Service robots for commercial and private use are recording impressive growth rates in revenue and unit sales and have the potential to help master societal challenges. The World Robotics - Service Robots is an annual market report compiled by IFR statistical department jointly with Fraunhofer IPA.

What is a Service Robot?

• A service robot is an actuated mechanism programmable in two or more axes, moving within its environment, to perform useful tasks for humans or equipment excluding industrial automation applications.
• A service robot is a robot that does not produce anything.
• In some applications, manually controlled robotic devices with limited or even without autonomy are included. This is particularly relevant if legal requirements prohibit autonomy (e.g. surgery robots) or the purpose of the application requires only limited autonomy (e.g. assistance robots for disabled people).
• A consumer service robot is a service robot built for use by everyone. Neither operation nor setup require a professionally trained operator.
• A professional service robot is a service robot built for use by trained professional operators.
• Autonomous mobile robots (AMR) are professional service robots. If they are equipped with a manipulator, the manipulator is separately counted as an industrial robot.

World Robotics Service Robots at a glance

• Market data on service robots by application and region
• In World Robotics 2024 also by type of movement
• Extensive list of all service robot manufacturers known to the IFR
• Individual chapters with in-depth analysis of service robot applications are written in collaboration with Fraunhofer IPA
• Two completely revised chapters in each issue
• Focus applications in World Robotics 2023 were Agriculture and Medical Robots.
• New focus topics for 2024 are Outdoor Transportation without Public Traffic and Social Interaction
• Expert interviews with service robot suppliers on challenges and market entry hurdles
• The World Robotics 2023 featured interviews with Naio, Innok, Burro, and UVD Robots from Blue Ocean Robotics.

Highlights from past interviews

• INTERVIEW WITH NAÏO TECHNOLOGIES (Gaëtan Severac, Co-Founder):
  Why did you choose to develop robots for the agricultural sector?
  I founded Naïo Technologies 11 years ago with my co-founder Aymeric Barthes. We both have a technical background, both came from robotics, and Aymeric actually grew up on a farm. The main trigger was that 11 years ago we kept hearing from farmers that they were running out of labor. Even then, there was a shortage of skilled workers, even if it was not as acute as it is today. Also, at Naïo Technologies, we are convinced that we need to make agriculture a sustainable production system with the help of robots.
• INTERVIEW WITH INNOK ROBOTICS (Helmut Schmid):
  What are the biggest hurdles for bringing your robots to market?
  There are certain difficulties, such as CE certification and risk analyses. These are not barriers, but they are definitely challenges in the regulations that can represent small pitfalls. From my point of view, however, it is much more important to inform the customers. Unlike in industry, for example in the automotive or electronics industry, our customers are not familiar with robotics. For this group of customers, robotics must not be a deterrent, i.e. not viewed as a complicated system, but must be operable by everyone. One way to reduce the entry barrier can be service models, such as robotics as a service.
• INTERVIEW WITH BURRO (Charles Andersen, CEO):
  What are currently (2023) the biggest challenges and what will the biggest challenges be in the next five years?
  Challenges with our product often reside in the nature of the application. Precisely because our products are used in so many applications and scenarios, our customers often use them for use cases other than those for which we originally intended them. Of course, this provides us with very interesting insights into new areas of application, but it also naturally poses particular challenges for further development and maintenance.
• INTERVIEW WITH UVD ROBOTS (Claus Risager, founder and CSO):
  How are you planning to further develop your products to tackle these challenges?
  The key thing for our progress lies in enhancing the intelligence of the robots, enabling us to tailor their disinfection capabilities to target, for example, specific pathogens, regardless of whether they are in a spore or live microorganism state.
  

IFR Classification Scheme of Service Robots

• Numbers are for units sold and Robots as a service (RaaS fleet) and provided by service robot suppliers worldwide.
• Classification by application and region.
• The IFR distinguishes broadly between service robots for professional use and for consumer use as well as medical robots.
• Service robots for consumer use do not require specific training. Examples are domestic cleaning robots, automated wheelchairs, and social interaction robots. In contrast, professional service robots require a professionally trained operator. Examples are cleaning robots for public places, delivery robots, fire-fighting robots, rehabilitation robots and surgery robots in hospitals.
• The category of professional service robot applications uses eight different application groups plus “other professional service robots” which is the appropriate class for all service robots that do not fit into any other class.
  Agricultural Robots: In times of climate change, extreme weather events, and declining insect biomass the ever-increasing challenge of feeding the growing number of people on our planet can no longer be met without considering the ecological footprint. Agricultural robots are contributing to alleviate both the skill shortage and the ecological impact of modern agriculture.
  Professional Cleaning: Cleaning robots and disinfectant robots have become increasingly popular with the Covid-19 pandemic. Reding human labor wherever possible and cleaning and disinfecting large surfaces can help to contain infections effectively.
  Inspection and maintenance: Robots can go where people can’t, whether it’s the deepest ocean or the highest mountain. They can take over inspection and maintenance tasks in harsh conditions and dangerous places.
  Construction and demolition: Construction of buildings or their demolition has traditionally required labor-intensive work. Skilled labor shortage however is becoming more and more of a challenge. New mobile robots which can be used for construction documentation, transport, 3D printing, drilling or even welding are faster and less exposed to weather conditions than human labor.
  Logistics and Transportation: Automated guided vehicles are increasingly equipped with autonomic robotic capabilities and thus form one of the most prospering fields in service robotics. They are already widely used in logistics and warehouses. Numerous start-ups are working on the autonomous last mile delivery.
  Search and Rescue: Natural disasters like earthquakes or fires still pose a big threat to humankind. Robots can help to save humans from these incidents.
  Hospitality: Both the Covid-19 pandemic and current labor shortages have driven the demand for food and drink preparation robots as well as social interaction robots providing mobile guidance in retail stores, museums, and other public spaces.
• In the segment of consumer robots, there are three major application groups plus robots that are intended for consumer use but do not fit into the major applications are classified under “other consumer robots”.
  Domestic tasks: Robots for domestic use comprise robots for floor and window cleaning, for lawn mowing, cleaning of grills, and pools.
  Social interaction and education: These social robots have gained significance during the Covid-19 pandemic and the social distancing measures imposed in most countries. The general idea of educational robots is to provide a platform for experimenting with robot without having to obtain a professional level of robot expertise first.
  Care at home: Robots in this application group aim to help people who have age-related constraints or disabilities by providing mobility and manipulation assistance.
• Medical Robots is now a third application area next to industrial and service robots. Robots can assist medical staff not only in the established field of surgery but also in care tasks and rehabilitation.

