Global sales of service robots increased by 30%

Global sales of professional service robots are up 30%. The statistics department of the International Federation of Robotics (IFR) registered more than 205,000 robots in 2023. Nearly 80 percent of the robots came from the Asia-Pacific region, with 162,284 units sold. Europe followed with 33,918 units, and the Americas came in third with 8,927 units. This is according to the IFR's World Robotics Service Robotics Report 2024.

IFR President Marina Bill said: "The service robot industry is growing: more and more robots are serving on factory floors, in shopping malls, or helping deliver goods on the street."

Professional service robot sales ranking the top applications

More than half of the professional service robots sold in 2023 will be manufactured for transportation and logistics applications. Sales increased by 35%, with nearly 113,000 units sold in 2023. As the industry faces a severe labor shortage, the demand for technical support is strong. For example, one of the most time-consuming tasks for truck drivers is loading and unloading, and robotic applications offer dedicated solutions for automation. Making applications easy for non-technical people to use and understand is key to adopting robots.

A shortage of skilled workers is also driving demand for automation in outdoor environments without public transportation. Such robots range from automated conventional vehicles, such as forklifts or tractors, to custom solutions, often equipped with weatherproof housings to accommodate the cargo being transported.

Robots in the hospitality industry are increasingly popular: more than 54,000 units (+31%) were sold in 2023. Robots for mobile guidance, information, and telepresence make up the majority of these robots. With the rapid development of the industry, some key applications have emerged, such as food and beverage preparation, as well as guidance and information points in public environments.

Sales of agricultural robots are growing strongly (+21%), with sales approaching 20,000 units in 2023. In an era of severe demographic changes, labor shortages and the need for more sustainable precision agriculture make service robots a key player in this market.

The professional cleaning robot market grew by 4%, with sales approaching 12,000 units. The main application is floor cleaning. That's about 70 percent of the app group's sales.

According to ISO standards, the World Robotics Yearbook 2024 considers medical robots as Category 3, alongside service robots and industrial robots: Sales of medical robots increased by 36% to about 6,100 units in 2023. Sales of rehabilitation and non-invasive treatment robots increased by 128 percent. Demand for surgical robots increased 14 percent, and sales of diagnostic robots increased 25 percent.

Top three countries for service and medical robot suppliers

The United States is home to the largest number of service and medical robot manufacturers in the world, with 199 companies headquartered in the United States. 66% of these manufacturers produce professional service robots, 27% produce consumer service robots, and 12% produce medical robots.

China is second, with 107 service and medical robot manufacturers. The percentage of companies offering professional service robots is even higher than in the United States, at 80 percent. A total of 34 percent of companies offer consumer robots, while only 5 percent offer medical robots.

Germany ranks third, with 83 companies. Like China, Germany has a very high proportion of professional service robot manufacturers, accounting for 79%. Of these, consumer robots accounted for 17% and medical robots accounted for 12%.

From a regional perspective, service and medical robot manufacturers are mainly concentrated in Europe, accounting for 44% of the global market share; Asia accounted for 29 per cent and the Americas 25 per cent.