McKinsey: Top 10 innovative trends in robotics by 2023

Emerging trends address the growing demand for automation, digitalization, and sustainability. Automated guided vehicles (AGVs) and autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) automate material handling in warehouses. Collaborative robots, on the other hand, perform pick and place tasks alongside humans in manufacturing operations. The robotics industry is also seeing a lot of activity and investment in areas such as automation, humanoid robots, and robot safety. This report provides an overview of robotics trends, from robots and robots as a service to ().

McKinsey analyzed a sample of 8,949 global startups and scale-ups to conduct an in-depth study of the top ten trends and startups in robotics. The findings show data-driven innovation intelligence that improves strategic decision-making by providing an overview of emerging technologies and startups in the robotics industry. The findings were obtained through a collaboration with McKinsey's big data and driven StartUs Insights Discovery Platform, which covers 2,500,000+ startups and scale-ups worldwide. As the world's largest emerging company data resource, the SaaS platform enables you to quickly and exhaustively identify relevant startups, emerging technologies, and future industry trends.

Top 10 Robotics Innovation Trends in 2023

1

Autonomous Mobile Robot (AMR)

Workers are exposed to hazardous conditions in production environments such as toxic chemicals, tight spaces, or heavy loads. To mitigate this, startups and scale-ups are leveraging AMRs to automate various processes. They combine AI, robotics, and robotics to understand their surroundings and navigate independently. For example, warehouse AMRs have scanning capabilities to inventory levels and automate material handling, preventing inventory depletion. AMRs can also move subassemblies and parts over long distances within factories to speed up operations and free workers from pushing heavy carts. In addition, they are also applied in cleaning workshops and hospitals through autonomous disinfection. AMRs are also used for housekeeping in the hospitality industry and for delivering food and goods in hotels and restaurants. Last-mile delivery (LMD) robots have enabled rapid deployment of contactless and fast delivery.

Ottobo Robocs builds collaborative AMRs

Turkish startup Ottobo Robotics builds collaborative AMRs. They automate material transport without changing warehouse infrastructure. AMRs leverage 2D and 3D light detection and ranging (LIDAR), depth cameras, and IoT to identify obstacles and navigate autonomously. They also have a proprietary warehouse intelligence system that provides warehouse data analytics. This enables warehouse operators to optimize movement and maximize efficiency.

OttonomyIO offers autonomous delivery robots

OttonomyIO, a US-based startup, provides autonomous delivery robots. They follow behavior-based contextual navigation and move accurately and autonomously in crowded areas. The robots allow businesses to provide contactless delivery of food, beverages, groceries, and other items to curbside, last-mile, and indoor environments. In this way, the startup solves the problem of staff shortages in restaurants and retail stores and reduces carbon emissions.

2

Intelligent Robots

The integration of AI with robotics enables robots to leverage real-time information and optimize tasks. To do this, startups use computer vision, reinforcement learning, , dynamics modeling, etc. In addition, large datasets and real-time data train robots to improve their accuracy and performance. In turn, this enables them to quickly identify objects and better perceive the environment to navigate autonomously. The implementation of AI-based robots in the manufacturing industry can automate repetitive tasks from part picking and placement to 3D printing and quality inspection. Robots used in retail stores and hotels also leverage natural language processing (NLP) to facilitate customer interactions.

Sereact enables AI-driven picking

German startup Sereact has developed Capto, an intelligent software solution for robotic picking. It uses artificial intelligence to optimize the picking of previously known items and speed up the picking of new items. The software continuously learns from operations to adjust the robot's gripping performance according to requirements. This enables manufacturers to free operators from repetitive tasks and increase floor productivity.

Loop Robots designs smart disinfection robot

Dutch startup Loop Robots has developed SAM, a smart robot that automates hospital disinfection. It autonomously navigates around hospital facilities, disinfecting the air and surfaces in patient rooms. The robot reduces the use of chemical disinfectants and prevents hospital-acquired infections.

