This report provides Transforma Insights’ view on the Personal Assistance Robots market. The Application Group comprises a variety of categories of fully autonomous machines that undertake a diverse set of use cases, including Monitoring (e.g. Boston Dynamics’ Spot robots for industrial inspections and Asus’ Zenbo robots for home security monitoring), Social Interaction (e.g. Telepresence robots by Ava and Ohmni Labs), Cleaning and Maintenance (e.g. Husqvarna’s Automower’s for robotic lawn mowing, Roomba by iRobot and DeebotX1 by Ecovacs for indoor cleaning), Gofor (e.g. TUG robots by Aethon and supply-delivery robot ‘Moxi’ by Diligent Robotics), Efficiency (e.g. IBM’s concierge robot ‘Connie’, Makr Shakr’s robotic bartender ‘Toni’ and exoskeletons), and Assisted Living (e.g. Automated zimmer frames and trolleys) and companionship robots (e.g. Sony’s robotic pet ‘Aido’).
Personal Assistance Robots have risen to prominence, thanks to the convergence of technological improvements and societal needs. Progress in artificial intelligence, natural language processing, and robotics has resulted in robots that are increasingly capable of communicating and performing an ever-wider variety of tasks. Ageing populations and increasingly busy lifestyles have created an increasing demand for solutions that can provide support for household tasks, companionship, and healthcare assistance. High wages in many developed nations have also resulted in a situation where robots can offer much greater efficiency when replacing or assisting human workers. Consequently, Personal Assistance Robots have begun to emerge as valuable companions and assistants, providing efficiency and convenience in a variety of use cases.
The report provides a detailed definition of the sector, an analysis of market development and profiles of the key vendors in the space. It also provides a summary of the current status of adoption and Transforma Insights’ ten-year forecasts for the market. The forecasts include analysis of the number of IoT connections by geography, the technologies used (including splits by 2G, 3G, 4G, 5G, LPWA, short range, satellite and others), as well as the revenue split between module, value-added connectivity and services. A full set of forecast data, including country-level forecasts, sector break-downs and public/private network splits, is available through the IoT Forecast tool.
The report examines key factors that are influencing the development of the market, including:
This section of the report explains what Personal Assistance Robots are – robots that are used to assist humans with their routine activities and chores to enhance efficiency and effectiveness. It has been further categorised into the following subsections:
This subsection charts the development of these robots, right from the prototype stage (without any specific application within the market) to the development of an array of specialised robots (that can address multiple challenges across various settings). It also explains how cost has been a barrier towards the domestic adoption of these devices, and how this situation is gradually changing owing to a combination of decreasing cost and increasing efficiency of these devices.
This subsection explains how extensive research and development in technologies, commercialisation of lithium batteries, and the growth and availability of other IoT devices are resulting in falling costs and increased specialisation of these devices.
This subsection explains how these devices will be more beneficial to developed countries with higher levels of disposable income but not to countries where wages are lower.
It discusses the challenges these devices face such as requiring permission for mass surveillance/privacy violations (since many of them have to use cameras in public places).
This subsection focuses on both non-connected robots (such as Proscenic M7), as well as consumer and enterprise robots which use short-range technologies (like Wi-Fi) within indoor environments and cellular connectivity for outdoor activities.
This section focuses on personal assistance robots (including automated security guards or mobile security cameras and sensor suites) that are used for surveillance and security in commercial and domestic settings. It then discusses their benefits (like improving the quality of remote security solutions) and explains how they can prove to be much cheaper, when compared to human security solutions, especially in countries with high wages.
It then explores CCTV monitoring as a competitive solution to security robots and mentions its disadvantages over security robots. For instance, setting up CCTV monitoring systems over an extended area is expensive, and they lack the advanced features of security robots. For instance, RB-Watcher an autonomous mobile robot is used for surveillance as well as for collecting data to find patterns and improve security protocols. Following CCTVs, this section explores home security robots (like ASUS’ Zenbo), talks about their features (like light sources to monitor dark areas), and their benefits (like tracking devices and receiving continuous monitoring updates).
This section also provides a few examples of relevant IoT deployments in this application like the Tokyo Metropolitan Government building uses autonomous patrol robots.