• Executive Summary - WR Service Robots 2023 (10.1MB)
• Editorial - WR Service Robots 2023 (10.5MB)
• Foreword_WR_Service_Robots_2023.pdf (10.3MB)
• Contents - WR Service Robots 2023 (11.0MB)
• WR Service Robots 2023 - Sources and Methods (1.0MB)

Global robot statistics

The International Federation of Robotics (IFR) through its Statistical Department compiles a well-established annual statistical data on the global robotics market.

The statistical data is collected from industrial robot suppliers worldwide either as primary data or as secondary data through national robotics associations.

For industrial robots, installations per country by type, industries and application are counted, including global installations for cobots (robots designed to be used in a collaborative setting) considered separately.

Participation in our statistical survey is open to all manufacturers of robots (hardware).

• More details on how to participate in the survey on industrial robots
• More details on how to participate in the survey on service robots

Market report

This data is published as an annual report called "World Robotics". This report provides comprehensive and up-to-date information on the global robotics market, including statistics, trends, and analyses. The publication covers various aspects of robotics, such as industrial robots including cobots, service robots as well as mobile robots, split into two books, World Robotics Industrial Robots as well as World Robotics Service Robots.

The publication includes data on the number of installed industrial robots, market trends, applications, and information on key players in the robotics industry. World Robotics Industrial Robots also provides estimates of the operational stock of industrial robots at year-end as well as a calculated robot density.

Both reports as well as a premium version including access to the World Robotics database (which contains historic data, in some cases dating back to 1993) can be purchased through the webshop of VDMA Verlag.

For more details on

• World Robotics Industrial Robots - covering Industrial Robots including cobots
• World Robotics Service Robots - covering service Robots, mobile robots and medical robots

Referenced by policy makers and the media

The report serves as a valuable resource for businesses, researchers, policymakers, and anyone interested in understanding the current state and future outlook of robotics worldwide.

World Robotics is globally reknowned data source on the use of robots worldwide.

There is a series of scientific publications from the economists basing their research on the World Robotics dataset.

• Georg Graetz, Guy Michaels; Robots at Work. The Review of Economics and Statistics 2018; 100 (5): 753–768. doi: https://doi.org/10.1162/rest_a...
• A paper well descibing the dataset is Jurkat A, Klump R, Schneider F. Tracking the Rise of Robots: The IFR Database. Jahrbücher für Nationalökonomie und Statistik. 2022;242(5-6): 669-689. https://doi.org/10.1515/jbnst-...
• Moreover national governments and supranational organizations like the United Nations and the OECD are using IFR data as basis for their policy measures and benchmark for their own economy's standing and to measure the effects.
• Nolan, A. (2021), "Making life richer, easier and healthier: Robots, their future and the roles for public policy", OECD Science, Technology and Industry Policy Papers, No. 117, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/5ea15d....
• De Backer, K., et al. (2018), "Industrial robotics and the global organisation of production", OECD Science, Technology and Industry Working Papers, No. 2018/03, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/dd98ff....
• World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) (2023). Global Innovation Index 2023: Innovation in the face of uncertainty. Geneva: WIPO. https://doi.org/10.34667/tind....

• Market presentation World Robotics press conference (5.7MB)
• World Robotics Sales Flyer 2023 - one pager (235KB)

This unique report provides global statistics on industrial robots in standardized tables and enables national comparisons to be made. It presents statistical data for around 40 countries broken down into areas of application, customer industries, types of robots and other technical and economic aspects. Production, export and import data is listed for selected countries. It also offers robot density, i.e. the number of robots per 10,000 employees, as a measure for the degree of automation.

The data is collected from nearly all industrial robot suppliers worldwide either as primary data or as secondary data through national robotics associations. Therefore, World Robotics Industrial Robots covers the global industrial robot market. The publication also provides estimates of the operational stock of industrial robots at year-end.

Chapter 1 contains definitions, classifications, and general methodological remarks.

Chapter 2 analyzes the worldwide spread of industrial robots. It contains summary tables of the world robot stock and the global robot supply by country, by application, or by industry.

For the Republic of China, the United States, Japan, Germany and the Republic of Korea, the value of the robot market, and the average unit prices of robots are calculated and an estimate of the total world market value of industrial robot sales is deduced.

The chapter also contains analyses on the development of industrial robot densities (number of robots in operation per 10,000 employees) in the manufacturing industry of over 40 countries and in the automotive versus the general industry (manufacturing without automotive) for over 20 countries.

Chapter 3 presents statistical data on industrial robots for some 40 countries. The market analyses provide a discussion of the present situation and deduce a forecast of future robot installations for major markets. (see sample chapter)

Chapter 4 discusses technological trends, market trends, and presents the forecast for the ongoing year and the next three years.

Finally, chapter 5 of World Robotics Industrial Robots provides a selection of case studies or use cases of actual robot installations from different countries and industries. These case studies illustrate the effects of robots on costs, production and employment and indicate the overall profitability of robot investments. They demonstrate how robots can solve specific problems, how such solutions have been obtained and what the implications are.

