Category Archives: Robotics

Duncan Davidson thinks the recovery from the coronavirus downturn could spur a rise of the robots.

The pandemic has made clear the shortcomings of the global supply chain. In response, governments around the world are likely to push their companies to shift production out of China and back to their home countries, Davidson, a general partner with venture firm Bullpen Capital, told Business Insider in a recent interview. In the United States and in other mature economies, the only way that's going to work, economically, is via automation, he said. Thus, the robots.

"The biggest implication [of the coronavirus outbreak] is going to be more rapid adoption of automation," Davidson said. "We've been talking about AI, robotics, additive manufacturing. I think that now accelerates."

The COVID-19 epidemic and the resulting economic shutdown will almost certainly reshape the venture capital and startup landscape. Companies that seemed to be sure bets a few months ago may no longer make much sense. Startups that seemed to have off-the-wall ideas might now look like obvious winners.

Venture capitalists are likely to move money out of certain sectors and redirect it to others in response to, and in anticipation of these trends, Davidson said. Only a select few sectors will stand to reap the lion's share of the redirected money, he said. Like other venture capitalists, Davidson and his colleagues at Bullpen have been trying to figure out just what those sectors are likely to be.

One of the big ones is likely to be robotics and related areas such as advanced automation, Davidson said.

Bullpen Capital general partner Duncan Davidson is bullish on automation and ecommerce. Bullpen Capital Countries and companies around the world are rethinking their supply chains in the wake of the pandemic. Early this year, in an effort to contain the epidemic in its beginning stages, China shut down large numbers of factories. The move delayed or throttled production of numerous products. Apple, among other companies, warned that it wouldn't meet its revenue targets in part because of constraints in the production of iPhones.

But when the pandemic hit the US, it showed that relying so heavily on China for manufacturing could do more than cause business problems. It was a threat to health. Personal protective equipment such as surgical masks and respirators, much of which are made in China, have been in short supply around the country, as have cleaning supplies, which are often made with chemicals that come from China.

In response to such supply-chain issues, Japan has already committed to spending $2.2 billion to shift production out of China. The US and European countries will almost certainly follow suit, Davidson said.

Part of the reason why China has been able to dominate manufacturing for the last 20 years is that it has cost less to produce goods there than in the US or other countries, in part because wages have been considerably lower. One way to counteract that advantage would be through the use of automation, which would limit the amount of labor required.

"Everybody knows we're going beat the crap out of Chinese supply chains," Davidson said. "To make it come back home," he continued, "you've got to believe in automation robotics, AI, 3D printing. That's another whole industrial sector that becomes a lot more interesting to invest in."

But it's certainly not the only one.

One of the biggest beneficiaries of the coronavirus crisis thus far has been Zoom. With schools and workplaces closed, million of people have been using the company's video conferencing software to get their lessons, or work from home.

Remote work and remote learning won't go away when the pandemic is over, Davidson said. Many corporations, in particular, have learned from the experience that employees can be just as productive when they're working remotely as when they're in the office. That's going to create a lot of demand for collaboration software and also for tools that companies can use to monitor what their employees are doing at home, he said.

Companies are going to be "more inclined to accept remote work as a normal thing," Davidson said.

Another sector that's seen a surge in demand thanks to the health crisis has been ecommerce. Most brick-and-mortar retail stores are closed. And many people now avoid going to the grocery and other stores that remain open, for fear of contracting the virus or simply from dread at having to stand in long lines. So, instead, they've been shopping online.

That's not likely to change when life goes back to normal, Davidson said. If anything, shopping online for many people is going to be the new normal, he said. And while Amazon has been the poster child for the trend, other companies are likely to benefit too, particular the companies that sell their own branded products directly to consumers, he said.

"I think we're about to see step-function [increase] in ecommerce," Davidson said.

One surprising area that he's bullish about is travel. That sector has been hit hard by the pandemic, as governments around the world have limited the movement of their citizens in an effort to control the spread of the disease. But Davidson thinks it's going to bounce back strong when the economy recovers.

However, some parts of the travel sector will benefit more than others, he thinks. People are likely going to want to avoid big cities and airline travel to a certain extent. Instead, travelers are likely going to pile into their cars and get out on the road, he said.

"Drive vacations will become huge," he said. That's going to make vacation homes and related services for such travelers much more in demand, he said.

"We'd look at that," he said.

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Bullpen's Davidson thinks robotics and automation will be in demand - Business Insider

Vision Guided Robotics Software market is experiencing a high growth throughout the globe, driven by growth in automotive, electrical & electronics, aerospace, healthcare, transportation & logistics, food & beverages, and other industry verticals. With the advent of semiconductors, the electronics industry has been advantageous from the innovation point of view.

