Cobots Provide Potential Market Augmentation for Robotics

The Cowen Research robotics team explores growth in the cobot (or collaborative robot) market in the Ahead of the Curve report, Deus Ex Machina, Part III. They collaborated with Teradyne, Sarcos Robotics, MassRobotics and Cowen Washington Research Group to identify cobot applications, determine the impetus for accelerated demand and to estimate the total addressable market for these autonomous robotic solutions. Press play to learn more.

Transcript

We collaborated with 3 robotics leaders (Teradyne, Sarcos Robotics, MassRobotics) and our colleagues in Cowen Washington Research Group to explore robotics and human augmentation. Cobots (collaborative robots) are intended for direct human interaction within a shared space. They were introduced in 2008, but penetration is still very early. Cobots were <5% of industrial robot shipments in 2019. 

Stretched labor supply, social distancing requirements, and demand for e-commerce provide the elements for deployment acceleration. We see a $9B cobot market by 2026 from <$1B today. 

Exoskeletons are perhaps the purest embodiment of human / robot collaboration. Powered exoskeletons will help prevent injuries and extend working lives for a stretched labor force. Advances in power efficiency, battery life and declining component costs have closed the cost-to-value gap and make powered exoskeletons economic.

We see a potential TAM of $10B+ by 2026. In Cowen’s proprietary survey, nearly 80% of surveyed robotics companies are experiencing COVID-19 related accelerations in their business. Most categorize it as “substantial.” Robotics customers are increasingly inquiring about collaborative and autonomous robotic solutions not previously offered by suppliers.