• Contents - WR Industrial Robots 2023 (11.1MB)
• Executive Summary - WR Industrial Robots 2023 (10.6MB)
• WR Industrial Robots 2023 - Sources and Methods (2.5MB)
• Foreword - WR Industrial Robots 2023 (10.6MB)
• Editorial - WR Industrial Robots 2023 (10.6MB)
• Sample from World Robotics 2019 Chapter 2.1 (407KB)
• Sample from World Robotics 2019 - Chapter France (334KB)

IFR Statistical Department is collecting data for the annual international industrial robot statistics and invites all suppliers of industrial robots to participate in the annual survey World Robotics Industrial Robots. For details, please see definitions.

What is your benefit?

If you contribute to the statistics, you will receive the results (statistical data) for free.

IFR statistics are a globally recognized source of market data that will serve you in your marketing and public relations activities as well as in your negotiations with investors and credit institutions.

As a global industry association, IFR is a not-for-profit vendor-neutral institution. You can be sure that your data is safe and that IFR complies with antitrust and privacy regulations that guarantee that individual company data will neither be revealed nor be retrievable from statistics. We also guarantee that we will never provide company rankings of any kind.

Here is how it works:

Participation requires the submission of 2 questionnaires: Robot installations worldwide by applications and by industrial branches in 2023. Additionally we collect the number of Cobots in a separate questionnaire. There are no forward-looking items. We are going to conduct a separate forecast survey later this year.

How to participate:

Please fill your company’s data in the Excel questionnaires below and send the files to Ms. Nina Kutzbach ([email protected]). Data collection does usually start in the beginning of January and ends around May.

• How to submit industrial robot data to the IFR Statistical Department (756KB)
• WR Industrial Robots 2023 - Sources and Methods (2.5MB)
• Questionnaire Applications 2023 (220KB)
• Questionnaire Industries 2023 (236KB)
• Questionnaire Cobots 2023 (57KB)
• Questionnaire Mobile Manipulators (55KB)
• Questionnaire Load Capacities (German market only) (22KB)

Robots are powerful, versatile tools with broad fields of applications in various sectors, both industry and in services. Industrial robots take over the dull, dirty, delicate and dangerous tasks, leaving the more creative parts to the human workers. By this, the quality of work is improving. They make production more reliable, productive and efficient and support overall competitiveness. Service robots ease the life in many service professions, where jobs are hard to fill due to a lack of staff qualified or willing to take the job. The have a great potential to support the society in reaching the sustainable development goals set out by the United Nation. Some are quite obvious and among the core competences of robots, and there is a broad set of cases that exemplify the contribution. In other cases, robots are still filling in some niches, there still is room for improvement and futher development and community effort is needed for a better impact.

Robots are powerful, versatile tools with broad fields of applications in various sectors, both industry and in services. Industrial robots take over the dull, dirty, delicate and dangerous tasks, leaving the more creative parts to the human workers. By this, the quality of work is improving. They make production more reliable, productive and efficient and support overall competitiveness. Service robots ease the life in many service professions, where jobs are hard to fill due to a lack of staff qualified or willing to take the job. 

The have a great potential to support the society in reaching the sustainable development goals set out by the United Nation. Some are quite obvious, and there is a borad set of cases that exemplify the contribution, whereas in other cases, there still is room for improvement and futher development and community effort is needed for a better impact.

Here's a list of SDGs robotics can contribute to and an overview on how this is achieved.

SDG 8: Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all

• Robots take over dirty, dull and dangerous work from humans, contributing to workplace safety (e.g. paint shop robots).
• Robots make companies more productive and efficient, increasing their competitiveness and thus saving or creating jobs.
• Manufacturing with robots is more ressource- and energy-efficient, leading to high quality products with reduced rejects.
• Enabling production closer to the end customer – decentralized production, more sustainable, creating jobs
• Developing countries benefit from automation though gains in export quality of their products, making them more competitive.

SDG 9: Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation

• While humans control and monitor production, cobots perform unpleasant and non-ergonomic tasks.
• Companies can meet their health and safety requirements
• Employees can be used to perform tasks that call for human strengths, such as the ability to learn, sensory perception or creativity.
• Used and rental industrial robots offer affordable access for SMEs to robotization, without the up-front cost of purchasing a new industrial robot
• Re-using refurbished robots reduces the environmental footprint
• Robots increasing the efficiency of production – sustainable production
• Automation and digitalization of brownfield facilities

SDG 3: Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages

SDG 4: Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all

SDG 12: Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns

SDG 7: Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all

SDG 2: End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture

SDG 5: Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girl

SDG 6: Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all  

SDG 11: Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable

SDG 13: Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts

SDG 14: Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development

SDG 15: Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss

In 2023, the service robotics industry enjoyed continuous strong growth. But how was it in 2024? To find out, the International Federation of Robotics invites all service robot suppliers to participate in the annual IFR service robot survey World Robotics Service Robots. Our definition of service robots also includes industrially used AMRs. Fore details, please see definitions below.

If you are interested in participating in World Robotics Industrial Robots, please refer to this page or contact [email protected]. 

What is your benefit?

If you contribute to the statistics, you will receive the results for free.

IFR statistics are a globally recognized source of market data that will serve you in your marketing and public relations activities as well as in your negotiations with investors and credit institutions.

As a global industry association, IFR is a not-for-profit vendor-neutral institution. You can be sure that your data is safe and that IFR complies with antitrust and privacy regulations that guarantee that individual company data will neither be revealed nor be retrievable from statistics. We also guarantee that we will never provide company rankings of any kind.

IFR members even receive a complimentary copy (PDF) of World Robotics Service Robots 2024 for free.

