Cobot adoption growing

ACCORDING TO RESEARCH by market intelligence firm Interact Analysis, the collaborative robot (cobot) market will enjoy growth through 2032, with annual growth rates sitting at around 20 percent.

Collaboration between humans and robots is now widely accepted, so robot manufacturers suggest that the key to future success will be their ability to scale up production and develop new application scenarios. The logistics industry will also play an important role in this growth trajectory.

As with all industries, the current economic landscape and the Ukraine-Russia war have had an impact on the collaborative robot market. Out to 2027, shipments of collaborative robots in EMEA will decrease from 19.5 percent to 15.9 percent, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 22.4 percent.

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However, the CAGR for the Americas region will sit at 25.8 percent, and at 28.2 percent in APAC. The current year continues to be a difficult period for the US and European collaborative robot market as a result of inflation and ongoing supply chain disruptions.

Interact Analysis forecasts that EMEA will begin to recover in the second half of 2023 and into the first half of 2024, while recovery in the US will take slightly longer, with a US manufacturing downturn expected in 2024.

The majority of collaborative robot vendors are what Interact Analysis refers to as ‘pure-play’ cobot vendors. This means collaborative robots are their main and only product line.

Universal Robots retains its position as market leader, with AUBO, TechMan and JAKA following behind.