By thinking from the customer point of view, a team of researchers, analysts and industry experts work carefully to generate this Vision Guided Robotics Software Market research report. Top players in the market, major collaborations, merger and acquisitions along with trending innovation and business policies are also re-evaluated in this Vision Guided Robotics Software Market research report. This report aims to examine the market with respect to general market conditions, market improvement, market scenarios, development, cost and profit of the specified market regions, position and comparative pricing between major players. To attain knowledge of the market factors, this transparent, extensive and supreme Vision Guided Robotics Software Market report is generated.

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Firstly, theVision Guided Robotics Software MarketReport providesa basic overview of the industry including definitions, classifications, applications and chain structure. The Global Vision Guided Robotics Software Market report focuses on successful leading players providing information such as company profiles, product picture and specification, capacity, production, price, cost, revenue and contact information. Upstream raw materials, equipment and downstream demand analysis is also carried out in this research.

The Major Players Reported in the Market Include:

ABB Ltd., ASIMOV Robotics, Automation Anywhere, Inc., Bluewrist Inc., Cognex Corporation, Energid Technologies Corporation, Fanuc Corporation, iRobot Corporation, MVTech Software GmbH, Pick It N.V., Recognition Robotics Inc., READY Robotics Corporation, Robotic Vision Technologies Inc., Vision Guided Robotics, LLC, Visio Nerf

Key Questions responded in the report:

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Vision Guided Robotics Software Market 2020: Emerging Top Key Player Like ABB Ltd., ASIMOV Robotics, Automation Anywhere, Bluewrist, Cognex, Energid...

Behind every good idea for a drug to fight COVID-19, theres often a good library of chemicals.

At Yale, that library is at the Yale Center for Molecular Discovery (YCMD) home to collections of 300,000 small molecules and 18,000 genomic probes. Researchers are already using these collections to look for existing drugs that could be repurposed to treat people with the novel coronavirus.

Obviously, many Yale investigators are trying to understand the biology of the virus and develop therapeutic approaches to treat COVID-19, said Yulia Surovtseva, the centers director. YCMD has the infrastructure, robotics, compound libraries, and technical expertise for high-throughput screening to rapidly test hundreds of thousands of drug-like molecules, including known drugs, for biological activity against coronavirus.

High-throughput screening, used frequently in drug discovery, is often a starting point for identifying therapeutic candidates to treat illness and disease. Individual screening approaches called assays are tailored to ideas that researchers want to explore.

For example, YCMD can help researchers who are looking for existing drugs that kill a particular cancer cell, inhibit an enzyme that becomes hyper-activated during fibrosis, or disrupt two proteins that allow a virus to enter a human cell.

Each year, researchers from more than 40 Yale departments work with staff at YCMD, led by Surovtseva and executive director Craig Crews, Yales John C. Malone Professor of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology. The center currently has two staff members on site at Yales West Campus and three staff members working remotely, due to public health concerns amid the pandemic.

There are generally two screening approaches for drug discovery to treat a specific illness or disease, Surovtseva said.

One approach is to screen large collections of synthetic, little-known compounds that have drug-like properties. If a good chemical candidate emerges, the researcher will devise experiments to potentially optimize a new drug therapy.

Alternatively, a researcher can search for an existing compound from a collection, such as the library of 640 drugs already approved by the Food and Drug Administration to treat other diseases. Compounds from these collections may have a quicker route to clinical testing because much of their safety and toxicology profiling has already been completed for other uses.

Weve made great progress and already found several existing drugs that inhibit viral entry of multiple coronaviruses.

Yulia Surovtseva

Two Yale researchers are using the latter approach in their COVID-19 work with YCMD with experiments from additional Yale laboratories on the way.

Dr. Craig Wilen, assistant professor of lab medicine and of immunobiology, has an assay with YCMD for screening COVID-19 and other coronaviruses against a collection of FDA-approved drugs. The goal is to prevent the virus from infecting human cells.

Weve made great progress and already found several existing drugs that inhibit viral entry of multiple coronaviruses, Surovtseva said. It is still a work in progress and we are repeating the screens and actively validating the results.

YCMD also is working with assistant professor of neuroscience Junjie Guo. The Guo lab has developed new viral reagents that YCMD is using in a high-throughput microscopy assay to find known drugs that affect viral protein production. Testing of approved drugs is under way.

For these and other COVID-19 assays, part of the challenge is in converting an academic experiment into a industry-style experiment that investigates many compounds at once. Among the sophisticated instruments used for this are robotic liquid handlers that dispense tiny, five-nanoliter drops about 10,000 times smaller than a raindrop into palm-sized microplates that conduct 384 tests at a time.