Here is how it works:

Participation requires just the submission of 8 numbers: Robots sold and robots offered for as-a-Service business models (fleet size), by application and type of movement, each for 2022 and 2023. There are no forward-looking items. We are going to conduct a separate forecast survey later this year.

We now offer data submission through an online tool (Netigate). Of course, traditional Excel-based submission is still available. As announced in the Robot Suppliers Committee meeting during iREX in Tokyo, we are now collecting data on mobile manipulators as a field trial. This Questionnaire is only available as Excel form.

How to participate:

Either use this link to submit your data through our online tool (Netigate)

or fill your company’s data in the Excel questionnaire below and send the file to Ms. Anne Jurkat ([email protected]) by March 12, 2024.

You are cordially invited to include case studies and photos (incl. captions) of your robots. Please remember to complete the permission form so that we can use these photos.

Thank you for your cooperation and support!

• Definitions WR Service Robots (394KB)
• Copyright form (79KB)
• Questionnaire Mobile Manipulators (55KB)
• Walkthrough Service Robots questionnaire 2024 (726KB)
• Questionnaire Service Robots 2024 (257KB)

Compliance

The IFR advocates free and fair competition. This is why the IFR is committed to fulfilling all the requirements of competition law. Competition law violations may lead to substantial penalties and adversely affect involved companies, employees, and associations. To protect your own personal interests, those of your company, and the overall association activities, compliance with the existing competition rules is key.

Therefore, we would like to draw your attention to national and regional e.g. European, competition law that prohibits discussions on competitive topics, including prices or discounts, or the exchange of other sensitive company data during association meetings. The prohibition also extends to the coordination of industry practices and the making of decisions and agreements to such effect. Any such behaviour is susceptible to severe penalties that will be imposed on the association and its member companies. Thus, adherence to these basic rules is essential.

Compliance in Statistics

The IFR Statistical Department ensures the confidentiality of individual company data. Access to raw data is strictly limited to IFR Statistical Department staff. The IFR Statistical Department will never provide company-level data to third parties neither outside nor inside the IFR. This means that the IFR Statistical Department publishes only aggregated data by country, by industry, or by application area. The IFR Statistical Department will not reveal data if a number consists of less than four observations. This is to prevent mathematical retrieval of company-level data. If there are less than four reports, the numbers will be added to “all others” or “unspecified”. This rule has been applied since 2014.

Please see also file below: WR Industrial Robots 2020 - Sources & Methods 

• IFR_Compliance_note.pdf (34KB)
• code_of_conduct_IFR_2019.pdf (201KB)
• WR Industrial Robots 2020 - Sources & Methods (3.0MB)

Association

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The ISR is a conference on industrial and service robotics sponsored by the International Federation of Robotics. The symposium unites experts from the scientific, technical and industrial field who discuss ideas in robotics. Researchers and engineers from around the globe present their pioneering works.

Each symposium is organized by a national industry robot association either in America, Europe, or Asia and takes place in conjunction with an international robot exhibition. The first ISR was held in Chicago, USA, in 1970.

Latest

ISR Americas - 22 to 25 May 2023

• co-located with Automate show in Detroit, USA
• IFR member A3 had the license to run the ISR

ISR Europe - 26/27 September 2023

• hosted in Stuttgart, Germany
• IFR member University of Stuttgart had the license to run the ISR
  

Coming up

ISR Americas - 6 to 9 May 2024

• co-located with Automate show in Chicago, USA
• IFR member A3 has the license to run the ISR

The IERA Award highlights and honors the achievements of inventors with value creating ideas and entrepreneurs who propel those ideas into world-class products. This is a key element to the continuing success of robotics and automation today. Active infusion of innovation and entrepreneurship into technological advancement is regarded critical at this juncture to strengthen a healthy balance between research and practice as well as a healthy growth of industrial and commercial sectors in robotics and automation.

The IEEE Robotics and Automation Society (IEEE/RAS) and the IFR jointly sponsor the award - underlining their determination to promote stronger collaboration between science and industry in robotics.

Finalists present their story of a successful innovative product in robotics and automation - from inception to final state of commercialization - in a series of plenary lectures at the IEEE/IFR Joint Forum on Innovation and Entrepreneurship in Robotics and Automation. The winners are then chosen by an evaluation board. The annual award consists of a plaque and a $2,000 honorarium.

IERA Awards 2022 and 2023

In 2022, during the ISR, the IERA Award went to Drishti whose technology supports workers on assembly lines to avoid errors and be more productive. Please see our press release for details.

In 2023, during the ICRA, the IERA Award went to Fourier Intelligence for The ArmMotus EMU, a 3D back-drivable upper limb rehabilitation robot that adopted an innovative cable-driven mechanism designed for clinical settings. Please see our press release for details.

Previous winners can be found on IEEE webpage.

Coming up in 2024

• IEEE/IFR Joint Forum on Innovation and Entrepreneurship in Robotics and Automation.
• Held in conjunction with the ICRA 2024 in Yokohama (May 13 to 17, 2024).
   

IFR International Federation of Robotics
c/o VDMA R+A
Lyoner Strasse 18
60528 Frankfurt/Main, Germany

Phone: +49 69 6603-1697 
Internet: www.ifr.org
https://go4robotics.com/

President:
Marina Bill, ABB Robotics

General Secretary:
Dr. Susanne Bieller, IFR

Support
If you have any question, we will be happy to discuss it with you.
Please contact: secretariat (at) ifr.org

Interface design
Matthias Zillig, www.matthias-zillig.de

The entire content of the “IFR Federation of Robotics” website is protected by copyright. You may download or print out individual pages and/or parts of the “IFR Federation of Robotics” website only to the extent that this is done within the scope of their intended use. Copyright notes must not be deleted or modified. Any duplication, transmission or alteration without the prior written consent of IFR is prohibited unless legally permissible on the basis of the few exceptions provided for by copyright law.

