In 2018, 61% more commercially used service robots were sold than in the previous year. This corresponds to a total of 271,000 units sold. These had a value of 9.2 billion US dollars, an increase of 32%. Two sectors are mainly driving these figures: mobile robots such as autonomously navigating automated guided vehicles (AGVs) and inspection robots account for the lion's share of sales success with 41% and 39% respectively.

Logistics is the strongest market
As in previous years, the demand for AGVs is considerable. The majority of these, namely 103,000 units, are used outside the manufacturing industry, primarily in e-commerce. However, AGVs also ensure improved intralogistics processes in large hospitals. Production still accounts for 7,700 AGVs. Overall, turnover has increased by 53 percent to 3.7 billion US dollars. The number of units sold rose by 60 percent. North American companies in particular are benefiting from this boom, as they supplied the majority of all systems sold in 2018.

In addition to the aforementioned inspection robots, medical robots are another high-revenue sector. Although the number of these robots sold is significantly lower than in the aforementioned sectors, they are high-priced. The 5,100 units sold accounted for just under a third of total sales in commercial service robotics. Other growth markets are robots for agriculture, particularly for field and arable farming and, to a lesser extent, milking robots, as well as exoskeletons. The latter are "wearable robots" that provide power assistance and therefore make work more ergonomic. They are also already widely used in rehabilitation. Across all sectors, forecasts suggest that one million commercially used service robots could be sold for the first time in 2022.

Relief at home is welcome
Service robots for private use are also in high demand. They recorded a 15% increase in sales in 2018, which corresponds to a total value of 3.7 billion US dollars. A total of 16.3 million systems were sold, an increase of 59%. The drivers of this success are automatic household helpers: around eleven million devices vacuum or clean the floor. Gaming and entertainment robots as well as assistance systems that support people in need of help in their everyday lives also show potential for growth. Asian and American manufacturers are benefiting from the boom in private service robots; the European market, with a share of just four percent, still has plenty of growth potential. as