No longer the stuff of science fiction and fantasy, robots have assumed a place of prominence in tedious and repetitive manufacturing environments. Traditional "grip and stack" robots continue to endear themselves to cost- and time-critical production sectors. Exponential progress in the scale, reliability, and accuracy of sensing technologies, however, have pushed robotics away from the clockwork of assembly lines and into the more social realms of pure home automation and molecular-level medical technology.
According to a soon-to-be-released report from Business Communications Company, Inc, RG-270 Robots/Automation Devices, the current global robotics market, which is composed of both whole robots and robot parts, is estimated at over $8 billion. It is estimated to reach $16 billion by 2007 as it grows at an average annual growth rate of 14.7% through the forecast period. Although robots used in industrial processes will continue to be applied to currently automated manufacturing activities, the most pronounced gains in whole-robot consumption will, at last, be reflected in the now-in-development families of mobile robots. Autonomous mechanical creatures, by 2007, will find their ways into current environments primed for cost-effective automated control. These environments include hospitals, battlefields, and the home.
In addition, parts and software for both industrial and autonomous mobile robots will capture greater market sales by 2007. In particular, PC-based software and safety devices that make automated tasks easier to implement in industrial settings will flourish throughout the forecast period. There will also be great gains seen in the realm of nano-positioning robotic tools, as electronic devices (and the chips built to run them) become smaller and demand the precision of robotic placement and handling.
Specific robotic applications, too, will see particularly impressive growth. Robots that perform hazardous and tedious duties, although not generating comparatively high revenue figures, will nonetheless produce extremely attractive annual growth rates throughout the forecast period, mainly due to the world's ever-growing concerns for safety from terrorist efforts. Because of the unyielding influx of new technology into the home, robotic consumer applications, too, will grow impressively to a $658 million market by 2007.
In terms of industries served, the greatest growth will be seen in consumer-related production. Robotic lawnmowers and vacuum cleaners have just been released in Asian, European, and North American markets, and by 2007 these two items alone will comprise a $200 million market. In addition, typical electronic devices for the home will be heavily produced by robotic means.
Of special note is the pursuit of robotic nanotechnology. As the report reflects, fully functioning robots the size of single molecules are leaning closer to reality than myth. This on-the-cusp technology, fueled by robust theoretical and applied research activity around the world, promises to literally revolutionize our daily existence.
The terrorist events of 2001 hit the robotics industry hard. BCC sees, though, a grand recovery in the robotics industry through 2007. Recovery will be most apparent in the already established industrial robotics sector, as the majority of revenue in the industry will be realized by industrial robot sales.
In terms of growth rates through 2007, BCC anticipates exceptional gains in what are essentially emerging robotics technologies: autonomous and telerobotic robots. These kinds of robots have teased the markets in recent years, but the events of 2001 halted further widespread introduction of these technologies. Especially in the consumer sector, there are, finally, marketwide offerings of non-industrial robots. By 2007, autonomous and telerobotic robot sales will each break the $1 billion milestone.
