Collaborative Robots Market Size, Share & COVID-19 Impact Analysis, By Payload Capacity (Up to 5 Kg, 6-10 Kg, 11 Kg and Above), By Application (Welding, Material Handling, Quality Testing, Painting/Spraying, Assembling, Others), By Industry (Automotive, Electronics & Semi-Conductors, Food & Beverages, Retail, Metal & Machining, Rubber & Plastic, Others), and Regional Forecast, 2021-2028

The global collaborative robots market size was valued at USD 979.6 million in 2020 and is projected to grow from USD 1,358.2 million in 2021 to USD 16,387.3 million by 2028, exhibiting a CAGR of 42.7% during the forecast period.

Based on our analysis, the global market exhibited a lower growth of 38.1% in 2020 as compared to the average year-on-year growth during 2017-2019. The global impact of COVID-19 has been unprecedented and staggering, with cobots witnessing a negative impact on demand across all regions amid the pandemic. The rise in the CAGR is attributable to this market’s demand and growth returning to pre-pandemic levels once the pandemic is over.

Collaborative robots are human-scale robots that execute activities alongside human agents in a demanding environment while remaining mobile and productive on the work floor. They are constructed with safety features including integrated sensors, passive compliance, and overcurrent detection to operate with humans. Additionally, these external forces get detected by the inbuilt sensors, which causes the robot to cease moving if the force is too great. Furthermore, combination of sensor data and simple technology including artificial intelligence & machine learning aids these robots to navigate in dynamic real-world environments & make real-time decisions.

For instance, Yaskaw released the HC20XP Human-Collaborative Robot in March 2020. It has accurate hand-guided instruction for quick robot system deployment. The latest collaborative type of robot with a payload of 20 kg is designed for situations where robots must securely operate alongside or in close proximity to people. The first collaborative robot which is IP67-rated in the market is designed for long-term usage in splash-prone or wet situations.

COVID-19 Pandemic: Disruptions in Supply-Chain & Decrease in Sales to Hinder Market Growth

The COVID-19 pandemic, a severe transmittable disease that emerged from China, has now spread around the world. As China is considered to be a key market in the APAC area, this pandemic has a negatively impacted the market in 2020. Few of the market's leading companies, such as Universal Robots, ABB, and FANUC, headquartered in APAC and Europe, have seen a significant drop in sales in 2020. The COVID-19 epidemic disrupted and slowed collaborative robot deployment in a number of major industries, including automotive, electrical and electronics, and metals and machining. Additionally, the overall supply chain ecosystems across all industries have been affected as a result of consecutive lockdowns. In addition, industries such as automobiles and general manufacturing, where robotics solutions play a critical role, are seeing a rapid decline.

However, emphasizing on positive impact, robots and automation are playing an increasingly important role in helping to protect people and handle the supplies that they require as people transition to remote working and home learning. Additionally, cobots are also assisting in the disinfecting of hospitals. Moreover, people are receiving groceries via autonomous deliveries from robots as they embrace social distance. Furthermore, pharmaceutical firms' work is being sped up by automated workstations. Therefore, the situation of this market in 2021 is projected to improve over 2020 and restore to normal in 2021.

LATEST TRENDS

Rise in Demand for Automation in Numerous Industrial Processes to Drive Market Growth

Generally, these Automation solutions can significantly reduce the cost of delivery. This is aided by current robot advancements, which allow businesses in a variety of industries to run autonomously with enhanced human aptitude and capacity. Additionally, the significant elements that are driving the robot deployment involves increased benefits and compensation rates, workforce shortages & longer training and onboarding. These automated solutions are becoming more common in distribution, fulfillment centers & warehousing. In the addition, the robotics is being embraced by a growing number of manufacturing operations across region as technology advances and applications are becoming broader and more versatile.

Furthermore, cobots play a significant role in industrial automation with controlling many key activities & operation in industries. Additionally, even in dangerous situations, they can do complex, repetitive jobs with precision. Therefore, as a result, cobots have been utilized in production units across a wide range of sectors. For Instances, according to a survey conducted by UiPath, over 88% of businesses feel that automation would accelerate human productivity and will be most effective when technology is used in combination with people.

DRIVING FACTORS

Significant Return on Investment on Cobots Utilization to Boost Market Development

Cobots provide a high return on investment compared to other traditional industrial robots. Their & considerable return on investment are appealing to the small and medium businesses, along with potential growth of robot installation in many nations. In the addition, the cost of deploying collaborative robot-additional hardware is higher than the cost of this type of robot, whereas the cost of deploying standard industrial robots' additional hardware is higher than the cost of the robot itself. Therefore, the overall cost of traditional industrial bots including the additional hardware and components is higher compared to the cobots. Hence, cobots have a high return on investment compared to the traditional industrial robots as they only require a controller, an indicator & vision system.

Furthermore, cobots are becoming more inexpensive, easier to operate, and less complicated devices for training purpose. This will primarily offer companies with a variety of alternatives, increasing their cobots also enables industries of all sizes and scales to stay competitive as they utilize the latest sensors, plug-and-play technologies, and automated robot programming from CAD data.

RESTRAINING FACTORS

Lack of Skilled Workforce & High Expenditure Involved To Hamper Market Growth

The global market is expected to show substantial growth during the forecast period. However, there are some factors which may impact the growth. For Instances, the Initial high expenditure that is required for procurement, integration, programming, accessories, maintenance, etc. could restraint the growth. In addition, dearth of professional workforce in underdeveloped & developing regions is another factor affecting the growth to a significant extent. Also, the stringent government regulations can also be considered as a key factor hampering the global market growth.

