The recent upsurge in demand for collaborative robots (cobots) that has started gaining momentum since the fourth quarter of 2020 will continue stretching throughout 2021, according to industry sources.
Manufacturers worldwide have turned to become more positive about adopting automated equipment on concerns about labor shortages in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, said the sources, adding that more makers are expanding automation production lines, with the deployment of cobots being a major focus.
Representatives from Universal Robots Taiwan and Techman Robot, a robot arm of Quanta Computer, have expressed that their cobot shipments will increase significantly in 2021 along with improving market trends.
Japan-based robotic product maker Fanuc has also said that it has seen an uptick in demand for cobots. In response, the company has revealed that it plans to triple related production in 2021.
Sources at Universal Robots Taiwan indicated that collaborative robots are currently the fastest-growing segment in the industrial automation market, expecting to grow by a CAGR of 30.37% in 2020-2025, citing company data.
Meanwhile, data from Markets and Markets shows that the global cobot market is likely to grow to JPY853 billion (US$822.04 million) by 2026, an 8-fold increase from the levels seen in 2020.
Collaborative robot shipments gaining momentum
Photo: Michael Lee, Digitimes, January 2021
