The global mobile robots market is highly competitive and fragmented with a number of global and local players offering robots in various applications and regions. Since the past few years, the market has been growing at a significant rate due to increase in demand for these robots in several applications. The mobile robots market is currently dominated by iRobot Corporation (U.S.), KUKA AG (Germany), Amazon.Com, Inc. (U.S.), Google, Inc. (U.S.), Bluefin Robotics Corporation (U.S.), Adept Technology, Inc. (U.S.), GeckoSystems Intl. Corp. (U.S.), Northrop Grumman Corporation (U.S.), ECA Group (France), and Honda Motor Co., Ltd. (Japan). These companies have adopted various strategies such as mergers and acquisitions, partnerships, agreements, collaborations, new product launches, and joint ventures to expand their global presence and increase their market shares.
The key mobile robots providers from the North American region dominate the global mobile robots market, followed by the European region. Seven out of the top ten major vendors have originated from North America, whereas two vendors have originated from Europe. These companies have been expanding their offerings worldwide, especially focusing on the key markets of Asia-Pacific, Europe, and the RoW through collaborations, partnerships, acquisitions, and contracts.
For example, in May 2014, KUKA opened a subsidiary, KUKA Robotics in Melbourne, Australia after 15 years of operating in Australia through agencies. Also, in Mach 2014, KUKA inaugurated a new robot production facility in Shanghai, China to produce KUKA industrial robots and controllers for the Asian region. This move strengthens its market position in the Asian region for all its robotic products.
The defense, rescue & security, marine robots, logistics, domestic tasks, and educational institutions comprised the major applications of the mobile robots in 2014. However, the domestic tasks and defense, rescue & security sectors held the largest share of the mobile robots market in personal and professional service applications, accounting for about 48.28% and 44.37%, respectively in 2014. The major players offering mobile robots are iRobot Corporation (U.S.), the Lego Group (Denmark), Northrop Grumman Corporation (U.S.), Amazon.Com, Inc. (U.S.), and KUKA AG (Germany). The company iRobot Corporation is a key player in the global mobile robots market that offers its products and services across the globe and it has offices in Hong Kong, China, and the U.K. It has an extensive product portfolio, catering to defense & military, home, and business sectors. The company derives major revenue from the U.S. military for its defense and military robots segment. This is because the company is focused on the quality of its offerings. The company’s global presence provides a huge growth potential and it is expected to lead the mobile robots market by 2020.
In October 2014, iRobot launched a new multi robot controls system (MCR) for its defense and security robots. In March 2013, the company announced the availability of iRobot Ava 500 video collaboration robot in the U.S., Canada, and select European markets through select certified Cisco resellers. In June 2010, the company signed a joint marketing agreement with Cisco Telepresence to bring iRobot Ava 500 video collaboration robot to market. The company also focuses on strategic expansion of its international market presence through strategic acquisitions and new product launches. The company’s presence in several geographic regions would fuel the growth for company’s mobile robots products.