A new report from Interact Analytics offers some perspective on the growth of mobile industrial robots. While Automated Guided Vehicles (AGVs) have had a place on plant floors and in warehouses and distribution centers for a while, the recent growth of these products in the industrial sector has been enormous.
Growth projections for Autonomous Mobile Robots (AMRs) and AGVs shows this sector expanding in size from $1 to $7 billion over the next five years. Software connected to the use of these products could add another $3 billion to this total.
The research and consulting firm offersits perspective on a couple of factors driving the growth:
- Dubbed “the Amazon effect,” e-commerce growth within both the consumer and business-to-business sectors is driving the need for automated systems that can pick and fill orders quickly in warehouses that by necessity are growing in size in order to handle a wider breadth of inventory.
- The inability to find quality manufacturing and supply chain workers has led many companies to expand their level of automation.
- Mobile robots can be more cost-effective in handling the growing number of low-volume, high-value orders.
Image Credit: Chesky/Shutterstock.com
