Cloud robotics market to top £5bn by 2022 - research

Platform as a Service (PaaS) to be the fastest growing segment, MarketsandMarkets finds

Robotics leveraging cloud technologies will see market growth at a CAGR of 28.1 per cent from 2017 to 2022, according to new research from MarketsandMarkets.

According to the report, Cloud Robotics Market by Component (Software and Services), Service Model (IaaS, PaaS, and SaaS), Application, Deployment Model (Public, Private, and Hybrid Cloud), End-User (Verticals and Third-Party Users), and Region - Global Forecast to 2022, the market will grow from $2.2bn (£1.6bn) in 2017 to $7.5bn (£5.4bn) in 2022.

The research firm says the spread of cloud technology, combined with broad spectrum use of wireless technologies, the growth of the Internet of Things, artificial intelligence (AI) development and machine learning offerings will be the biggest drivers for the cloud robotics space.

When it comes to services, MarketsandMarkets says Platform as a Service (PaaS) will be the fastest growing segment "because it enables enterprises to develop, run and manage software and tools without the hassle of maintaining and updating the hardware and software infrastructure".

"…enterprises of all sizes are globally adopting the PaaS segment because of its simplicity, scalability and reliability. In addition to this, PaaS applications have a high adaptability rate, due to their latest features, such as easy upgradation," MarketsandMarkets said.

In the meantime, manufacturing will be the largest vertical in 2017, according to MarketsandMarkets. It pointed to the industry using robotic technology to drive operational efficiencies and cut costs.

"Manufacturers are benefiting from robot simulations, which are increasing the efficiency of production processes, quality control, predictive maintenance and product innovation. It also helps companies in reducing the production time, as well as the costs associated with it," MarketsandMarkets said.

In addition to IBM, Microsoft, Google and Amazon Robotics, MarketsandMarkets also names U.S. firms CloudMinds, Hit Robot Group and Tend, Canada's C2RO, UK's Ortelio, Japan's Rapyuta Robotics and Singapore's V3 Smart Technologies as key players to watch.