Major Personal Robotics Components Will Represent a $12 Billion Market by 2015

NEW YORK - February 4, 2008

Over the next several years, growth in the personal robotics market will create significant revenue opportunities for key enabling components including processors, microcontrollers, sensors, and servos. ABI Research forecasts that by the year 2015, these major product categories will reach a collective $12 billion in worldwide revenue."

“About 48% of component revenue can be attributed to task robotics, while 51% will come from the entertainment robotics segment,” says ABI Research principal analyst Philip Solis. “The remaining 1% to 2% is derived from security and educational segments.”

Moreover, the number of major components used in personal robotics will increase significantly over the next few years, which will result in dramatically lower prices. PC-powered processors will enter the market in small quantities during 2009, but will grow to over 21 million shipments in 2015. Currently, microcontroller use in personal robotics is in the millions; sensor shipments for personal robots will increase to over 2 billion by 2015; and actuators, servos, and manipulators will grow almost 100-fold by 2015 as well.

Major market drivers include consumers’ need to reduce time and effort spent performing routine chores, along with the desires for increased entertainment and even companionship.

“There is money to be made in components for the personal robotics space, specifically within the task and entertainment segments, as they dominate much of the generated revenue,” continues Solis. “Consumers will become eager to spend extra money on multi-task robots that can perform effectively. Increased shipments of these critical components will lead to lower component prices, which in turn will lead to lower product prices. And inevitably, this will move toward higher-value products with more functionality for a given price.”

ABI Research’s recent report, Personal Robotics, covers the market for consumer robots and major components used by personal robots. It examines key industry drivers in the robotics space and in software development platforms that will become critical to the development of this market.

It is part of the firm’s Emerging Technologies Research Service.

ABI Research is a leading market research firm focused on the impact of emerging technologies on global consumer and business markets. Utilizing a unique blend of market intelligence, primary research, and expert assessment from its worldwide team of industry analysts, ABI Research assists hundreds of clients each year with their strategic growth initiatives. For information, visit www.abiresearch.com, or call +1.516.624.2500.