The Global Collaborative Robots Market Size Was Valued At USD 1.01 Billion In 2021 And Is Expected to Expand at a CAGR of 31.5%, from 2022 to 2030.

Collaborative Robots Market Overview

The growth can be explained by the fact that more and more small and medium-sized businesses (SME) are using collaborative robots (also called "cobots") (SMEs). More and more, these companies are putting money into cobots that can work with humans in a shared workspace and automate manufacturing processes. Technology improvements and the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) in industrial robots have helped the growth even more.

Also, the arrival of 5G technology is expected to make manufacturing companies more likely to use cobots. Nokia Corporation's release of a 5G wireless network for industrial use to meet the needs of Industry 4.0 is a good example of this kind of change. The 5G wireless solution's low-latency connectivity will help OEMs improve robotic automation and make the manufacturing process more productive, high-quality, and efficient.

Using robots in factories has also cut down on the number of accidents that happen on the job. They also make a big difference in the quality of the product, which makes companies and enterprises want to use them. In the near future, the collaborative robots market is likely to change because more cobots are being used in electronics, automotive, logistics, machine tooling, packaging, and assembly.

Retailers and e-commerce giants have started investing in robotic technologies because they play a big role in managing their logistics and supply chain activities. Robots are being used more and more by these companies to help their warehouse workers. The rising demand for cobots in the logistics industry will create good growth opportunities for the industry over the next few years.

Market Dynamics

Drivers:

Small and medium-sized businesses, especially in developed countries, are expected to quickly adopt collaborative robots market production processes. Small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) that already use collaborative robots see benefits in terms of their overall competitiveness, increased production, and better product quality. For example, Betacom Limited (New Zealand), a small company that makes lighting solutions for roads, areas, and tunnels, uses the UR10 collaborative robot from Universal Robots A/S (Denmark) to put LED lenses on the circuit board.

The robot can put the LED lenses exactly where they should be for the best light spread. This lets the company take on more jobs and improve the overall quality of the products. In the same way, V-ZUG Ltd, a Swiss company that makes home appliances, uses the CR-7iA/L collaborative robot from Japan's FANUC Corporation to improve the assembly and testing of electric cooker control panels. Also, these small and medium-sized manufacturers need automation solutions that can be changed to fit their needs.

Collaborative robots are light and easy to programme, so they can be moved and changed quickly. Unlike traditional industrial robots, they don't need extra space to work because they don't have to be caged. This makes better use of the floor space. With a growing lack of workers and rising wages, collaborative robots help small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) compete with large manufacturers while keeping their prices low. Employees can now do more complicated jobs, which make them happier.

Because of this, even big companies that make things are using collaborative robots in their production process. For example, the PSA Group in France has been using Universal Robots' UR10 collaborative robot to drive screws in vehicle assembly lines. This has saved money and made the workplace safer and more comfortable. An MIT study called "Breakthrough Factories" says that collaborative robots could cut workers' downtime by up to 85%.

SMBs that want to use robotics and automation must make sure that their employees are safe. Traditional industrial robots are usually locked behind fences or cages because their quick and heavy movements are thought to be unsafe for people to work with. This makes them unsuitable for SMEs. On the other hand, collaborative robots in industry are small and light, and they follow the standard ISO/TS 15066 safety rules. Small and medium-sized manufacturers can use these guidelines to make sure that humans can safely work with cobots.

Restraints:

Due to their higher payload capacities, traditional industrial robots are made to handle heavier and bigger materials and objects, like those used in heavy-duty industries like automotive, metals, and machinery manufacturing. But cobots are made to be less powerful than traditional industrial robots so they can work safely in the workplace. This makes them less suitable for heavy-duty tasks.

With a few exceptions, like the FANUC CR-35iA, which can lift up to 35 Kg, and the H-SERIES cobots from Doosan Robotics Inc. (South Korea), which can carry up to 25 Kg, cobots are best for tasks that don't require as much lifting. For example, the IRB 120 articulated robot from the Swiss company ABB can carry up to 3 kg. The MPP Series from Japan's Yaskawa Electric Corporation can carry up to 3 kg of weight. The KR 6 R500 Z200 is a SCARA robot made by KUKA AG in Germany. It can move up to 2 m/s and can carry up to 6 kg.

