Personal Robots Market - Growth, Trends, Forecasts (2020 - 2025)

The personal robots market is expected to register a CAGR of 24.56%. The growth of the market would take place owing to the growing demand for assistive robots for disabled and elderly people and the continually reducing price of personal robots that is creating demand in the developing countries.

• The aging societies of the Asia-Pacific, like Japan and China, are driving growth in the medical technology sector, thus, creating a massive market for personal assistive robots in the region. According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (Japan), in 2017, around 35.2 million inhabitants were aged 65 or older. This number was projected to grow to 36.2 million in 2020. This is encouraging companies to invest in products for the elderly in the region. One such robot that is already deployed is Paro (baby seal), designed to help patients with diseases like Alzheimer's.
• Robot companions/assistants/humanoids, vacuuming, floor cleaning, lawn mowing, pool cleaning, and window cleaning, among others, are some of the major types of household personal robots considered in the scope.
• Moreover, investors are continuously injecting funds in the startups offering domestic/personal robots. In July 2019, iFlyTekraised the investment of USD 407 million from China Asset Management to integrate AI and service robots and working on speech recognition. Such growth in the market is expected to drive the escalation for household robots in the region. Also, in November 2018, India-based startup Emotix launched Miko 2, the country's first advanced 'personal robot' for children.
• The spread of the COVID-19 is expected to have a positive impact on the market. In a post-COVID-19 world, robots are expected to be increasingly employed for engagement with both kids and elderly people. They are also likely to play a significant role during the lockdown period. Israel-based Robotemi, for instance, is already its Temi personal robot in South Korea to reduce exposure to COVID-19.

Key Market Trends

Personal Robots for Household Work is Expected to Hold a Major Share of the Market

Robot companions/assistants/humanoids, vacuuming, floor cleaning, lawn mowing, pool cleaning, and window cleaning, among others, are some of the major types of household personal service robots considered in the scope.

• Among all the household robots, automated vacuum cleaners and moppers are the most commercialized and developed products by the companies. The companies are continuously investing in developing more compact and integrated vacuum cleaner and mopping robots to reach narrow places at home. The companies are integrating advanced technologies like voice recognition and laser-based technologies to map the floor structure. For instance, iRobot launched a Roomba i7+, which can acquire voice commands and intelligent mapping techniques.
• Companies, like iRobot, Robomow, and Mayfield Robotics, are among the prominent players, innovating the robots for household space. Innovations, like detecting human behavior and voice recognition, are increasing customer confidence, thus, driving the robotic deployment for household purposes, like cleaning, laundry, and other voice-enabled IoT activities.
• Additionally, with the increasing developments in the machine vision cameras, companies are also using these 2D and 3D machine vision cameras with AI technologies to map and edges of the floor like staircase effectively and to recognize obstacles such as cables, dustbins, doorsills, and rugs. The incorporation of technologies like machine learning, AI, and facial recognition, are also bringing innovations into household robots. For instance, in February 2019, CloudMinds Technology, a developer and operator of cloud AI and robotic solutions, launched its cloud AI-based, highly compliant service robot, the XR-1.

Asia - Pacific is Expected to be the Fastest Growing Markets for Personal Robots

The aging population is one the primary factor for the significant growth in the deployment of robots in domestic healthcare and assistance applications in the region. The Japanese government has announced the funding for the development of eldercare robots to fill the estimated gap of 380,000 skilled workers by 2025. This is expected to drive the adoption of elderly care robots also at their residences in the recent future.

• The robotic wheelchairs are also gaining attraction in the region. Panasonic, one of the major players of the area, has recently developed one model, which is a bed that can turn into a wheelchair when needed.
• Further, China’s efforts to develop its domestic robotics industry continued, as Hangzhou Guochen Robot Technology raised USD 15 million in Series A funding for robotics research and development and integration. This is expected to aid further the growth of the market studied.
• The growing 5G penetration in countries like India is also expected to help push the deployment of security and surveillance robots as the residents can access the data on-the-go. Countries like India are expected to lease out the 5G spectrum by the end of 2020.

Competitive Landscape

The competitive landscape remains exceptionally dynamic. Several startups are entering the market to meet emerging customer needs for various applications. Some of the recent developments in the market are as follows:-

Jan 2020 - Samsung launched its tennis ball-shaped companion robot, Ballie. Ballie can patrol the entire home to keep users safe. Most importantly, it can interact with other smart devices.

• Jan 2019 - iROBOT Corp. launched its the Terra robot mower. Terra features state-of-the-art mapping and navigation technologies, high-performance, high-quality mowing, and easy installation.

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