The global robot market is expected to exceed US$65 billion in 2024

Recently, the "China Industry Development Report (2022)" (hereinafter referred to as the "Report") compiled by the China Electronics Society comprehensively analyzed the development trends and characteristics of the international and domestic robotics industry, and put forward suggestions for promoting the high-quality development of my country's robotics industry.

The report shows that the global robot market is expected to reach US$51.3 billion in 2022. In recent years, the scale of China's robot market has continued to grow rapidly, and the application of "robot +" has continued to expand and deepen. It is expected that in 2022, the scale of China's robot market will reach US$17.4 billion, with an average annual growth rate of 22% over the past five years.

The report points out that China has made breakthroughs in key core technologies of robots an important project. Domestic manufacturers have overcome some difficulties in key core components such as reducers, controllers, and servo systems, and the trend of localization of core components is gradually emerging.

The report recommends effectively expanding the application scenario needs around industrial robots in the fields of automobiles, machinery, electronics, chemicals, light industry, etc., and service robots in the fields of medical health, home services, education and entertainment.

The global robot market is expected to exceed US$65 billion in 2024

The integration of new generation information technology, biotechnology, new energy technology, new material technology and robot technology is accelerating. The report shows that the application of robots in the fields of automobile manufacturing, electronic manufacturing, warehousing and transportation, medical rehabilitation, emergency rescue, etc. is constantly deepening and expanding. It is estimated that by 2022, the global robot market will reach 51.3 billion US dollars, with an average annual growth rate of 14% from 2017 to 2022. Among them, the market size of industrial robots will reach 19.5 billion US dollars, service robots will reach 21.7 billion US dollars, and special robots will exceed 10 billion US dollars. It is expected that by 2024, the global robot market will exceed 65 billion US dollars.

Among them, the scale of the industrial robot market hit a record high, and robots have been widely used in industries such as automobiles, electronics, metal products, plastics and chemical products. According to IFR statistics, the scale of the industrial robot market is expected to reach US$19.5 billion by 2022 and is expected to reach US$23 billion by 2024.

Service robots have spawned new development opportunities under the influence of the epidemic and have become an emerging growth point in the industry. Anti-epidemic series robots have become a new force in epidemic prevention and control, and "contactless" unmanned delivery has become a new focus. It is estimated that in 2022, the global service robot market will reach US$21.7 billion. In 2024, the global service robot market is expected to grow to US$29 billion.

In recent years, the scale of my country's robot market has continued to grow rapidly, and a complete robot industry chain has been initially formed. At the same time, the application of "robot +" has been continuously expanded and deepened. The "Report" shows that it is expected that by 2022, the scale of China's robot market will reach 17.4 billion US dollars, with an average annual growth rate of 22% over the past five years.

In the field of industrial robots, driven by multiple factors such as the intensive introduction of domestic policies and the maturing market, industrial robots have grown rapidly. In addition to the two industries with the strongest demand, automobiles and 3C electronics, chemical and petroleum application markets have gradually opened up. According to IFR statistical data, the scale of China's industrial robot market has maintained a growth trend in the past five years, and the market scale will continue to grow in 2022 and is expected to reach US$8.7 billion. It is estimated that by 2024, the scale of China's industrial robot market will exceed US$11 billion.

In the field of service robots, as well as driven by demand in the fields of construction and education, China's service robots have huge market potential and room for development. In 2022, demand in the fields of education and public services will become the main driving force for the development of service robots. It is expected that by 2024, the scale of China's service robot market will exceed US$10 billion.

The core competitiveness of key robot components continues to improve

The report points out that China has made breakthroughs in key core technologies of robots an important project. Domestic manufacturers have overcome some difficulties in key core components such as reducers, controllers, and servo systems, and the trend of localization of core components is gradually emerging.

Dongwu Securities Research Report pointed out that the core components of robots are very important. On the one hand, high-performance components are the basis for realizing robot perception and movement; on the other hand, the cost of core components accounts for a high proportion. Taking traditional industrial robots as an example, core components account for more than 70% of the cost of the entire industrial robot.

Essence Securities Research Report also pointed out that in the field of robot parts, domestic leading enterprises have achieved breakthroughs and the replacement process has accelerated. Taking harmonic reducers as an example, domestic substitution is accelerating. At present, there are more than 30 related domestic manufacturers. In recent years, domestic manufacturers have gradually entered the supply chain of downstream customers, and their market share has increased year by year.

With the development and maturity of technology, robots have greatly improved their ability to perceive complex external environments, and their autonomy, stability and reliability in handling practical problems have been greatly improved. The report points out that machine vision has greatly improved the flexibility and automation of industrial production, improved and guaranteed the quality of production, and has extremely high application value in measurement, guidance, and other scenarios.

At the same time, strategic emerging industries have gradually become new fronts for the application of industrial robots. In recent years, China's strategic emerging industries such as new energy vehicles, lithium batteries, and photovoltaics have shown strong development momentum. For example, in 2021, the annual output of new energy vehicles was 3.677 million, an increase of 152.5% over the previous year; the national lithium-ion battery output was 324GWh, a year-on-year increase of 106%; the installed capacity of photovoltaic power generation grid-connected exceeded 300 million kilowatts, ranking first in the world for seven consecutive years. Robot companies have launched innovative solutions around the production and use and maintenance needs of new energy vehicles, lithium batteries, and photovoltaics, which has promoted the rapid growth of the installation of robots in strategic emerging industries.

In the field of service robots, the integration of robots and information technology has become increasingly in-depth, greatly improving the perception, computing, and execution capabilities, making them more intelligent, precise, and flexible, and better able to meet the performance requirements in application scenarios.

With the continuous development of service robots in medical and public service scenarios in recent years, coupled with the explosive growth of demand for "non-contact" services during the epidemic, the service robot industry has formed more real market demands. In the medical field, clinical applications are becoming increasingly active, and a relatively complete product system has been built.

Domestic service robot companies are accelerating the development of special products, and a special and open industry ecosystem is gradually taking shape. At present, the performance and reliability of domestic robots have been greatly improved. Domestic companies have launched special products with unique characteristics and novel functions in multiple tracks such as surgical medical treatment and consumer services, focusing on the needs of special markets at home and abroad. The performance level of some products has broken through the "parallel" and achieved "leading" with the international leading level.

Taking the medical field as an example, the orthopedic robot technology of Tianzhihang and Yuanhua Intelligent has reached the international level, and Shurui, Micro-Invasive, and Jingfeng have launched domestic single-port laparoscopic robot systems. At the same time, in the fields of ophthalmology, stomatology, respiratory medicine and other professional departments, a number of domestic specialty products have been launched one after another, realizing the precise implementation of disease screening, diagnosis, and treatment.

Accelerate the advancement of robots towards mid-to-high-end

In order to promote the high-quality development of my country's robotics industry, the "Report" puts forward several suggestions from the aspects of enhancing the industry's innovation capabilities, expanding application scenario needs, etc.

In terms of continuously enhancing the industry's innovation capabilities, the report points out that it is necessary to strengthen the research and development of core technologies, accelerate breakthroughs in common technologies such as robot system development, operating systems, lightweight design, and multi-robot collaboration, and develop cutting-edge technologies such as bionic perception and cognition, biomechanical and electrical integration, and natural human-machine interaction.