IFR makes its best efforts to ensure that the information presented is reliable and correct. However, IFR does not assume any liability for damage or loss directly or indirectly caused in connection with accessing or using the website or with respect to its performance or requests sent to the site, or any connection with websites owned and operated by third parties.

Clicking on links may lead you to websites outside this website. IFR has neither checked the links or their content nor does IFR assume any liability with respect to technological quality or their content, including products or services offered or in any other respect.

Copyright 2024, IFR International Federation of Robotics

The below listed files provide more details on World Robotics Industrial Robots and Service Robots. Please download the contents and sources and methods to get an idea of each product. The sales flyer describes besides the content the difference between our offered products. The Terms of usage for World Robotics can be downloaded from the onlineshop. In addition you may download information on global research programs summarized by IFR in World Robotics R&D Programs.

• World Robotics Sales Flyer 2023 - one pager (235KB)
• Executive Summary - WR Industrial Robots 2023 (10.6MB)
• Editorial - WR Industrial Robots 2023 (10.6MB)
• Foreword - WR Industrial Robots 2023 (10.6MB)
• Contents - WR Industrial Robots 2023 (11.1MB)
• WR Industrial Robots 2023 - Sources and Methods (2.5MB)
• Database - data availability WR 2023 (179KB)
• Market presentation World Robotics press conference (5.7MB)
• Executive Summary - WR Service Robots 2023 (10.1MB)
• Foreword_WR_Service_Robots_2023.pdf (10.3MB)
• Editorial - WR Service Robots 2023 (10.5MB)
• Contents - WR Service Robots 2023 (11.0MB)
• WR Service Robots 2023 - Sources and Methods (1.0MB)

The IFR fosters links between the robotics industry and research & development institutes. Our members engage in an intensive exchange on new technologies and emerging robots at the International Symposium on Robotics ISR.

The IFR sponsors the prestigious IERA Award (Innovation and Entrepreneurship Award) together with IEEE Robotics and Automation Society (IEEE/RAS). The award recognizes the achievements of inventors with value creating ideas and entrepreneurs.

Research Committee

• Represents R&D Institute members - one representative per institute
• Designates one Chairman and up to 5 voting representatives to attend the IFR General Assembly
• Operates under procedures developed by the Committee and approved by the Executive Board
• Develops and promotes the International Symposium on Robotics ISR
• Supports the collection and selection of high quality papers
• Meets once a year during the ISR
• Members are part of the IERA Award evaluation committee
• Responsible for IFR Research Lectures

The IFR invites young academics to share research and development on robotics in IFR Research Lectures. They focus on:

• International knowledge exchange and practical experience on a detailed level
• Promoting collaboration on an international high-level basis for future projects and proposals
  
• Promotion of excellent researchers and strengthening the international community in robotics

International Standards on robotics are prepared within the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). Standards comprise safety, performance criteria, modularity, and vocabulary.

The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) is the worldwide federation of national standards organizations. Standards concerning robots are prepared by ISO Technical Committee 299 with the title “Robotics”.

Safety standardization is a very important issue at ISO/TC 299. Safety standards have been developed for the industrial robotics sector (ISO 10218-1, ISO 10218-2, ISO/TS 15066) as well as for the non-industrial (service) robotics sector (ISO 13482). Other topics for robot standardization activities at ISO/TC 299 include: performance criteria, modularity, and vocabulary.

More information about ISO/TC 299 “Robotics” including a list of published standards as well as a list of standards under development can be found at the ISO webpage.

Robot definitions at ISO

IFR members use the definitions contained in the international standard ISO 8373 “Vocabulary” when compiling statistics of industrial robots in particular countries for example. A robot is defined as "a programmed actuated mechanism with a degree of autonomy to perform locomotion, manipulation or positioning". 

Accordingly, an industrial robot is defined to be an “automatically controlled, reprogrammable, multipurpose manipulator, programmable in three or more axes, which can be either fixed in place or fixed to a mobile platform for use in automation applications in an industrial environment.”

A mobile robot is a "robot able to travel under its own control". A mobile robot can be a mobile platform with or without manipulators. In addition to autonomous operation, a mobile robot can have means to be remotely controlled. A mobile platform following a predetermined path indicated by markers or external guidance commands, typically used for logistic tasks in industrial automation is also referred to as Automated Guided Vehicle (AGV) or Driverless Industrial Truck. Standards for such vehicles are developed by ISO/TC 110.

Please also refer to the more detailed definitions of industrial robots and service robots.

Definition

The IFR’s use of the term “industrial robot” is based on the definition of the International Organization for Standardization: an “automatically controlled, reprogrammable multipurpose manipulator, programmable in three or more axes, which can be either fixed in place or fixed to a mobile platform for use in automation applications in an industrial environment". (ISO 8373:2021)

The terms used in the definition mean:

• Reprogrammable: designed so that the programmed motions or auxiliary functions can be changed without physical alteration (alteration of the mechanical system);
  
• Multipurpose: capable of being adapted to a different application with physical alteration;
  
• Manipulator: mechanism consisting of an arrangement of segments, jointed or sliding relative to one another;
• Axis: direction used to specify the robot motion in a linear or rotary mode.

Industrial robots can be classified according to mechanical structure:

• Cartesian robot (rectangular robot, gantry robot): manipulator which has three prismatic joints, whose axes form a Cartesian coordinate system
  
• SCARA robot: manipulator which has two parallel rotary joints to provide compliance in a selected plane 
  
• Articulated robot: manipulator which has three or more rotary joints
  
• Parallel/Delta robot: manipulator whose arms have links which form a closed loop structure
  
• Cylindrical robot: manipulator which has at least one rotary joint and at least one prismatic joint, whose axes form a cylindrical coordinate system
• Polar robot (spherical robot): manipulator which has two rotary joints and one prismatic joint, whose axes form a polar coordinate system

Find out more about the different robot types in the file below.

