Image Courtesy of Rethink Robotics, Inc.
Robots are not a new concept. They have been used for decades, but were restricted to select industries because of cost and limited capabilities. What has changed?
New innovations and market conditions are now driving robots into all areas of the global market. Moving beyond industrial automation, robotics is expanding into healthcare, energy, defense, households, and agriculture. The $15 billion spent on robotics in 2010 is expected to more than quadruple by 2025 according to a report by the Boston Consulting Group.
It’s evident that the next wave of economic change has already begun and, while 2014 marked the best year for robotics to date, it’s just the tip of the iceberg. Here are 5 driving forces behind the ROBO-lution:
1. Advancing technology. The transition from fixed automation to mobile, perceptive and intelligent robots has created an entirely new platform for growth.
2. Emerging market wages are increasing. Capital + Labor = Productivity. Capital, in the form of automation, will continue to replace labor as it becomes more expensive.
3.Technology costs are decreasing. The computing power you can buy for a dollar has doubled for decades. The $300 Sony PlayStation today has the same power of a military supercomputer in 1997, which cost millions.
4. Aging Population. Demographic trends are predictable. As the population ages in most developed nations, a labor substitute is mandatory to maintain GDP growth. Additionally, an aging population will benefit from service robotics to improve quality of life and independence.
5. External funding for robotics is rapidly increasing. Venture capital, private equity, government and corporate ventures are accelerating investments. This is perhaps the most important trend as it signifies the recognition, acceptance and action of the marketplace.
ROBO-STOX created the first accessible, intelligent, and diversified way to track the robotics megatrend. Our approach is straightforward: build a representative global portfolio of companies across the entire robotics value chain and market capitalization range.
To learn more about the ROBO-STOX index, please see our fact sheet here.