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Service robotics – mechanical aides are gaining ground

Market for professional service robots sees strong growth

automatica will take you on a journey to the future: Experience all aspects of service robotics up close. No matter if the task to be performed is in the area of logistics, hotel and catering, healthcare, cleaning, or agriculture – the numerous exhibitors have suitable service robots for virtually every application.

Unabated growth – now and in the future

In 2021, manufacturers sold approx. 121,000 professional service robots worldwide, including cobots (collaborative robots), AMR (autonomous mobile robots), and AGV (automated guided vehicles) – a year-on-year increase of 37 percent. This does not include the huge amount of devices for domestic use, of course. The volume in this popular segment comes to almost 19 million units – mostly robotic vacuum cleaners and lawn mowers.

But now back to professional service robots: Approx. 50,000 devices, i.e. far more than a third of all robots in this segment, are deployed to perform transportation tasks. The growth in transport robots amounts to a staggering 47 percent. Hotel and catering robots are experiencing even more impressive growth with an increase of 87 percent, bringing the total number of units to approx. 20,000 units. Medical robots (just under 15,000), cleaning robots (12,600), and agricultural robots (8,000) come in third, fourth, and fifth, respectively.

The latest products and systems

Despite these record growth rates, the potential of cobots and service robots, some of which are mobile robotic systems and AGVs, is far from exhausted. Increasing versatility as well as improved sensory capabilities qualify these robotic systems for an ever expanding range of tasks. Experience the versatile scope of application first hand and on site at automatica. It also is the perfect place to convince yourself of the performance achieved with a new generation of robotics offering easier programming and intuitive operation. This makes service robotics one of the most relevant key technologies in all kinds of sectors and fields.

From surgery to picking strawberries

From complex surgical procedures, care in retirement homes, and transportation tasks all the way to deployments in the catering industry or agriculture – the scope of application seems almost unlimited. Even the strawberry harvest can now be brought in by robots.

Those looking for essential first-hand information about the new world of service robotics will find what they need at automatica – as will visitors looking to implement a specific application scenario using a mechanical service provider.

Individual product categories:

  • Service robots for professional use in agriculture and forestry, cleaning, inspection, construction and demolition, logistics, medical, safety, underwater, public relations, mobile platforms, and humanoid robots
  • Key technologies and components for service robotics such as perception, navigation, manipulation, and human-machine interaction