Description

The global disinfectant robot market was valued at USD 493 million in 2020 to USD 4330.59 million by 2027, at a CAGR of 36.4% from 2021 to 2027. The growing concerns about the recent COVID-19 outbreak increased robotic technology adoption for hospital-acquired infection (HAI). Expanding end-user applications of disinfectant robots are some of the major factors driving the market's growth. Although the disinfectant robot market experienced a steady increase, the recent COVID-19 outbreak has provided a massive impetus to the market studied. The market has also seen an influx of new companies, backed by venture funding, including robotics companies with robots for niche or specific tasks. Regulatory bodies, such as the FDA and USDA, have encouraged these new start-ups to launch their solutions into industries from food processing to the healthcare sector.

Healthcare facilities are one of the major end-users of the technology. More extended training and onboarding, rising benefit and compensation rates, shortages in the workforce, and workforce safety are significant factors driving more healthcare organizations to invest in automated solutions. According to recent studies, the United States, which spent around 17% of its GDP on healthcare, will experience long-term workforce shortages by 2025. Countries like Germany, the United Kingdom, Sweden, Canada, Australia, and France, which spend almost 11.5% of their GDP on healthcare, are also on the same track. Hence, they can also be considered potential markets.

The market is mainly witnessing a trend of mobile robots disinfecting premises with UV rays. The growing demand for service robots, especially in the healthcare industry, will also advance the market studied. Along with Robotics and Innovation Lab (RAIL), Trinity College developed a UV disinfection robot for hospital testing.

Global Disinfectant Robot Market Dynamics

Drivers: High Investments in the Field of Disinfectant Robots

Sanitizing and disinfectants have become an increased area of concern, especially in highly populated areas that include hospitals, restaurants, hotels, airports, and schools, among others. Due to this, the market is witnessing more companies and institutions that shifted to automation for disinfecting applications, hence, investing in robots. The pandemic has significantly fueled the global capital equipment expenditures, leading to increased investment in disinfectant robots, owing to the growing concern of HAI and healthcare workers' safety issues.  

The high cost of these robots and the growing need for an entire disinfectant process force organizations across the regions to invest in disinfectant robots. Additionally, companies invest highly in these robots to tackle the COVID-19 outbreak, mainly affecting their business and operations. Companies, like UVD robots, have received orders of more than 2,000 UVD robots from Chinese hospitals. High investment in disinfectant robots can also be estimated by analyzing the expected growth sales of disinfectant robot companies for 2020. According to the IFR, the market witnessed an annual 61% growth in the number of service robots sold, corresponding to 271,000 robots sold in the global market. Despite some turbulence in the worldwide market during COVID-19, disinfectant robot companies expected a strong 2%-4% growth in total sales in 2020.

Restraints: High Initial Cost

The higher costs of disinfectant robots are associated with effective and robust hardware and efficient software. Automation equipment includes higher capital expenditure required to invest in automation technologies (an automated system can cost millions of dollars to design, fabricate, and install). And with increasing advancement and functionality, the cost also increases. Many UV-C vendors claimed that their robots are high priced because they emit more powerful rays and automatically assess a room's size, allowing the machine to estimate the correct dosage of light required to be effective. Moreover, these products need periodic maintenance, and the pressure lies on the end-user of that equipment, which faces maintenance costs through the robots' lifetimes. These products also require a higher level of maintenance and generally have a lower degree of flexibility regarding possible products.

Opportunities:

JD.com, a Chinese retail giant, is also developing disinfectant robots for COVID -19, launching a project in its logistics innovation lab —known as JD - X —to design three types of robots to handle disinfection and inspection tasks. The company will develop three technologies in collaboration with GREE, a Chinese state-owned manufacturing enterprise. The units will include indoor disinfectant robots —intended for use in airports, shopping malls, office buildings, and libraries —and outdoor disinfectant robots built for industrial parks and school campuses. According to the company, both of these disinfection robots can automatically spray disinfectant liquid and gas or clean surfaces with ultraviolet lamps, running 24 hours a day to increase traditional approaches' efficiency.

Gerald R . Ford International Airport is testing various applications of UV -based disinfecting robots on their premises. In August 2020, they tested the UVD autonomous robot, partnering with Michigan -based UVC Experts and the IP Program out of Florida for baggage claim and the security checkpoint. In July, southeast Michigan-based Pratt Miller Mobility tested another disinfectant robot sprayed disinfectant at gate seating and other high-contact areas.

Scope of the Report

The study categorizes the disinfectant robot market based on product type, application, and regions.

By Product Type

• UV-C
• HPV and Others

By Application

• Residential
• Hospitals
• Corporates Offices
• Education Centers
• Industrial Plants
• Others

By Region

• North America (US, Canada, Mexico)
• South America (Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, Peru, Rest of Latin America)
• Europe (Germany, Italy, France, UK, Spain, Poland, Russia, Slovenia, Slovakia, Hungary, Czech Republic, Belgium, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Rest of Europe)
• Asia Pacific (China, Japan, India, South Korea, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Myanmar, Cambodia, the Philippines, Singapore, Australia & New Zealand, Rest of Asia Pacific)
• The Middle East & Africa (Saudi Arabia, UAE, South Africa, Northern Africa, Rest of MEA)

HPV and others, by Product and Service, is estimated to be the fastest-growing segment during the forecast period

Based on the product type, the global disinfectant robot market has been segmented into UV-C, HPV, and others. HPV is accounted for the fastest-growing segment, with a CAGR of 38.1%, during the forecast period 2021-2027.