Statistics

The IFR Statistical Department compiles statistical data on annual installations of multipurpose industrial robots for around 40 countries, broken down into areas of application, customer industries, types of robots and other technical and economic aspects. The results are available in the study World Robotics - Industrial Robots.

Case Studies and Use Cases

Significantly improved robot system performances and an increased ease of use open up new automation solutions, many of which are outside the “classic” applications of industrial robots. Furthermore, robot manufacturers and system integrators are increasingly supplying flexible work cells with standard configurations, which can be rapidly integrated into existing production systems for standard applications.

This implies that even small-volume productions can effectively be automated in areas such as parts welding and cutting, flexible assembly and packaging and palletizing. Robot investments are becoming more and more profitable and hence become increasingly widespread within industry.

Case studies on industrial robots can be found here.

Standardization

The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) is the worldwide federation of national standards organizations. Standards concerning robots are prepared by ISO Technical Committee 299 with the title “Robotics”.

Safety standardization is a very important issue at ISO/TC 299. Safety standards have been developed for the industrial robotics sector (ISO 10218-1, ISO 10218-2, ISO/TS 15066) as well as for the non-industrial (service) robotics sector (ISO 13482). Other topics for robot standardization activities at ISO/TC 299 include: performance criteria, modularity, and vocabulary.

More information about ISO/TC 299 “Robotics” including a list of published standards as well as a list of standards under development can be found at the ISO webpage.

Main benefits of robot investments

The reasons why companies consider investing in a robot system differ widely. Some factors include the positive effect on parts quality, increase of manufacturing productivity (faster cycle time) and/or yield (less scrap), improved worker safety, reduction of work-in-progress, greater flexibility in the manufacturing process and reduction of costs.

Main reasons for investing in industrial robots:

• Increased flexibility to quickly adapt production and respond to changes in demand and smaller batch sizes
• Improved resilience to deal with production peaks and withstand systemic shocks such as COVID-19
• Energy and resource efficiency through optimized performance (reducing energy consumption, material waste and increasing yield)
• Improved productivity and support for manufacturing employees (Improving quality of work for employees, complying with health and safety rules)
• Reducing operating or capital costs
• Improving product quality
• Increasing production output rates
• Save space in high value manufacturing areas

Overall, robots increase productivity and competitiveness. Used effectively, they enable companies to become or remain competitive. This is particularly important for small-to-medium sized (SME) businesses that are the backbone of both developed and developing country economies. It also enables large companies to increase their competitiveness through faster product development and delivery. Increased use of robots is also enabling companies in high cost countries to ‘re-shore’ or bring back to their domestic base parts of the supply chain that they have previously outsourced to sources of cheaper labor.

Collaborative Robots

Collaborative industrial robots are designed to perform tasks in collaboration with workers in industrial sectors. The International Federation of Robotics defines two types of robot designed for collaborative use. One group covers robots designed for collaborative use that comply with the International Organization for Standards norm 10218-1 which specifies requirements and guidelines for the inherent safe design, protective measures and information for use of industrial robots. The other group covers robots designed for collaborative use that do not satisfy the requirements of ISO 10218-1. This does not imply that these robots are unsafe. They may follow different safety standards, for example national or in-house standards.

There is considerable variance in the types of collaborative robots meeting the above specifications, and the level of contact between robot and worker in collaborative applications. At one end of the technical spectrum are traditional industrial robots operating in a separate workspace that workers can enter periodically without having to shut off power to the robot and secure the production cell beforehand – a time-intensive procedure that can cost thousands of dollars per minute of machine downtime. The robot’s workspace can be fitted with sensors that detect human motion and ensure the robot works at very slow speeds or stops when a worker is within the designated workspace. At the other end of the spectrum are industrial robots designed specifically to work alongside humans in a shared workspace. Often referred to as ‘cobots’, these robots are designed with a variety of technical features that ensure they do not cause harm when a worker comes into direct contact, either deliberately or by accident. These features include lightweight materials, rounded contours, padding, ‘skins’ (padding with embedded sensors) and sensors at the robot base or joints that measure and control force and speed and ensure these do not exceed defined thresholds if contact occurs.

The market for collaborative robots is growing continuously. End-users and systems integrators are gaining experience on what works and doesn’t in the design and implementation of collaborative applications. More and more out-of-the-box solutions are available for standard tasks. Technology developments in sensors and grippers hold promise for expanding the range of actions that the robot end-effector can perform. Programming interfaces will continue to become more intuitive, not just for cobots, but also for traditional industrial robots.

IFR is compiling an annual statistics on collaborative robots, which includes industrial robots that are designed and intended for collaborative use, in compliance with ISO 10218-1.  In 2022, the number of newly deployed collaborative robots grew by 31% to almost 55 thousand units. This was 9.9% of the total industrial robots installed.

For more information, please refer to the IFR Positioning Paper on Demystifying Collaborative Robots and case studies.

Robots and AI

Artificial intelligence in robots gives companies new opportunities to increase productivity, make work safer, and save people valuable time. Substantial research is being devoted to using AI to expand robot functionality. Commercially available applications include the use of AI to:

• Enable robots to sense and respond to their environment: This vastly increases the range of functions robots can perform.
• Optimise robot and process performance, saving companies money.
• Enable robots to function as mobile, interactive information systems in numerous settings from public spaces to hospitals to retail outlets, saving individuals time.

For more information, please refer to the IFR Media Backgrounder on Artificial Intelligence in Robotics.

