A new study from Juniper Research (www.juniperresearch.com) has found that domestic aide robotics will drive consumer robotics hardware revenues from an estimated $6.4 billion in 2018 to nearly $23 billion by 2022. That’s an increase of over 250%.

Juniper says that domestic aide robots, such as robotic vacuum cleaners, will account for 73% of total revenues by 2022. This will be due to increasing popularity of such devices from iRobot, Dyson and Samsung. These have been joined by lower cost devices, which will broaden the segment’s appeal.

The research group found that, despite popularity of domestic aide robots, the biggest growth area of consumer robotics will be in the educational area, representing an average annual growth of 40% in hardware revenues. Companies such as Anki and Wonder Workshop are joining established players like LEGO in providing robotics focused on programming. Juniper predicted that programming will become desirable in toys, as parents focus on educational benefits.

“With the disruption that AI and the changing nature of work will bring worldwide, STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) education will be more important than ever,” said research author Nick Maynard. “Educational robotics is a brilliant way for parents to make these subjects engaging in the home.”
Meanwhile, the research found that healthcare robotics’ success will be more constrained. Long-term, these robots are expected to act as home carers; however, issues like cost and dexterity need further innovation before that’s achievable.

As such, telepresence robots, with the ability to facilitate remote medical appointments will remain dominant medium-term, notes Juniper. This limited functionality means the segment will grow at a lower compound annual growth rate of 24% to reach $422 million in revenues by 2022.