Collaborative Robots Market Size, Share & Trends Analysis Report By Payload Capacity, By Application (Assembly, Handling, Packaging, Quality Testing), By Vertical, By Region, And Segment Forecasts, 2019 - 2025

Industry Insights

The global collaborative robots market size was valued at USD 649.1 million in 2018 and is projected to expand at a CAGR of 44.5%, from 2019 to 2025. The collaborative robot or cobot is intended to interact with humans in a shared workspace. The growing adoption in the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and investments in automation of manufacturing processes are the key factor driving growth. The emergence of robots working along with humans in areas like smart parts assembly and electronics product assembly further fuels the demand.

Increasing demand for performing tasks requiring higher payload capacity is expected to contribute to the rising demand. The ability of cobots to work effectively with employees in an uncaged environment has led to an increased installation in the industry. The co-robots are designed with advanced sensors, software, and End of Arm Tooling (EOATs) that help prevent employee injuries.

Technological developments have led to advancements across the robotic industry on a notable scale. Initially, these machines were expensive and came with limited or restricted functionalities such as a fixed axis or fixed rotation angles. However, with the advancements in technology, modern-day robots can perform amazing tasks efficiently and at a cheaper price. Moreover, they render a quick Return on Investments (ROI) owing to the optimization of overall expenditures and enhancement of the production rate.

Also, the deployment of robots in industrial practices has resulted in a decreased number of injuries and accidents occurring at workplaces. Also, it has elevated the quality of products and increased profits for a variety of businesses. The statistics and surveys validate the experience of the companies and enterprises adopting collaborative robots that have realized huge financial reimbursements.

Industrial robots are witnessing a heavy demand across different industry verticals owing to their advantages and attractive ROI gained from the deployment of industrial robots. The cobots are anticipated to exhibit the fastest growth across the automotive, electronics, packaging and assembling, logistics, and machine tooling applications.

For instance, retailers and giants of e-commerce such as Amazon are already adopting robotic technologies. These e-retailers, where logistics plays a prominent role in the entire supply chain, are actively embracing robotics to assist their laborers in warehouses. On account of the growing interest of the logistic sector in collaborative robots, the equipment manufacturers are designing robots within the logistic systems themselves, in turn, reducing the technology expenditures and improving robotic capabilities to serve the exact client requirements.

Payload Capacity Insights

Based on payload capacity, the collaborative robots market is segmented into up to 5 kg, up to 10 kg, and above 10 kg. In 2018, cobots with up to 5 kg payload capacity segment accounted for the largest market share, attributed to the flexibility, lightweight, and the capacity of the machine to optimize low-weight collaborative processes such as placing, picking, and testing.

Cobots above 10 kg payload capacity is expected to witness significant growth, owing to their capability of handling bigger tasks requiring precision, reliability, and collaborating heavier-weight processes. The robots are anticipated to witness an exponential CAGR of 46.2% over the forecast period.

Application Insights

The application segment has been further categorized into the assembly, pick and place, handling, packaging, quality testing, machine tending, gluing and welding, and others. In 2018, the assembly application segment accounted for the largest market share owing to the ability to combine both repetitive and easy work along with more complex assembly processes.

Whereas, the rising adoption and applications of pick and place collaborative robots are expected to drive the segment growth over the forecast period. The co-robots are used in pick and place applications across verticals to reduce shrinkage and to increase accuracy while handling inventory. Pick and place robots are lightweight, small in size, and can be deployed in limited space.

Vertical Insights

Based on vertical, the market has been segmented into automotive, food and beverage, furniture and equipment, plastic and polymers, metal and machinery, electronics, pharmaceuticals, and others. The automotive industry accounted for a market share of 24% in 2018 and is expected to lead over the forecast period. The key factors such as reducing the cost of production downtime and reduction in the floor space are anticipated to boost the growth over the projected period.

The growing shift toward automation to save time and cost is a key factor spurring the adoption of robotic materials handling equipment in the automotive industry. The market is expected to remain innovation-led with the introduction of new metals and chemicals that provide cost-efficiency and weight reduction, and low-manufacturing overheads in automobile manufacture. The market is experiencing the emergence of several disruptors and technology integrators who are expected to offer high competition to the existing automobile manufacturers.

Regional Insights

Europe is a key revenue-generating region and accounted for a significant market share of around 37% in 2018. The regional growth is attributed to the enormous application of cobots in different verticals such as electronics, logistics, and inspection. Also, the regional growth of the cobot technology can be attributed to various advantages such as increased collaboration and efficient manufacturing optimization solutions offered by automation in the workplace.

Growing focus on the quality and precision of cobots in the Asia Pacific has necessitated the implementation of maximum standards, by increasing the deployment of cobots in the region. The ability of the technology to produce better quality products, increased efficiency, reduced wastage, and standardized products is expected to extensively increase the adoption of collaborative robots over the projected period. Furthermore, with a greater emphasis on automation, the adoption of artificial intelligence, and all the other requisite technological evolutions, the market has a significant potential to grow rapidly over the forecast period.

Collaborative Robots Market Share Insights

The key players offering exclusive products and supplies include ABB Group; DENSO Robotics; EPSON Robots; Energid Technologies Corporation; F&P Robotics AG; Fanuc Corporation; KUKA AG; MRK-Systeme GmbH; Precise Automation, Inc.; Rethink Robotics, Inc.; Robert Bosch GmbH; Universal Robots A/S; Yaskawa Electric Corporation; MABI AG; Techman Robot by Quanta Storage, Inc.; Franka Emika GmbH; AUBO Robotics Inc.; and Comau S.p.A.

To gain a competitive edge in the market, players have entered into partnerships for the expansion of their product portfolio. For instance, in 2018, KUKA AG through its subsidiary KUKA Robotics Korea Co. Ltd. entered into a strategic partnership with the Hyundai Robotics-a robotics division of Hyundai Heavy Industries Holdings. The partnership has assisted the latter in extending its product portfolio in Korean geographies.

Report Scope

Segments Covered in the Report

This report forecasts revenue growth at the global, regional, and country levels and provides an analysis of the latest industry trends and opportunities in each of the sub-segments from 2014 to 2025. For this study, Grand View Research has segmented the global collaborative robots market report based on payload capacity, application, vertical, and region:

• Payload Capacity Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2014 - 2025)

  • Up to 5kg

  • Up to 10kg

  • Above 10kg

• Application Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2014 - 2025)

  • Assembly

  • Pick & Place

  • Handling

  • Packaging

  • Quality Testing

  • Machine Tending

  • Gluing & Welding

  • Others

• Vertical Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2014 - 2025)

  • Automotive

  • Food & Beverage

  • Furniture & Equipment

  • Plastic & Polymers

  • Metal & Machinery

  • Electronics

  • Pharma

  • Others

• Regional Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2014 - 2025)

  • North America

    • The U.S.

    • Canada

    • Mexico

  • Europe

    • Germany

    • The U.K.

    • France

  • Asia Pacific

    • China

    • Japan

    • India

  • South America

    • Brazil

  • Middle East and Africa