Robot Market Trends

Robot Market Trends

The rapid rise of Collaborative Robots (Cobots) is a key trend that is exhibiting a positive influence on the growth of the market. Collaborative robots (cobots) are transforming the global robotics market by addressing traditional industrial robot limitations and meeting evolving industry needs. Cobots are designed to work safely alongside human operators, featuring force-limited joints, advanced sensors, and real-time monitoring systems for collision avoidance. This design eliminates the need for extensive safety enclosures, reducing installation costs and improving workspace efficiency.
 

Industries are increasingly adopting cobots due to their flexibility and ease of use. Unlike conventional robots that are often task-specific and require extensive programming, cobots can be quickly reprogrammed and redeployed for various applications, including assembly, welding, quality inspection, machine tending, and packaging. This adaptability makes them suitable for industries with high product variability or short production cycles, such as electronics, automotive, and consumer goods manufacturing.
 

The rise of cobots is largely driven by their appeal to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). These businesses often lack the resources to implement traditional automation solutions. Cobots addresses this gap by offering user-friendly interfaces, reduced setup times, and lower total cost of ownership. Leading manufacturers such as Universal Robots, FANUC, and ABB are investing into cobot development. The applications of cobots are broadening, venturing beyond manufacturing into domains like healthcare, retail, and agriculture. With the infusion of AI and machine learning, cobot technology is evolving, allowing them to learn from human demonstrations and adjust to dynamic environments.
 

For instance, in October 2024, Universal Robots has unveiled the UR AI Accelerator, a comprehensive hardware and software toolkit designed to advance AI-powered collaborative robot (cobot) applications for both commercial and research use. This ready-to-use platform, powered by NVIDIA Jetson AGX Orin and NVIDIA Isaac technologies, integrates features like pose estimation, object detection, and path planning. It also includes the high-quality Orbbec Gemini 335Lg 3D camera. Fully compatible with UR's next-gen PolyScope X software, the toolkit enables developers to use customizable toolsets and programming languages, offering flexibility and faster go-to-market solutions.