ABB

With annual revenue in the U.S. robotics market expected to grow at 5.62% (CAGR), resulting in a market volume of over $9 billion by 2027, John Bubnikovich, ABB US Robotics Division President, is making several predictions on key trends in robotics automation in the US for 2023 and beyond.

In a survey of 1,610 companies carried out by ABB Robotics in 2022, 70% of US businesses said they are planning to re- or near-shore their operations, with 62% indicating they would be investing in robotic automation in the next three years.

ASEA employs 71,000 people and reported revenues of $6.8 billion and income after financial items of $370 million.

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Demand for robots will be particularly strong in countries where companies are planning to re- or near-shore their operations to help improve their supply chain stability in the face of global uncertainty. In a survey of 1,610 companies carried out by ABB Robotics in 2022, 70% of US businesses said they are planning to re- or near-shore their operations, with 62% indicating they would be investing in robotic automation in the next three years.

Using AI-enabled 3D vision to perform location and mapping functions, Visual SLAM enables AMRs to make intelligent navigation decisions based on their surroundings. Solutions like these enable manufacturers to move away from traditional production lines towards integrated scalable, modular production cells while optimizing the delivery of components across facilities.

"Over the past few years, the capabilities of Artificial Intelligence in the robotics realm have improved significantly," said Bubnikovich.

The market for mobile robots is expected to grow at 20 percent CAGR through 2026, from $5.5bn to $9.5bn and ABB's AI-powered 3D vision technology is at the forefront of this growth.

Hanson Robotics

Hanson Robotics' most advanced human-like robot, Sophia, personifies our dreams for the future of AI. As a unique combination of science, engineering, and artistry, Sophia is simultaneously a human-crafted science fiction character depicting the future of AI and robotics, and a platform for advanced robotics and AI research.

For example, she has been used for research as part of the Loving AI project, which seeks to understand how robots can adapt to users' needs through intra and interpersonal development.

DARPA-funded, advanced locomotion with real-time perception; used for research in robotics and AI, capable of navigating diverse terrains and performing complex movements.

Humanoid robots are professional service robots designed to mimic human motion and interaction, enhancing productivity and reducing costs. Once a futuristic dream, these robots are now becoming commercially viable across various applications. The global humanoid robot market is projected to reach USD 14.07 billion by 2030, growing at a CAGR of 35.82%. The market growth is driven by advancements in robot capabilities and their increasing applicability.

Humanoid robots are used for inspection, maintenance, and disaster response in power plants, performing laborious and dangerous tasks. In space travel, they handle routine duties for astronauts. They also offer companionship for the elderly and sick, act as receptionists, and potentially host human transplant organs. As technology progresses, the range of tasks these robots automate from dangerous rescues to compassionate care continues to grow, driving market growth.

Boston Dynamics

Boston Dynamics is the global leader in developing and deploying highly mobile robots capable of tackling industry's toughest challenges.

The Spot autonomous four-legged robot from Boston Dynamics now offers on-board artificial intelligence software to process data and draw insights out of the environment while keeping human operators out of hazardous environments.

Spot can maneuver unknown, unstructured, or antagonistic environments and can collect various types of data, such as visible images, 3D laser scans, or thermal images," says Michael Perry, Vice President of Business Development at Boston Dynamics.

• 1992: Marc Raibert spins off from the MIT Leg Lab to start Boston Dynamics, joined soon after by Robert Playter.
• 2013: The first generation Atlas makes its debut, demonstrating full body balance and agility.
• 2020: Spot becomes commercially available, first to early adopters and then to other industrial customers.
• 2021: Stretch is unveiled as our first-purpose built robot, tackling a specific set of warehousing challenges.

"This journey will start with Hyundai—in addition to investing in us, the Hyundai team is building the next generation of automotive manufacturing capabilities, and it will serve as a perfect testing ground for new Atlas applications," the blogpost continues.

Starship

Starship Technologies is using autonomous delivery robots to revolutionise local delivery. Delivering items such as groceries, food takeaways and packages, Starship now operates in over 60 locations across the world. Launched in 2014 by Skype co-founders, Ahti Heinla and Janus Friis, we now have delivery robots completing tens of thousands of autonomous deliveries every day.

By substituting vehicle journeys, PDDs have to-date cumulatively saved more than 400 tons of CO2 emissions from entering the atmosphere, which is equivalent to almost 1.7 million miles by car in the UK. Looking ahead, and at a larger scale, these estimates are corroborated by similar findings positing a CO2 reduction of 407 million short tons in the US between 2025 and 2035 with the adoption of autonomous delivery robots in general, equivalent to 88 million passenger vehicles off the road for one year.22 NOx savings would come in at 236,000 tons.

We estimate that if PDDs achieve 2.6% online grocery delivery penetration, it would result in £340 million of private sector investment between 2023 and 2030, equating to average annual investment of nearly £50 million in PDD related infrastructure and support. If PDD share doubles to 5.0%, total required investment would stand at £655 million.

Starship Technologies, the company making science fiction a reality by putting delivery robots on streets in the US and Europe, is announcing it has raised $90 million, co-led by Plural and Iconical.

Softbank Robotics

Fumihide Tomizawa began his career at Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation in 1997 before joining SoftBank Group in 2000. He led the robotics project at SoftBank in 2011, which was founded to be the core bearer of SoftBank Group's vision, and was appointed as the President and CEO of SoftBank Robotics Group Corp. in 2014.

A leader in robot solutions, SoftBank Robotics has been contributing to the technology's development since we launched Pepper, our first robot capable of recognizing human emotions, in 2014. There followed an AI autonomous cleaning robot in 2018, a multi-tray delivery robot in 2021, and automated logistics solutions consulting in 2022. We have 21 offices in 10 countries around the world and our robots are used in more than 70 countries worldwide. Our vast, expanding trove of worldwide robot real-world data.

The marvelous technology of our partners worldwide. As a robot integrator, these are the unmatched resources we are leveraging to meet every conceivable need of the developers who want robots to succeed and of the users who are eager to adopt them.

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Starting with the AI cleaning robot "Whiz" series released in 2019, SBRG launched the food service delivery robot of "Servi" in 2021. Starting in 2022,SBRG also provides the professional indoor facility mobility robots for floor cleaning of "Scrubber 50" from Gaussian Robotics and delivery with the addition of "Keenbot" from Keenon Robotics.

Currently, SBRG deploys its products in more than 70 countries and has offices in 12 locations, and the "Whiz" series has shipped worldwide to approximately 20,000 units as of April 2022.

"Whiz" is an AI cleaning robot, dedicated for floor vacuum cleaning that can run autonomously, mainly for the purpose of cleaning floors such as carpets. Whiz empowers the workforce of the cleaning industry and works together with people as a partner to raise to the maximum efficiency, optimizing the cleaning jobs.

"Servi" is a self-driving food service delivery robot developed for the purpose of working with employees at restaurants, hotels, retail stores, etc. Serving and transporting can be done with simple operations, and employees can devote more time to customer service.

A robot equipped with a maximum of 4 trays and compatible with large-capacity serving and lowering. The low center of gravity and robust housing design realizes stable transportation, and the touch panel makes it easy to operate.