U.N. releases World Robotics 2004 survey

With 4,785 units, underwater systems accounted for 23% of the total number of service robots for professional use installed up to the end of 2003. Thereafter followed cleaning robots with 16%, laboratory robots with 15% and demolition and construction robots with 14%. Medical robots had a share of 12% and mobile robot platforms for general use accounted for 9%. Defense, rescue and security applications had a share of nearly 5% and field robotics, e.g. milking robots and forestry robots, 4%. The value of the stock of professional service robots is estimated at $2.4 billion.

The unit prices for professional service robots differ significantly - from less than $10,000 to more than $300,000, depending on type of application. The most expensive robots are the underwater systems ($300,000), followed by milking robots ($200,000). The average price of a medical robot is about $150,000.

Domestic service robots

Service robots for personal and private use are recorded separately, as their unit value is only a fraction of that of many types of service robots for professional use. They are also produced for a mass market with completely different marketing channels.

So far, service robots for personal and private use are mainly in the areas of domestic (household) robots, which include vacuum cleaning and lawn-mowing robots, and entertainment robots, including toy and hobby robots.. Sales of lawn-mowing robots have started to take off very strongly, with sales in excess of 40,000 units, and should continue to boom. The market potential is very large. Vacuum cleaning robots were introduced on the market at end of 2001. The market expanded rapidly in 2002-2003 and now counts at least 570,000 units.

Of the 610,000 robots for domestic household robots that were in use at end 2003 almost 400,000 were installed in 2003.

The market for entertainment and leisure robots, which includes toy robots, is forecasted at about 2.5 million units, most of which, of course, are very low cost. The sales value is estimated at over $4 billion.

Why invest in robots?

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