The global personal robots market will grow from US $1.16 billion in 2009 to $5.26 billion in 2015, according to a new study by NextGen, an arm of ABI Research.
Growth is good, but then there's some bad news: sales of such robots should decline through 2010 because of the global economic downturn.
Moving on to less gloomy news, the study says that the next phase in the evolution of the personal robots market -- currently dominated by entertainment toy robots and robotics kits and single-task robots like vaccuming and floor-washing bots -- will involve robots partially controlled by users at remote locations.
Yes, that's telepresence robots, which I sort of put down in a previous post. Guess you shouldn't turn to me for forecasts!
From their release:
In the next phase of the market's evolution, robots will be partially controlled by a user at a remote location. Telepresence robots will allow people to interact with family members at another location or to check on pets or second homes. Health personnel will monitor the elderly or infirm remotely, making sure they take their medication on time or guiding them through blood pressure or blood sugar measurements.
Erico Guizzo is the Director of Digital Innovation at IEEE Spectrum, and cofounder of the IEEE Robots Guide, an award-winning interactive site about robotics. He oversees the operation, integration, and new feature development for all digital properties and platforms, including the Spectrum website, newsletters, CMS, editorial workflow systems, and analytics and AI tools. An IEEE Member, he is an electrical engineer by training and has a master’s degree in science writing from MIT.
