According to foreign media reports, the 2018 holiday shopping season was the largest shopping season in e-commerce history, with online sales of nearly 126 billion US dollars. But as e-commerce continues to expand, demand for warehouse workers is growing at a faster rate than labor supply, creating a greater need for automation.
Given Amazon’s dominance in e-commerce and the sheer size of its business, the company is one of the firstrobot technologyIt’s no surprise that one of the companies supplementing human resources.Since the acquisition of Kiva in 2012, the growingrobotStart performing more and more tasks at Amazon factories. However, these robots are still not enough to completely replace humans.
Today, robotics has become affordable for more companies due to its lower cost, and advances in related technologies have paved the way for the rise of collaborative robots (cobots).
With advancedsensorTechnology, AI, lidar/radar, GPS, and connectivity, collaborative robots have become more precise and flexible. Machine learning is also making cobots more versatile, not just in hardware, but in software that is gradually adapting to a wide variety of tasks. And, as robots with lots of sensors are adapting to new challenges, we’re seeing more real-world use cases.
But don’t expect to rely entirely on cobots just yet, as we’re still in the early stages. In 2017, the global market dominated by kuka, abb, fanuc and YaskawaIndustrial robotMarket size exceeds $15 billion, of which collaborationRobot market$287 million. However, the digital transformation of warehouses presents a huge market opportunity for new companies to create value.
We’re seeing a shift from traditional software to SaaS, where traditional sales and business models move to recurring revenue streams and cloud-based subscription services. By combining domain-specific market entry with a robust software management platform, next-generation robotics companies have the opportunity to avoid a long sales cycle dominated by integrators. This cycle can get tricky over time, just like the early SaaS providers.
Additionally, collaborative robotics allows robots to augment human capabilities and lower barriers to entry, while still offering clear rewards around efficiency. As with the move to cloud computing software, best-in-class platforms are now available to the masses, freeing them from large up-front investments in infrastructure.
We believe that collaborative robots will open up vertical markets traditionally underserved by robots, such as logistics, food and safety. Companies that provide full-service solutions in these areas present an excellent opportunity to create significant value. For example, Chucks, a collaborative Robot from 6 River Systems that uses cloud computing software to coordinate warehouse tasks and work side-by-side with human employees, is changing the way we think about the dynamic relationship between humans and robots.
Cobalt Robotics, a company in the security vertical, allows human security guards to monitor offices remotely, saving employers costs and increasing the efficiency of guards. Others, such as RightHand Robotics, inVia Robotics, and Starship, are preparing to replace human labor with robots in some business settings.
Rapid innovation in this industry is expected to bring greater efficiency and growth to countless sectors in the coming years. Respected universities such as MIT, Carnegie Mellon, and GeorgiaTech, robotics projects are flooding the world’s best entrepreneurs, who not only capture A timely and potentially profitable opportunity, but also a bold move forward in the industry.
Matt Murphy, a partner at investment firm Menlo Ventures, once said: “We are entering a golden age of robotics. In this era, robotics will become mainstream, driving huge efficiency gains. In some cases, also Makes the impossible possible.”