Smart, connected robots transforming manufacturing

The IFR has identified five common scenarios in which robots are connected within broader automation strategies:

1. Automated production:
   Linking the first stages of production such as order entry and product design to downstream processes such as parts ordering and machine scheduling enables manufacturers to immediately understand the resource implications of producing a new product or order and to better optimize the organization of production.
2. Optimizing performance:
   Connecting robots and other machines to a central computing server enables manufacturers to extract and aggregate data that can be used to optimize machine performance in real-time or retrospectively, avoiding unplanned machine downtime which can cost manufacturers over $1 million per hour.
   
3. Digital twins:
   Virtual representations of robots and other production machines enable manufacturers to simulate operations and the impact of changes to parameters and programs before they are implemented, enabling improved production planning, and avoiding costly downtime.
4. Robots as a Service:
   Adopting robots on a pay-per-use basis can be particularly beneficial for small-to-medium-sized manufacturers, sparing them up front capital investment and unpredictable maintenance costs, and giving them predictability of operating expenditure.
5. Sense and Respond:
   Sensors and vision systems enable robots to respond to their external environment in real-time, expanding the range of tasks the robot can perform - such as picking and placing unsorted parts - and expanding robot mobility. Mobile robots are key to enabling flexible manufacturing, in which production is split into discrete processes and production cells running in parallel.

For more information, please refer to the IFR Information Paper on How Connected Robots are Transforming Manufacturing.

The International Federation of Robotics connects the world of robotics around the globe.  

The IFR was established as a non-profit organization in 1987. 

Our institutional members come from the robotics industry, national or international industry associations and research & development institutes. Our federation directly represents over 90 members from more than 20 countries.

Our aim and purpose

• to promote the positive benefits of robots for productivity, competitiveness, economic growth and quality of work and life,
• to promote research, development, use and international co-operation in the entire field of robotics, 
• to act as a focal point for organizations and governmental representatives in activities related to robotics,
• to promote and strengthen the robotics industry worldwide,
• to cause public awareness about robotics technologies and
• to deal with other matters of relevance to our members.

Vision and Mission

The vision of the IFR is for robotics to address societal challenges and create a better life for all.

The mission of the IFR is

• to create awareness of the positive impact of robots on our lives and society,
• to increase accessibility of robots and interaction with robotics,
• to enable the robotics industry to collaboratively leverage trends and advancements.

What we do

• We provide worldwide market data for surveys, studies and statistics
• Help manufacturers and integrators of robotics to enter new markets
• Shape the position of the industry on key topics like collaborative robots, artificial intelligence and the workplace of the future
• Inform the public and policy makers on key topics through press releases and regular IFR Executive Roundtable discussions (usually held in conunction to major international trade fairs).
• Stimulate research in robotics and promote links between science and industry (IERA Award)
• Foster the creation of alliances or partnerships among our members.
• The IFR sponsors the International Symposium on Robotics ISR - a conference on industrial and service robotics held since 1970
• Our federation actively co-operates with national and international robotics organizations

What we offer

• Communication - Platform for sharing information on latest technology trends and exchanging ideas
• Education - Central point to stay informed about technical and economic trends and developments.
• Networking - professional industry contacts with suppliers, partners and end users.
• Advocacy - supporting worldwide, national and local policies fostering the adoption of robotics

Definition

The International Organization for Standardization defines a “service robot” as a "robot in personal use or professional use that performs useful tasks for humans or equipment". (ISO 8373)

According to ISO 8373 robots require “a degree of autonomy”, which is the “ability to perform intended tasks based on current state and sensing, without human intervention”. For service robots this ranges from partial autonomy - including human robot interaction - to full autonomy - without active human robot intervention. 

Service robots are categorized according to personal or professional use. They have many forms and structures as well as application areas.

The "new" ISO robotics vocabulary standard ISO 8373:2021 defines medical robots as a third category next to industrial and service robots. A medical robot is a robot intended to be used as medical electrical equipment or medical electrical systems. 

The IFR statistics for service robots therefore include systems based on some degree of human robot interaction or even full tele-operation as well as fully autonomous systems, depneding on the application.
If a mechanism developed with robotic technology is not fulfilling all characteristics of a robot (e.g. a teleoperated remote manipulator, haptic device, end-effector, unpowered exoskeleton), it is called a  robotic device.

Statistics

The IFR Statistical Department carries out annual statistical survey on service robotics sales. The data is evaluated and published in the World Robotics Service Robotics report. The Executive summary is available as a free download. The full report with statistical data on service robots is available for purchase in the World Robotics section. The report also includes an extensive list of service robot manufacturers.

For practical reasons, IFR includes data on medical robots in World Robotics Service Robotics, deviating from ISO 8373.

IFR Statistical Department is continuously seeking for new service robot producers, so please contact us if you represent such a company and would like to participate in the annual survey conducted in the first quarter of each year. Participants receive the survey results free of charge.

Standardization

The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) is the worldwide federation of national standards organizations. Standards concerning robots are prepared by ISO Technical Committee 299 with the title “Robotics”.

Safety standardization is a very important issue at ISO/TC 299. Safety standards have been developed for the industrial robotics sector (ISO 10218-1, ISO 10218-2, ISO/TS 15066) as well as for the non-industrial (service) robotics sector (ISO 13482). Other topics for robot standardization activities at ISO/TC 299 include: performance criteria, modularity, and vocabulary.

More information about ISO/TC 299 “Robotics” including a list of published standards as well as a list of standards under development can be found at the ISO webpage.

Case Studies and Use Cases

Service robotics encompasses a broad field of applications, most of which having unique designs and different degrees of automation – from full tele-operation to fully autonomous operation.