Hydrogen peroxide vapor (HPV) is another efficient solution for sanitizing and contaminating microorganisms. The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) classifies HPV as a disinfectant under its biocidal and pesticide properties. HPV robots utilize oxidative processes to kill microorganisms. The hydrogen peroxide solution is automatically sprayed and atomized to a specific concentration to penetrate small gaps that are hard to access by regular cleaning work. In recent years, HPV has emerged as a more effective form of surface and facility decontamination in the medical sanitizing and contamination service industry. However, it requires careful calculation and documentation of two crucial factors: the concentration of hydrogen peroxide used during cycles and the time allowed for these vapors to disperse. Air conditioning and heating vents and spaces must be sealed during use. The process does not harm electronic equipment.

Asia Pacific accounts for the highest CAGR during the forecast period in the disinfectant robot market

Based on region, the global disinfectant robot market has been segmented into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, South America, and the Middle East & Africa. The Asia Pacific is the fastest-growing region, having a growth rate of 37.4% during the forecast period. The Asia-Pacific disinfectant robot market is analyzed across Japan, China, India, Australia, and the rest of Asia Pacific. Asia-Pacific is emerging as one of the significant drivers for disinfectant robot manufacturing and adoption. The region's growing strength in the global robot market also helps them leverage the market studied.

Countries like Australia, South Korea, Japan, India, China, and Singapore are making considerable investments in the market studied across the value chain. South Korea, Japan, India, and China are also becoming robot manufacturing hubs globally. Hong Kong, India, and Singapore are also emerging as a robotic start-up hubs globally. Southeast Asia is emerging as a significant investment due to the upgrade of its healthcare facility and support of its economy. UVD Robots also reported high demand from China. According to the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization, n Japan alone, the market for robots in the service sector is expected to grow to a value of USD 44 billion. Market vendor Xenex also reported that its orders for disinfectant robots jumped 400% in the first quarter of 2020 against 2019. The majority of those orders were overseas, mainly Japan, Singapore, Thailand, and South Korea.

Key Market Players

Blue Ocean Robotics, Xenex Disinfection Services LLC, Finsen Technologies (Thor UV-C), Skytron LLC, Tru-D Smartuvc, Akara Robotics Ltd., Midland Enterprise Corporation, Tmirob Technology, OTSAW Digital Pte Ltd., Bioquell PLC (Ecolab Inc), Bridgeport Magnetics, Decon-X International, MTR Corporation, Fetch Robotics, Inc., Solustar, Ateago Technology Co., Ltd, and Time Medical Holding Robotics are some of the manufactures in the market.

Recent Developments

• In April 2020, Singapore-based Nanyang Technological University developed a semi-autonomous disinfectant robot, eXtreme Disinfection roBOT (XDBOT). The robot was developed with Transforma Robotics, Hand Plus Robotics, and Maju Robotics, technology spin-offs from NTU Singapore. The university also collaborated with two industry partners: Asia Centre of Technologies (ACOT) and Tungray Singapore Pte Ltd. The robot can navigate semi-autonomously in any environment using LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) and high-definition cameras, while its arm is controlled by a human operator - like a tank with a rotating turret.
• In April 2020, Interreg Europe, European Regional Development Fund, announced collaborating with Rubedo Sistemos, a Kaunas-based robotics firm, to develop disinfectant robots.
• In April 2020, JD.com and GREE, a Chinese state-owned major manufacturing enterprise, formed a strategic partnership to develop three unique robots for disinfection and inspection purposes to aid the fight against COVID-19 worldwide. The partnership is likely to utilize JD’s strength in autonomous driving with GREE’s experience in product manufacturing and supply chain management to develop the robots for integrated indoor and outdoor scenarios that include hospitals, airports, shopping malls, office buildings, and libraries. In contrast, outdoor have industrial parks, school campuses, and CBD areas.
• In 2020, MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) partnered with US-based Ava Robotics Inc. and the Greater Boston Food Bank (GBFB) to develop a robotic system that can neutralize aerosolized forms of the COVID-19 outbreak. Currently, the team explores the use of its onboard sensors to adapt to changes in the environment. The robot may adjust its speed in new territory to ensure the recommended dosage is applied to new objects and surfaces. The approach uses a custom UV-C light fixture, which was designed at CSAIL, and it is then integrated with Ava Robotics’ mobile robot base.

Key Issues Addressed

• What is the market size by various segmentation of the disinfectant robot by region and its respective countries?
• What are the customer buying behavior, key takeaways, and Porter's 5 forces of the disinfectant robot market?
• What are the key opportunities and trends for manufacturers involved in the disinfectant robot supply chain?
• What are the fundamental dynamics (drivers, restraints, opportunities, and challenges) of the market?
• What and how regulations, schemes, patents, and policies are impacting the growth of the market?
• What are the upcoming technological solutions influencing market trends? How will existing companies adapt to the new change in technology?
• The market player positioning, top winning strategies by years, company product developments, and launches will be?
• How has COVID-19 impacted the demand and sales of disinfectant robot in the global market? Also, the expected BPS drop or rise count of the market and market predicted recovery period.
• Detailed analysis of the competitors and their latest launch, and what are the prominent startups introduced in the target market? Also, detailed company profiling of 25+ leading and prominent companies in the market.