This section discusses telepresence robots, their usage (like virtual interactions with other users), their types (remote-controlled or autonomous), advantages (such as being able to move around and continue talking), and their disadvantages (like being prohibitively expensive). It then discusses the use cases where these robots are mostly adopted (such as for remote education in schools and remote healthcare in hospitals) and how Covid-19 affected their demand.
It also discusses how VR headsets and metaverse are similar to telepresence robots (in terms of their functionalities) and the difference between them. It also talks about the drawbacks of both VR headsets and metaverse, which make telepresence robots more effective in these contexts.
This section also provides a few examples of relevant IoT deployments in this application like St. Louis Children’s Hospital using a telepresence robot to take care of younger cancer patients.
This section describes Cleaning & Maintenance robots (including robots that are used for UV sterilisation, vacuum cleaning, mopping, window cleaning, lawn mowing, and pool cleaning) and their uses (like automating mundane, domestic chores to enhance safety and efficiency).
It also argues that although it is widely believed that the main application of these robots is floor cleaning, this normative application has been challenged since the Covid-19 pandemic. It then traces the increase in their numbers and explains why these robots have played a crucial role in healthcare settings, and talks about how rising labour costs and shortage of workers are also contributing towards their increased adoption. It then gives a few examples of relevant IoT deployments in this application, such as MIT and Ava Robotics collaborating to use Ultraviolet-C robots to disinfect a warehouse facility for Greater Boston Food Bank.
This section of the report discusses robots used for short-distance delivery in public or private facilities and their benefits (like reducing the task of carrying or moving products within defined areas like hospitals, restaurants, and offices, thereby increasing efficiency and saving money). For instance, TUG robots by Aethon can save labour costs of 2.8 full-time employees by working 7 days a week in two shifts. It also mentions the connectivity technology (such as Wi-Fi) that is used for remote monitoring and communication. It then provides examples of relevant IoT deployments in this application, such as Naver’s plans to deploy around 100 robots within its office premises for mundane tasks.
This section focuses on cooking or kitchen robots (like Moley’s Robotic Kitchen) and their features (such as cooking foods and cleaning kitchens afterwards). It then talks about exoskeletons that are intended to augment human abilities and explains the functioning of these devices. It also talks about the advantages of using exoskeletons (like reducing physical exertion and likelihood of injuries) and their limitations (such as significant development time). It also provides a few examples of relevant IoT deployments in this application, such as Hilton collaborating with IBM to deploy Connie, a concierge robot at its McLean hotel in Virginia, US.
This section first provides with a general description of Assisted Living robots and then lists what it includes - zimmer frames, automated trolleys for the elderly, robot pets, and social support robots. It then talks about their features (like many of these robots having lidar sensors, multi-function arms, and communication equipment). It then explains how these devices will become increasingly vital in regions with ageing populations, although their deployment has been slow till now.
It then focuses on robot pets and social support robots, talks about their purpose (like preventing mental illnesses), and explains how these devices will be increasingly used for companionship, particularly for the elderly and the vulnerable. This section also lists a few relevant IoT deployments in this application, like Pepper, a voice-operated companionship robot for the elderly being used in Advinia Healthcare in the UK.
The key vendors section lists some of the main providers of products and services related to the market, such as Relay Robotics, Boston Dynamics, Husqvarna, iRobot, Ohmni Labs, Ava Robotics, Ekso Bionics, Aethon Robotics, and Sony. The report provides profiles of the various vendors including aspects most relevant to this Application Group, such as product offerings, pricing, financial results, and technology.
In the market forecasts section, we provide a summary of the forecasts from the Transforma Insights IoT Forecast Database:
The report charts the growth in the number of devices, which will grow from 20 million in 2023 to 115.5 million in 2033.
Transforma Insights forecasts are compiled on a country-by-country basis. This report includes a regional summary, showing splits between Australasia, Greater China, North America, Europe, Japan, Latin America, MENA, Russia & Central Asia, South East Asia, South Korea, India & South Asia, and Sub-Saharan Africa.
Transforma Insights’ IoT forecasts include splits between the various connectivity technologies as follows: 2G, 3G, 4G, 5G mMTC, 5G non-mMTC, LPWA (non-mMTC), Satellite, Short Range, and Other.
This section discusses which technologies will be used in the personal assistance robots application group.
This part of the report discusses the market growth in terms of revenue (module revenue, service wrap revenue, and VAC revenue). Transforma Insights estimates that the revenue in the Personal Assistance Robots Application Group will grow at a CAGR of 24%.