The ABB IRB 910SC SCARA robot can carry up to 6 kg of weight and moves at 7.6 m/s. In contrast to traditional industrial robots, the FANUC Corporation (Japan) CR series collaborative robots can move as fast as 500 mm/s. The maximum TCP speed of the GoFa CRB 15000 collaborative robot is 2.2 m/s. The M1013 collaborative robot arm made by Doosan Robotics Inc. in South Korea moves at a speed of 1 m/s. The TM series from Techman Robot can move at 250 mm/s. About 1 m/s is the average speed of collaborative robots. So, for the same amount of weight they can carry, traditional industrial robots are faster than their collaborative counterparts.

Opportunities:

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to a rise in the use of robots in healthcare. During the pandemic, patient rooms and surgery suites were cleaned with the help of robots. Several hospitals used robots to spray disinfectant and enforce rules about wearing face masks and staying away from sick people. To stop the spread of COVID-19, robots in some hospitals were programmed to use a thermal camera to do a first screening of patients.

Because of the pandemic, people are using robots to clean up a lot more than they used to. Since the virus is very contagious, patient rooms must be cleaned so that it doesn't spread to other patients or hospital staff. These robots are proving to be very useful. They can clean rooms, deliver medicine, and measure vital signs. With a sophisticated vision system, these robots can measure skin temperature, breathing rate, pulse rate, and blood oxygen to help find the infection early.

Challenges:

Manufacturers need to think about new rules and regulations for collaborative robots, especially when the robots are on mobile units. For example, the ANSI/RIA R15.08 standard, which is still being made, takes into account things like where the collaborative robot arm is in relation to its mobile base. The previous standard didn't think about what would happen if a robot crashed into a person or something else. As the number of collaborative robots has grown, so has the number of ways they can connect with each other. Multiple robots working on the same task talk to each other to make sure they are working in the right order. They are also connected to a central database that gives information about their efficiency and downtime.

In a few years, connectivity is likely to become more common, which raises concerns about safety and cyber security, which will be important to the way collaborative robots work. As a web interface on an unprotected computer or handheld device can connect a collaborative robot to cloud servers, communication with the robots may be hacked. Even though the International Electro-technical Commission (IEC) and the International Society of Automation (ISA) have recently made cyber security standards like the ISA/IEC 62443, they are not being used as much as they could be. Robot integrators are also expected to share responsibility when programming and deploying a collaborative robot with third-party peripherals like controllers and vision systems.

Segment Overview

By Payload Capacity Analysis

The 6–10 kg and up to 5 kg sub segment is expected to grow at a fast rate because it can do many operations quickly and over and over again.

The 11 kg and above sub-segment is expected to grow a lot in the next few years because the automotive industry needs to do important tasks like putting together spare parts and components, building the engine, tightening bolts on cars, and so on.

By Application Analysis

Due to rising demand from the automotive, food and beverage, electronics, and semi-conductor industries, the material handling sub segment is expected to have the largest market size over the next few years. Also, in these kinds of businesses, material handling is very important because some of the pieces are fragile and need to be moved carefully. In this kind of situation, robots are often used to keep staff safe and cut down on accidents.

Over the next few years, application assembly is expected to grow a lot. The growth is likely to be helped by the rise of the automotive, metal machinery, electrical, and electronic industries, where customised spare parts are put together and installed in the finished product.

The painting/spraying, welding, and quality testing sub-segment is expected to grow at a moderate rate because more people want customised cars that need high-quality precision welding, high-graphics painting, and other services.

By Industry Analysis

Automotive Industry is expected to stay at the top for the foreseeable future, as manufacturers work to lower operating costs, assemble spare parts and components faster, paint and coat, and improve the overall ergonomics of the workplace. In the automotive industry, cobots are used with laser-cutting machines, engine foundries, moulding machines, packing and palletizing lines, and forming presses.

