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Next Robotica
17 - 19 November 2010
15 - 17 November 2011
13 - 15 November 2012
19 - 21 November 2013
The sector: facts, figures and scenario
According to the “World Robotics 2009 Service Robots” report (www.worldrobotics-online.org), published at the end of September by the department of statistics of the IFR (International Federation of Robotics), at the end of 2008 there were 63,000 “non-manufacturing” robots for professional activities in the world, for a total value of USD 11.2 billion. Of these, 30% was used for defence, rescue and safety, 23% for agricultural and farming purposes (above all for milking) and 9% were “cleaning robots”. The figures continue with 8% each for medical and marine uses, construction and demolition (7%), mobile robotic platforms for general use (6%) and, last but not least, robots used in logistics with 5%. Along with robots used for professional reasons, we must also consider those used for domestic purposes, which, also at the end of 2008, were 4.4 million. Almost all of these were vacuum cleaner robots (940,000 were sold last year, 50% more than in 2007), a small percentage were grass cutter robots (21,000 sold in 2008), followed by entertainment robots, estimated at 2.8 million in 2008. Despite the economic crisis, forecasts for the market of “service robots” for 2009-2012 are very interesting, according to the report from the IFR. At the end of this period, there will be about 49,000 new robots for professional uses. The applications undergoing growth will be, according to the “World Robotics 2009 Service Robots” report, those for defence, rescue and safety, agriculture and farming, and logistics. As far as robots for personal use are concerned, by 2012, 11.6 million will be sold, of which 4.8 domestic and 6.8 for the entertainment and leisure sector.