3

Collaborative Robots

Unlike traditional cobots, collaborative robots have advanced sensors and software that ensure safe behavior around people. They mainly take the form of end-of-arm tooling (EOAT) to automate assembly tasks such as welding parts and drilling screws. Such robots lift heavy objects such as metal, plastic, and other substances that pose a risk to human workers. Moreover, cobots enhance existing production lines to assist workers, thus requiring minimal production downtime for integration. This has accelerated their adoption across industries to improve worker safety and output. Moreover, advances in high-performance computing (HPC) will strengthen the human-robot partnership.

Rad Robotics makes end-of-arm tooling

US-based startup Rapid Robotics has built Rapid Machine Operator (RMO), an AI-driven EOAT. It is a six-axis collaborative robot that automates injection molding, heat staking, ultrasonic welding, and pad printing, among others. Collaborative robots can automatically switch between tasks and are suitable for time-limited manufacturing operations. These capabilities enable manufacturers to improve production efficiency and quality.

Safety Analysis of Stics Collaborative Robots

South Korean startup Safetics provides collaborative robot safety analysis. The startup uses artificial intelligence to analyze the collision safety of robots that work alongside humans. It enables companies to develop safe robots without installing safety fences or sensors. This in turn saves manufacturing costs and improves worker safety.

4

Robots as a Service (RaaS)

Developing and maintaining robots is an expensive and time-consuming process. Due to these limitations, many companies, especially small businesses, are unable to integrate robotics into their operations. RaaS, on the other hand, offers a subscription-based business model to leverage robotics. This approach allows companies to rent robots on demand, making it easy to scale based on changing market conditions. Additionally, cloud-based robotics enables service providers to quickly update existing configurations to improve performance based on real-time data.

Dynamic Division provides industrial cleaning robots

Croatian startup Dynamic Division offers industrial floor cleaning robots on a subscription basis. The startup’s cleaning robots are built using remanufactured components to ensure cost-effectiveness and circularity. It autonomously navigates and automates processes such as filling with detergent or water, charging, and cleaning. This allows small companies and warehouses to reduce manual labor and cleaning time, allowing workers to perform other important tasks.

Formic provides industrial automation robots

US-based startup Formic provides Robotics as a Service for industrial automation. The startup works with robot manufacturers to build custom robots and offers them on a subscription basis. This enables manufacturers to automate machine tending, material handling, inspection, and welding. In addition, Formic enables them to scale operations faster and automate difficult, dangerous, or time-consuming tasks.

5

Robotic Cybersecurity

The integration of IoT and the growing need for connectivity in robots make them easy targets for cyberattacks. Moreover, the application of robots in defense, manufacturing, healthcare, and aerospace industries requires the protection of robotic solutions from unauthorized access. Robotic cybersecurity solutions protect endpoints and connectivity stacks to avoid data breaches and asset downtime. To this end, startups deploy continuous network and device monitoring using or machine learning. Such solutions allow enterprises to monitor device activities in real-time and flag security threats in a timely manner, preventing downtime and financial losses.

Alias ​​Robotics provides robotic endpoint security

Spanish startup Alias ​​Robotics offers the Robot Immune System (RIS), a robotic endpoint protection platform. It provides malware protection for robots and robotic components. In addition, RIS integrates antivirus, data encryption, data loss prevention and other functions to deal with various threats. The startup also provides a secure data logger for investigating cyber attacks or robot failures. This allows robot developers and users to ensure the safety of robots in industrial and commercial spaces.

DroneSec Provides Drone Security

Australian startup DroneSec has designed DroneSec Notify, an anti-threat intelligence software for drones. It monitors fleets to provide real-time visibility into drones. The software also implements an extra layer of data security by looking at drone data streams and who is sharing it with. In addition, it provides real-time notifications of any suspicious activity. Based on this data, security teams ground or relocate drones to safer airspace, avoiding sensitive information leaks.

6

Drones

Advances in edge computing, HPC, and connectivity technologies have enabled startups to build drones with higher range and capabilities. They find applications across industries to deliver packages, collect aerial data, inspect infrastructure, and more. On the other hand, agricultural drones track crops and monitor cattle movements, and deliver pesticides and plant seeds at precise locations. The flexibility of drones has further accelerated their integration in last-mile deliveries such as groceries and medical supplies. In addition, startups use vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) technology to improve the usability of drones in confined spaces. This enables emergency services in times of natural disasters and epidemics.