Citation
(2009), "Service robots: assistants in private and professional life", Industrial Robot, Vol. 36 No. 4. https://doi.org/10.1108/ir.2009.04936dab.002
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2009, Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Service robots: assistants in private and professional life
Article Type: News From: Industrial Robot: An International Journal, Volume 36, Issue 4
Service robots for professional use: 49,000 units installed up to the end of 2007
With 12,000 units, service robots in defense, rescue and security applications accounted for 25 percent of the total number of service robots for professional use installed up to the end of 2007. They are followed by field robots (mainly milking robots) with 20 percent, cleaning robots and underwater systems with 12 percent each. Construction and demolition robots (9 percent), medical robots (9 percent) and mobile robot platforms for general use (7.4 percent) come in the next ranges. Minor installation numbers were counted for logistic systems, inspection systems and public-relations robots.
The total value of service robots for professional use installed up to the end of 2007 was about US$7.8 billion. The most expensive robots are underwater systems, medical robots, milking robots and robots for defense, rescue and security applications.
Service robots for personal and private use: about 3.4 million units for domestic use and about 2.0 million units for entertainment and leisure sold up to end 2007
Service robots for personal and domestic use are recorded separately, as their unit value generally is only a fraction of that of many types of service robots for professional use. They are also produced for a mass market with completely different pricing and marketing channels.
So far, service robots for personal and domestic use are mainly in the areas of domestic (household) robots, which include vacuum cleaning and lawn-mowing robots, and entertainment and leisure robots, including toy robots, hobby systems and education and training robots.
Up to the end of 2007 about 3.3 million vacuum cleaner and more than 110,000 lawn mowers were sold. The total value amounted to about US$1.3 billion.
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