SEGMENTATION

By Payload Capacity Analysis

11 Kg and Above Segment To Fuel Market Growth During Forecast Period

The payload capacity segmentation includes up to 5 kg, 6-10 kg, and 11kg and above.

The 6-10 kg and up to 5 kg sub-segment is expected to expand at a significant rate owing to its ability to execute many and repeated operations at a fast pace.

The 11 kg and above sub-segment is projected to increase exponentially in the coming years, due to the need from the automotive sector to execute important activities such as assembling spares and components, building the engine – torqueing bolts for automobiles, and so on.

By Application Analysis

Assembling Application to Occupy Substantial Collaborative Robots Market Share

The application segmentation is categorized into material handling, welding, painting/spraying, quality testing, assembling and others.

The material handling sub-segment is expected to have the largest market size throughout the forecast period due to increasing demand from the automotive, food & beverage, electronics, and semi-conductor industries, Furthermore, in such businesses, material handling is a crucial function as some of the pieces are fragile and require smooth motion. In such a situation, robots are commonly used to decrease accidents and maintain staff safety.

Assembling application is expected to show major growth in the forecast period.  Due to the rise in automotive, metal machinery, electrical and electronic industry where customized spare parts are assembled and installed in the finished product are likely to contribute in the growth.

The painting/spraying, welding, and quality testing sub-segment is anticipated to increase at a modest rate because to rising demand for customized cars that need high-quality precision welding, high-graphics painting, and other services.

By Industry Analysis

Automotive Industry to Exhibit Substantial Market Growth

The industry segment includes automotive, electronics & electrical, food & beverages, retails, metals & machining, rubber & plastic and others.

Automotive Industry is expected to retain a leading position in the foreseeable period with rising concerns from manufacturers to decrease operating costs, assemble spares and components in less time, paint and coat, and enhance overall workplace ergonomics. Laser-cutting rigs, engine foundries, molding machines, packing and palletizing lines & forming presses all are used in cobots in the automotive industry.

Due to increased electronic goods consumption, the rise of various nanotechnologies, and the introduction of sensitive conductors, the electronic & semi-conductor sub-segment is projected to grow at a significant rate in the future years.

Metals & machining sub-segment is anticipated to show a considerable growth in the forecast period due to rise in manufacturing facilities wherein customized and heavy machines are installed, welding heavy metals with precision, etc.

Food & beverages, retail and rubber & plastic sub-segment are show a steady rise with the increasing deployment of cobots in banking and financial services, domestic food consumption, etc. However, market of collaborative machines is widening in agricultural sector with the rising automation trend in farming.

REGIONAL INSIGHTS

Asia Pacific to Witness Substantial Growth through 2028

The scope of the report comprises of five major regions namely North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, the Middle East & Africa and South America.

Asia Pacific region is expected to develop rapidly in the future years due to the presence of Chinese approved and unauthorized companies working in this industry area, expanding industrial output, rising small and medium enterprises, and other factors. In addition, rising demand for customized machinery and cars in this area, which necessitates high accuracy and quick manufacturing capacity, is adding to market expansion.

Moreover, China is expected to grow significantly, owing to the rise in manufacturing industries. Also, due to the easy availability of inexpensive labor, lenient emission and safety regulations, low production costs & government regulations for FDIs has enabled the region's industries to gain a competitive advantage, allowing APAC to maintain a dominant as a leader in this market.

North America is anticipated to grow rapidly throughout the projection period with increasing manufacturing sectors, government participation to support SMEs, the emergence of smart factories and industry 4.0, and other factors.

Furthermore, Europe is expected to dominate the worldwide market growth during the forecast period. Proactive government support for factory automation solutions such as industrial revolution 4.0, smart factories, and others is anticipated to boost growth in the region. In addition, a large amount of money is being invested in collaborative robotics research and development, which is driving the industry forward.

As a consequence of technical advancements and development in the robotics sector, the market for these robots in the Middle East and Africa, as well as South America, is anticipated to expand moderately.

KEY INDUSTRY PLAYERS

Leading Players Emphasizing On New Product Development Enabled With Advance Technologies

Manufacturers are concentrating on providing devices that can be operated in close contact to humans, with minimal danger of damage from crushing edges and a cleanable surface that prevents dirt traps. Integration of artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things (IoT), cloud computing, and data mining technologies is also improving cognitive skills and providing new development prospects. The market for human-robot cooperation is benefiting from the advancement of such sophisticated technology.

List of Key Companies Profiled:

• 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)

KEY INDUSTRY DEVELOPMENTS:

• December, 2020: ABB Ltd. introduced a "Wizard Easy Programming" a block-based programming interface to keeping programming its single-arm YuMi cobot more easy. The company also claimed that it aims to make its cobots easier to set up for those who don't know how to program, decreasing the entrance barrier.


• March, 2020: Universal Robots introduced UR+ application kits to make the deployment of Cobots easier for small, medium, and big businesses, as well as innovative solutions at MODEX 2020 that demonstrated the use of cobots to automate difficult-to-staff operations like palletizing and piece-picking.

REPORT COVERAGE

The global collaborative robots market report provides a detailed analysis of the type & application. It provides information about along with leading companies and their business overview, types, and leading applications of the product. Besides, it offers insights into the competitive landscape, SWOT analysis, along with current and significant market trends along with the highlights key drivers and restraints. In addition to the aforementioned factors, the report encompasses several factors contributing to the market's growth in recent years.

Report Scope & Segmentation