 and medical robots increased 28% in 2019, according to the 2020 Global Robotics Statistics Report.

The International Federation of Robotics (IFR) reported in Frankfurt, Germany, on October 28 that global sales of professional service robots rose 32% to $11.2 billion (2018-2019).COVID-19 will further stimulate the market for service robots, showing a surge in market demand for robot disinfection solutions, factory and warehousing robot logistics solutions and door-to-door delivery robots.

According to the IFR2020 Global robot annual report, the total sales of medical service robots accounted for nearly half (47%) of professional service robots in 2019, and the robot surgical system contributed the most, because the sales price of such service robots was the highest.In 2019, medical robot sales reached $5.3 billion, up 28% year over year, an all-time high.Medical robot sales potential will more than double by 2022 to $11.3 billion.Of these, about 90% of the medical robots come from suppliers in the United States and European countries.

Professional service robot logistics robot

In 2019, logistics robot sales or leasing jumped 110% to U. $1.9 billion, with the vast majority of sales coming from indoor application robots.Autonomous mobile robots have been used in the digital production of storage, and are also part of the current intelligent manufacturing.So the annual turnover of logistics robots may continue to maintain a strong 40% growth, even higher.Milton Guerry, IFR chairman, said, " In the manufacturing process, the investment cost of logistics service robots can be quickly recovered.If it runs 24 hours uninterrupted, the investment in logistics service robots can be recovered within 2-3 years, actually even faster.For example, the service life of the robot is 15 years, and the operating cost is about 5% of the annual investment.Well-developed systems can usually achieve at least 98% or more efficiency.”

The current popular robot-as-service (RaaS) business model lowers the threshold for customers to automate through robots.The advantage of this model is that customers don't need to invest in the hardware, so the company doesn't need to have fixed capital, fixed costs, or dedicated robot operators.The power of robot logistics system in non-manufacturing industries mainly comes from warehousing solutions implemented by large e-commerce companies.Hospitals also contain great potential, using professional service robots to assist with hospital logistics.In the field of professional service robots, about 90% of the logistics robots in the above applications are produced in Europe and North America, and about 10% are in Asia.

Professional service robot field robot

Field robots, which include agriculture, dairy, livestock and other field robots, saw sales by 3% year over year to $1.3 billion in 2019.The COVID-19 pandemic may have boosted the application of such robots.For example, due to the travel restrictions, workers in Eastern Europe were unable to work in Western Europe as usual during the harvest season, creating a labor shortage, which local farmers may solve the problem by using field robots.Agricultural robot sales are expected to grow by more than 30% from the previous year.

Personal and home service robots

Personal and home service robots produced for the mass market mainly refer to the field of home robotics, including vacuum and floor cleaning robots, lawn mowing robots, and entertainment robots.In 2019, total sales exceeded 23.2 million personal and home services robots, up 34% from the same period last year, and sales rose 20% to $5.7 billion.In recent years, the two of the two most important products, robot vacuum cleaners, have been falling in unit prices for toy robots.Currently, the basic robot vacuum cleaner sells for less than $100.In 2019,75% of the world's domestic service robots —— vacuum cleaners and floor cleaners, lawn mowers and other home robots, —— were produced by American companies.Asian companies account for 19% of the global market and 6% of European companies.

Auxiliary robots for the elderly / disabled is a rapidly growing market.In 2019, auxiliary robot sales reached $91 million, up 17% year-over-year.The large number of research projects around the world gather in the field of service robots, and many countries attach great importance to this market with great development potential.Unlike most recreational robots, assistive robots for the elderly / disabled are high-tech products.

"We expect sales of professional and personal service robots to continue to grow strongly in the future," said Milton Guerry, chairman of the International Federation of Robots.