Collaborative robots pioneer automation revolution

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March 2025 Motion Control & Drives

Collaborative robots (cobots) are a versatile, cost-effective robot form factor that is demonstrating value across many industry verticals. According to a new report from global technology intelligence firm ABI Research, revenue from cobots will increase from $970 million in 2023 to $7,2 billion by 2030, a CAGR of 28%. Safety, lower average selling prices and accessibility will drive collaborative robot sales.

“Cobots are at the forefront of the robotics revolution. They have the potential to democratise automation and bring robots into new markets, working side-by-side with human workers to unlock economic growth,” says George Chowdhury, robotics industry analyst at ABI Research. “Cobots have a synergy with artificial intelligence. Enterprises have leveraged the two technologies combined to automate tasks which have until now been exclusively reserved for human workers. Moreover, the more affordable cost and safety of cobots create an opportunity for SMEs to adopt robotics, unlocking major productivity advantages for broad sectors of the economy.”

Cobots will play a large part in global reshoring initiatives. Geographically, cobot shipments will grow to 64 000 per year in North America by 2030, a CAGR of 29%. China will become the main adopter in the APAC region, growing to 130 000 annual shipments at the end of the decade, with suppliers enjoying a CAGR of 41%. Within industrial manufacturing, the automotive segment will drive the cobot uptake, with shipments growing from 13 000 in 2023 to 115 000 by 2030. Growth in use cases, including palletisation and inspection, will have a knock-on effect on attachment sales, including cameras. 3D cameras and stereo cameras with the ability to judge object depth, will be attached to 59% of cobot deployments by 2030.

While traditional robotics OEMs such as Fanuc, Kuka, ABB, Omron and Kawasaki have developed cobot product lines, Universal Robots continues to control the highest market share via its innovative partners. Nvidia will also play a critical part in the further adoption of cobots. Nvidia’s GPUs, coupled with software products such as Isaac Manipulator, will deliver AI-augmented solutions to the robotics market, enabling new cobot use cases.

“Collaborative robots are the flagship form factor for democratisation and automation expansion into new markets, notably via SMEs. Cobots can revolutionise industries from medicine to agriculture by augmenting human workers with AI value adds,” concludes Chowdhury.

For more information contact ABI Research, +44 203 326 0140, [email protected], www.abiresearch.com

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