The indoor robots market has emerged as a competitive market in the recent years, with a host of new companies trying to make a market in the industry. Most of the manufacturers of indoor robots are of the same financial capability and this renders the market extremely competitive. The key factor driving the market is the innovation and development in this domain, and market players are coming up with innovative products to acquire a strong consumer base in the market. Besides product launch, companies are engaging in mergers and acquisition, partnerships, collaborations, and expansion to increase their global footprint.
One of the recent players in the market, Cobalt Robotics Inc., introduced a new line of robot security guards for indoor use in March 2017. These robo-guards pack 60 sensors, including lidar, ultrasound, depth sensors, RFID scanner, and cameras, as well as wide-angle day and night cameras to detect people around them. They also include mics and two-way video chat screens that allow human security guards or building managers to remotely interact with a person who the robot approaches.1
Another market leader, Aethon, followed the suit by showcasing its new mobile robots and software control systems at Automate 2017 in April. These robots and systems allowed their robotic platform to achieve Level 4 autonomy, with autonomous navigation, automatic pickup and drop off, as well as collaborative functions. Later in July 2017, ST Engineering, a Singapore-based firm, bought Aethon for a reported $36 million and, according to Aldo Zini (CEO of Aethon), would invest another $10 million in Aethon to grow the company.2
In addition to this, Swisslog Healthcare, a leading supplier of solutions for medication and supply chain management in healthcare, announced in August 2017 of its investment in Savioke, developer of the Relay autonomous delivery robot. This new partnership allows the companies to jointly develop services and solutions that increase health systems' efficiency and enable them to deliver better patient care.
Acknowledging the increasing adoption of robots in indoor and residential spaces and the competition in the market, BIS Research has compiled a report titled ‘Global Indoor Robots Market- Analysis and Forecast 2017-2026'. According to the analyst, "The indoor robots market accounted for a market value of $3.7 billion in 2016 with medical robots holding the highest share. The market is driven by a number of factors such as increasing need for robots for security services, unprecedented rise in demand from domestic users, the rise in demand for elderly care robots, and growing demand for productivity and quality.”
References:
1 Tech Crunch
2 TRIB Live
