Professional market: logistics and medicine as key drivers of growth.
The personal and household robot market is also experiencing dynamic growth. The value of sales of these devices in 2018 amounted to $3.7 billion. The main driver of this growth is floor and lawn cleaning robots, which are increasingly finding their way into homes around the world. In 2019, sales of over 17.6 million units of such devices were projected, and by 2022, this number was expected to increase to over 55 million.
The second largest segment is inspection and maintenance robots - their share accounted for 39% of the number of units sold. These include both standard, low-cost devices and custom high-value solutions. Significant growth was also recorded in the medical robot segment - their sales value increased by 27% to $2.8 billion, and a unit costs an average of over $548,000, which indicates high investment and specialization.
Household robots: growing popularity of cleaning and garden maintenance devices.
The personal and household robot market is also experiencing dynamic growth. The value of sales of these devices in 2018 amounted to $3.7 billion. The main driver of this growth is floor and lawn cleaning robots, which are increasingly finding their way into homes around the world. In in 2019 sales of over 17.6 million units were projected, and this number was expected to increase to over 55 million by 2022.
This growth is strongly linked to the increasing consumer confidence in autonomous equipment and its effectiveness in everyday tasks. Although the value of sales of domestic robots is lower than in the professional segment, their unit numbers are growing faster - the projected increase in sales to 61.1 million units in 2022 shows that this market is becoming increasingly mainstream.
It is worth noting that the development of domestic robots is not limited to cleaning floors and lawns - new generations of devices are expanding their functions to include home security monitoring, integration with smart home systems, and remote management via mobile applications. This transforms them from simple tools into full-fledged elements of a smart home, which increases their attractiveness to a wider range of consumers. The increase in the number of units sold shows that this market is not only growing but also maturing - more and more users expect not only efficiency but also compatibility, data security, and long product life. In the context of this development, it becomes crucial to ensure stable technical support and regular software updates, which are necessary to maintain high-quality performance in changing usage conditions.
Regional differences and development prospects
American companies dominate the logistics systems segment, while European companies are leaders in medical robotics. In the agricultural and engineering sectors - especially in milk production - growth is also observed: in 2018, 5.8 thousand robots for feeding cattle were sold, which represents an increase of 8%.
IFR forecasts indicate a continued strong growth in sales of both professional and personal robots in the years 2019-2022. In particular, the development of technologies supporting the aging population - such as exoskeletons or rehabilitation robots - may open up new markets, especially in Europe and Asia.
What does this mean for integrators and end users?
The growth in service robot sales is not just a statistic - it's a sign that these technologies are becoming increasingly industrial and accessible. For integrators, this means growing demand for integrated systems that can operate in various environments - from warehouses to hospitals. Valuable are not only the devices themselves, but also their integration with existing IT and logistics systems.
For end users, it is crucial to understand the differences between the professional and personal segments: medical robots or logistics robots are high-value investments that require specialized knowledge and support. In turn, home appliances are becoming increasingly accessible - but their effectiveness depends on the quality of the software and adaptation to specific usage conditions.
