Robot Operating System Market Expected to Reach $1.8 Billion by 2032—Allied Market Research

According to a new report published by Allied Market Research, titled, “Robot Operating System Market," The robot operating system market size was valued at $534.18 million in 2022, and is estimated to reach $1.8 billion by 2032, growing at a CAGR of 12.9% from 2023 to 2032.

The robot operating system industry has experienced significant growth in recent years, driven by the rapid advancements in robotics technology, increased demand for automation across industries, and the widespread adoption of ROS as a key tool for developing robotic applications. This industry primarily deals with providing a software framework and ecosystem for the development of robotic applications. ROS is not an operating system in the traditional sense but rather an open-source middleware framework that streamlines the development of robotic software. 

Moreover, the use of a robot operating system reduces the complexity of software engineering while creating robotics projects. Software development is speeded up and distribution is facilitated by ROS, comprising a framework and toolkits designed for robotics development. In addition, the inclusion of robot operating systems in robotics research and development is made easier by these criteria for researchers and developers. Therefore, automation adoption, technical innovation, and increased levels of automation are projected to propel the market growth. 

The rise in adoption of automation in the industrial sector, along with the increase in adoption of ROS by manufacturers, especially in developing economies, are some of the important factors that boost the global robot operating systems market across the globe. Furthermore, the surge in demand for collaborative modular robots is a significant factor anticipated to fuel the expansion of the robot operating system market during the forecast period. However, the high maintenance and installation costs of robots are expected to hamper the market growth. On the contrary, an increase in the adoption of robots as a service (RaaS) is expected to provide a lucrative opportunity to boost the growth of the market around the world.

Depending on the robot type segment, articulated robots dominated the robot operating systems market share in 2022 and are expected to remain dominant during the forecast period. This growth is attributed to the growing need to reduce human efforts and errors in production processes, along with the surging adoption of articulated robots in the electronics sector. However, collaborative robots are expected to witness the highest growth in the upcoming years, owing to the increasing investments in automation in the manufacturing processes, along with the higher return on investment than conventional industrial robotics systems.  

Region-wise, the robot operating systems market was dominated by Asia-Pacific in 2022 and is expected to retain its position during the forecast period, owing to the growing demand for automation in manufacturing processes and increased adoption of service robots to meet the diverse needs of the Asia-Pacific consumer market. However, Asia-Pacific is also expected to witness significant growth during the forecast period, owing to supportive government efforts to promote the adoption of robotics and automation technologies across the developing economies.

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the robot operating systems (ROS) market size has been mixed. While there were some challenges, such as supply chain disruptions and the shift to remote work, there were also potential opportunities, such as the increased demand for automation and the adoption of telehealth and remote robotics. In general, the pandemic is expected to have a positive impact on the ROS market size in the long term. This is primarily attributed to the rise in offering remote working solutions by numerous organizations which has led to a surge in the need for cloud robotics, which, in turn, is expected to drive the growth of robot operating system industry during the forecast period.

Furthermore, the COVID-19 pandemic was expected to lead to growth in various industrial automation industries, such as retail and e-commerce, manufacturing, healthcare, oil, and gas, leading to increased demand for industrial robotics technology. These were the important factors that boosted the growth of the robot operating system market forecast during the COVID-19 outbreak.

KEY FINDINGS OF THE STUDY

• By robot type, the articulated robots segment accounted for the largest robot operating system market share in 2022.
• Based on application, the CNC machine tending segment was the highest revenue contributor to the market in 2022.
• On the basis of industry vertical, the electrical and electronic segment generated the highest revenue in 2022.
• Region-wise, Asia-Pacific generated the highest revenue in 2022.

The global robot operating system market analysis is dominated by key players such as Kuka AG, Fanuc Corporation, Yaskawa Electric Corp., Microsoft Corporation, Omron Corporation, Clearpath Robotics, iRobot Corporation, ABB Ltd., Denso Corporation, and Universal Robotics. These players have adopted various strategies to increase their market penetration and strengthen their position in the industry.