Robots are improving our daily lives in an increasing variety of ways - helping paraplegics to walk again, improving the quality of the healthcare we receive, reducing the time we spend on household chores, making our retail experience more productive, keeping our homes safe, enabling us to eat fresher foods, with lower impact on the planet’s natural resources, and enabling the recycling of a wide variety of materials that are harmful to the environment if left to decompose. Whether in front of us, or behind the scenes, robots are making a substantial impact on the quality of our lives and the sustainability of the planet.

Case studies on service robots can be found here.

IFR Service Robotics Working Group

In recognition of the growing commercial activity in service robotics, the IFR Service Robots Group was founded on October 9, 2002, in order to support them in market assessment and in raising their profile in finance, media, and government bodies.

The IFR Service Robots Group is open to all companies producing service robots, components or related services. The group regularly meets in the context of the annual international robotics conferences or trade fairs. For further information, please contact the IFR Secretariat.

Concern about the future of employment and jobs is causing widespread debate and political shifts. Attention has turned to the role of automation, with automation – and robots – more often than not presented as ‘job killers’. But this is not borne out by the facts. Research indicates that robots complement and augment, rather than substitute for, labour and in doing so, raise the quality of work and the wages of those fulfilling new tasks.

Demographics, structural changes, a focus on technology innovation in areas that do not drive productivity – such as entertainment – and the fact that we are only part-way through this innovation cycle are all contributing factors to low productivity growth. Studies focused specifically on robots show a contribution to productivity growth equal to that seen in previous industrial revolutions, with robot-driven productivity accounting for 10% of total GDP growth over 14 years and forecasts of continued automation-driven productivity growth of up to 1.4% annually over the next 50 years.

A concern about the decline of middle-skilled, middle-income jobs and increasing wage inequality is warranted but cannot be attributed solely to automation. Whilst automation appears to be increasing the demand for high-skilled, high-income employees, its impact on low-skilled, low-income employment is less clear. Wage stagnation appears to be far more attributable to structural issues such as employment conditions that force down wages and dampen investment by employers in skills training. A reduction in robot usage would neither help low-skilled workers, nor resolve these structural issues.

Robots and automation will increasingly shape the way we work in the future, with enormous potential for improvements in productivity, increased national competitiveness and the improved quality, and remuneration, of work . Governments and firms must work to create an environment that will enable workers, companies and nations to reap the rewards of these improvements. This means supporting investments in research and development in robotics and, most importantly, providing education and skills re-training for existing and future workers.

Robots increase productivity and competitiveness

Used effectively, they enable companies to become or remain competitive. This is particularly important for small-to-medium sized (SME) businesses that are the backbone of both developed and developing country economies. It also enables large companies to increase their competitiveness through faster product development and delivery. Increased use of robots is also enabling companies in high cost countries to ‘re-shore’ or bring back to their domestic base parts of the supply chain that they have previously outsourced to sources of cheaper labour. Currently, the greatest threat to employment is not automation but an inability to remain competitive.

Increased productivity can lead to increased demand

Increased productivity can lead to increased demand, creating new job opportunities. These ‘spillovers’ can be seen within an individual organization, along an industry sector’s value chain, and in other sectors, particularly services.

Positive impact on labor demand and wages

Automation has led overall to an increase in labor demand and positive impact on wages. Whilst middle-income / middle-skilled jobs have reduced as a proportion of overall contribution to employment and earnings – leading to fears of increasing income inequality – the skills range within the middle-income bracket is large. Robots are driving an increase in demand for workers at the higher-skilled end of the spectrum, with a positive impact on wages. The issue is how to enable middle-income earners in the lower-income range to upskill or retrain.

Humans and robots working together

Robots complement and augment labour: The future will be robots and humans working together. Robots substitute labour activities but do not replace jobs. Less than 10% of jobs are fully automatable. Increasingly, robots are used to complement and augment labour activities; the net impact on jobs and the quality of work is positive. Automation provides the opportunity for humans to focus on higher-skilled, higher-quality and higher-paid tasks.

A robot tax would hamper competitiveness and further economic growth

The IFR believes recent calls for the introduction of a robot tax are unwarranted given the proven positive impact of robotics on employment and wages. It would deter badly-needed investment in robots,hamper the further economic growth. Governments may need to assess the means of generating revenues to cover social payments due to a large number of structural factors – but there is no valid foundation for taxing a capital investment that improves productivity, increases competitiveness, creates more jobs than it replaces, and leads to workers moving up the skills/ income ladder.

Skills are the most important asset

Governments and companies must focus on providing the right skills to current and future workers to ensure a continuation of the positive impact of robots on employment, job quality and wages. This is the argument brought by all the experts cited in this paper, with which the IFR concurs. Governments must invest in robotics research and development to reap the employment benefits of this rapidly growing sector. They must also provide the policy incentives and education systems to support the acquisition of skills necessary to secure and thrive in jobs that are created or changed by the deployment of robots and automation. Companies must engage actively in appropriate retraining programmes for employees to equip them with appropriate skills. These goals will require intensified and coordinated public-private sector collaboration.

Example: automotive industry

The positive impact that the increased productivity of robots has on employment can already be seen in the most advanced industrial nations. The US automotive industry, for instance, installed more than 60,000 industrial robots between 2010 and 2015. During this same period, the number of employees in the US automotive sector increased by 230,000. In the German automotive sector the number of robots in operation increased to more than 93,000 units in 2015, a rise of about 14,000 compared to 2010. In the same period, employment rose by about 93,000 jobs to 813,000 (2010-2015). According to the McKinsey Global Institute, more than 90 percent of jobs will not be fully automatable in the future. Instead, robots and humans will work together.

Related IFR Positioning Papers

• The Impact of Robots on Employment and Jobs
• Robots and the Workplace of the Future
• Next Generation Skills

• /downloads/papers/IFR_The_Impact_of_Robots_on_Employment_Positioning_Paper_updated_version_2018.pdf