The service robot market has undergone major changes over the past few years with AI and machine learning enabling the development of machines capable of performing a variety of tasks with greater accuracy and efficiency than ever before.
As a result, the entire sector has skyrocketed, growing much faster than the industrial robot market, according to data from Altindex.com, which says that the service robots market is expected to grow by 66% and reach a value of $55-billion by 2028 – showing six times bigger growth than the industrial robots segment.
Although Covid-19 was a major driver of service robots growth, providing a safer way of doing different tasks to minimise human contact and reduce infection risks, the popularity of these machines continues to rise even four years after the pandemic. Today, service robots are used across different markets – from healthcare and hospitality to retail and logistics – and there are many reasons why they have gained such massive popularity.
Lower operational costs, 24/7 operation, the capability to operate in dangerous environments for humans, and providing more personalised services are some of them. All these benefits have helped the service robot industry almost double its revenue in the past six years, rising from $18,2-billion in 2018 to $33,5-billion in 2024. However, the following years bring just as impressive growth.
According to a Statista survey, the revenue in the global service robots market will jump by 65% in the next four years and hit $55-billion. Moreover, this represents six times bigger growth than in the industrial robots segment. Statista expects industrial robots’ revenue to increase by only 11% in this period, rising from $9,3-billion to $10,4-billion.
In a global comparison, the US will generate most of the revenue. Statista expects the US service robots market to gross over $14-billion in 2028 – 55% more than this year. The Chinese market will grow even more, with revenues surging by 60% to $10,6-billion in this period.
Technological advances and increasing demand across various sectors like healthcare, logistics, hospitality, and domestic use have caused the total number of service robots to swell over the years.
Between 2016 and 2023, their number more than tripled, rising from roughly 10-million to almost 36-million last year. The upward trend will continue this year, with the total number of these machines rising to over 38-million. However, Statista expects the following years to bring even bigger growth, with the total number of service robots in personal and professional use surging by 60% to nearly 65-million by 2028.