The electronic and semi-conductor sub segment is expected to grow at a fast rate in the coming years because more people are buying electronic goods, nanotechnologies are becoming more popular, and sensitive conductors are being used.

In the next few years, the metals and machining sub segment is expected to grow a lot. This is because the number of manufacturing facilities that install customised and heavy machines, precisely weld heavy metals, etc., is growing.

With more and more cobots being used in banking and financial services, domestic food consumption, retail, and rubber and plastic, the food and beverage, retail, and rubber and plastic sub-segments are all going up steadily. But as automation in farming becomes more common, the market for machines that work together is growing.

Regional Analysis

Europe is a good place to make money with collaborative robots. In 2021, more than 30.0% of all revenue came from Europe. This is mostly because collaborative robots are used so much in many different industries, like logistics, electronics, and inspection. The market is also expected to grow because automation at work has many benefits, such as making manufacturing more efficient and making it easier for people to work together.

By 2030, the Asia-Pacific region is expected to have a CAGR of over 34.0%. This is because more and more attention is being paid to the quality and accuracy of cobots, which is leading to the creation of maximum standards. Cobots are in high demand in the region because they can make high-quality products, reduce waste, improve efficiency, and standardise products. The region also has a lot of growth potential because consumers are becoming more interested in automation, artificial intelligence, and the development of other necessary technologies.

Scope Analysis:

Recent Developments

• In July 2022, FANUC America Corporation (US), a leading supplier of CNCs, robotics, and ROBOMACHINEs, announces a West Campus expansion that will push its operational space in Oakland County, Michigan to nearly two million square feet. The construction will include a 655,000 square foot state-of-the-art facility to house manufacturing, engineering, and R&D projects.
• In June 2022, Universal Robots A/S (Denmark) launched a new 20 kg cobot called the UR20 to its product range. A 20kg (44.1lbs.) payload capacity, which is 4kg more than UR’s previous heaviest load capability of 16kg with its UR16e cobot. Reach of 1750mm, which is 450mm more than the longest previous UR cobot reach of 1300mm with the UR10e.
• In February 2021, ABB is expanding its collaborative robot portfolio with the new GoFa and SWIFTI cobot families, offering higher payloads and speeds, to complement the YuMi and Single Arm YuMi in ABB’s cobot line-up. These stronger, faster, and more capable cobots are expected to accelerate the company’s expansion in high-growth segments including electronics, healthcare, consumer goods, logistics, and food & beverage, among others, meeting the rising demand for automation across multiple industries.

Market Segmentation

This portion of the study on the Collaborative Robots Market gives detailed data on the segments at the country and regional level, thereby aiding the strategist in determining the target demographics for the relevant product or service and the impending opportunities.

By Payload Capacity

• Up to 5 Kg
• 6-10 Kg
• 11 Kg and Above
• Others

By Industry

• Automotive
• Electronics & Semi-Conductors
• Food & Beverages
• Retail
• Metals & Machining
• Rubber & Plastic
• Others

By Application

• Welding
• Material Handling
• Quality Testing
• Painting/Spraying
• Assembling
• Others

By Companies

• Universal Robots (Headquarter: - Odense, Denmark)
• Rethink Robotics GmbH (Headquarter: - Massachusetts, U.S.)
• Denso Wave Incorporated (Headquarter: - Aichi Prefecture, Japan)
• Fanuc Corporation (Headquarter: - Yamanashi, Japan)
• Bosch Rexroth AG (Headquarter: - Lohr a. Main, Germany)
• ABB (Headquarter: - Zürich, Switzerland)
• Yaskawa America, Inc.- Motoman Robotics Div. (Headquarter: - Fukuoka, Japan)
• AUBO Robotics (Headquarter: - Tennessee, U.S.)
• Stäubli International AG. (Headquarter: - Freienbach, Switzerland)
• K2 Kinetics (Headquarter: - Pennsylvania, U.S.)
• Rethink Robotics (U.S.)
• MABI Robotic (Switzerland)
• FrankaEmika (Germany)
• F&P Robotics (Switzerland)
• Neura Robotics (Germany)