ABI Research highlights the growing significance of collaborative robots (cobots) in various sectors, projecting revenue to soar from US$970 million in 2023 to US$7.2 billion by 2030, reflecting a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 28%. This surge is attributed to the robots' enhanced safety features, lower average selling prices, and increased accessibility.
“Cobots are at the forefront of the robotics revolution. They have the potential to democratise automation and bring robots into new markets, working side-by-side with human workers to unlock economic growth,” said George Chowdhury, Robotics Industry analyst at ABI Research. He emphasised that the integration of cobots with artificial intelligence (AI) enables enterprises to automate tasks previously performed exclusively by humans, thereby improving productivity.
The report indicates that cobots will significantly contribute to global reshoring initiatives, with North America expected to see an increase in shipments to 64,000 units per year by 2030, marking a CAGR of 29%. In the Asia-Pacific region, China is poised to lead adoption, forecasting 130,000 annual shipments by the end of the decade, driven by a staggering CAGR of 41%.
The automotive sector is identified as a key driver of cobot uptake within industrial manufacturing, with shipments predicted to rise from 13,000 in 2023 to 115,000 by 2030. The report also notes that the expansion of use cases, such as palletisation and inspection, will lead to increased sales of attachments like cameras. Notably, 3D and stereo cameras capable of assessing object depth are expected to be integrated into 59% of cobot deployments by 2030.
While established robotics manufacturers like FANUC, KUKA, ABB, Omron, and Kawasaki have developed their cobot lines, Universal Robots (UR) continues to maintain the largest market share through innovative partnerships. Additionally, NVIDIA's role in advancing cobot technology is highlighted; its GPUs and software products, such as Isaac Manipulator, are anticipated to facilitate AI-augmented solutions, paving the way for new use cases.
“Collaborative robots are the flagship form factor for democratization and automation expansion into new markets, notably via SMEs. Cobots can revolutionise industries from medicine to agriculture by augmenting human workers with AI value adds,” concluded Chowdhury, underscoring the transformative potential of cobots across diverse sectors.
