The global household robots market is on the rise. According to the International Federation of Robotics, unit sales of household robots are expected to increase by 46% on average per year, with more than 55 million units will be sold in 2022. Also, sales values for the household robot were up by 15% to USD 3.7 billion. The household robots market is expected to register a CAGR of 20.50% over the period 2020 – 2025 according to Researchandmarets.com.
Vacuum cleaning and mopping segment to dominate the market
Among all the household robots, automated vacuum cleaners and moppers are the most commercialized and developed products by the companies. The companies are continuously investing in developing more compact and integrated vacuum cleaner and mopping robots to reach narrow places at home. The companies are integrating advanced technologies, like voice recognition and laser-based technologies, to map the floor structure. For instance, Irobot launched a Roomba i7+, which is capable of acquiring voice commands and intelligent mapping techniques.
Additionally, with the increasing developments in the machine vision cameras, companies are also using these 2D and 3D machine vision cameras with AI technologies to effectively map edges of the floor, like a staircase, and recognize obstacles, such as cables, dustbins, doorsills, and rugs.
Moreover, to increase the life of cleaning tools, like brushes and filter, now, the companies are installing blades inside the chamber to cut the trash into pieces; especially human and pet hairs which cause frequent entanglements in the equipment and reduce cleaning effectiveness.
The Asia-Pacific Region is Expected to Witness the Fastest Growth
The Asia-Pacific region is expected to witness the fastest growth, due to high investments in household robot development and growth in the demand for autonomous smart home devices, like robotics cleaners. The region includes countries, like China, offering low priced toy robots, among other sophisticated household robots. According to Asia Fund Manager 2019 studies, Ecovacs Robotics is China’s biggest player in household robotics. It has sold 4.14 million products, pushing sales revenue up by 34.7% year-on-year.
Companies in the region are also looking forward to developing all-purpose household robots for helping with chores and even offering companionship. Toyota is expected to launch the inverted age-pyramid in Japan by 2050. Also, the company is investing in developing household products. Additionally, a startup from Japan, Preferred Networks, declared to launch the all-purpose household robots to help people in the next five years.
Moreover, the investors in the region are continuously injecting funds in the startups offering household robots. For instance, in January 2020, Trifo raised USD 15 million from investors that include Yidu Cloud, Tsinghua AI Fund, and Matrix Partners for its robotic vacuum “Lucy”.
In July 2019, iFlyTek raised an investment of USD 407 million from China Asset Management to integrate AI and service robots. Such growth in the market is expected to drive the growth of the household robots market in the region.