The human element of the work is just as remarkable at this particular moment in history, Surovtseva said: We are living in a time of real uncertainty, but our mission of service to society remains crystal clear. This work is of tremendous value and we feel honored to support it.

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Battling COVID-19 with robots and a library of chemicals - Yale News

The 2019 Dragon Skin Pavilion at the UBC campus was made during the annual Robotic Fabrication workshop. Photo by David Correa.

Spots are available for professional architects to participate in a technical workshop on full-scale robotic fabrication, scheduled to be held at UBC from October 3-7, 2020. The workshop qualifies for AIBC continuing education credits.

The workshop is run by Assistant Professor David Correa from University of Waterloo, Director of Technology Oliver David Krieg from Intelligent City, and Associate Professor AnnaLisa Meyboom from UBC SALA, in collaboration with UBC Centre for Advanced Wood Processing (CAWP).

While many industries have made leaps and bounds in adopting highly flexible and fully automated fabrication workflows using robotics, the construction and design industry are only just starting to open the door to these technologies, write the organizers.

Recent developments in robotics combined with more accessible design-to-fabrication tools can now offer architects, designers and fabricators unprecedented access to a new design paradigm. We are pleased to welcome experts to share their knowledge and experience with students and practicing architects here at UBC.

Using a state-of-the-art eight-axis industrial robotic work cell in the CAWP pilot manufacturing pilot, the workshop will guide participants through the unique technical and conceptual foundations that underpin robotic milling in wood, through the development and construction of a full-scale fabrication project.

Participants will be part of a full-day robotic fabrication seminar and robot training, which provides an overview of robotic fabrication in timber, introduction to the computational design tools used in the workshop, and introduction to robot operations.

They also have the option to join for the two-day fabrication prototyping workshop, which will directly engage the participants in the design and fabrication process. Participants will start with base geometry during the design phase and generate a buildable structure using computational design tools. A prototype structure will be machined and assembled on the UBC Campus.

The workshop has been held annually since 2016. Last years pavilion was built with traditional wood-on-wood joineryusing no screwsand will be on exhibit at the UBC campus until October 2020.

For more information and to register, visit this link.

More:

Call for participation in robotic fabrication workshop - Canadian Architect

Global Robotic Rehabilitation and Assistive Technologies Market: Overview

The global robotic rehabilitation and assistive technologies market is likely to witness robust growth owing to the increasing incidences of limited mobility amongst many people. Rehabilitation robotics and assistive technologies enable utilization of robotic devices for the purpose of recovery of patients affected with limited mobility. This technology enables robotic applications to be used in therapeutic processes to assist in the recovery of patients suffering from spinal cord injury, orthopedic traumas, strokes, neuromotor disorders, and cognitive diseases. This type of robots enable people affected with degenerative cognitive and motor capabilities lead a self-dependent life.

The global robotic rehabilitation and assistive technologies market has been segmented based on product type, portability, application, and region. The main of such a comprehensive report is to provide a deeper understanding into the market.

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Global Robotic Rehabilitation and Assistive Technologies Market: Notable Developments

The global robotic rehabilitation and assistive technologies market has witnessed quite a few developments over the last few years. One such development is mentioned below:

Some of the leading market players of the global robotic rehabilitation and assistive technologies market are

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Global Robotic Rehabilitation and Assistive Technologies Market: Growth Drivers

Increased Prevalence of Various Types of Disabilities to Bolster its Demand

The global robotic rehabilitation and assistive technologies market is expected to thrive on the increased need of people with mobility challenges to lead an independent life. Modern technology in robotics is helping in making the lives of disabled people easier. It is also making the functionalities of their body better.

Well-designed technology to develop companionship and care robots together with assistive speech technology is likely to propel the growth of the global robotic rehabilitation and assistive technologies market. The stakeholders are carrying on research and development to figure out how assistive robots are capable of effectively assisting differently able people. They are trying to find out ways to design innovative robots that would help them overcome the challenges of limited mobility.

Innovations such as robotic trousers are helping patients walk normally. These trousers are developed utilizing soft artificial muscles that are conditioned electrically to instigate bodily movements like standing up. Innovations such as this are likely to open up new avenues of growth for the global robotic rehabilitation and assistive technologies market in years to come.

Global Robotic Rehabilitation and Assistive Technologies Market: Regional Outlook

In terms of region, North America is estimated to account for a large chunk of the global robotic rehabilitation and assistive technologies market over the timeframe of forecast. Such dominance of the region is driven by the adoption of highly advanced robotic rehabilitation & assistive technologies. In addition, favorable reimbursement policies from the healthcare industry are likely to emerge as another important growth factor for the market in the region.

The global robotic rehabilitation and assistive technologies market is segmented as:

Product Type

Portability

Application

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Robotic Rehabilitation and Assistive Technologies Market End User, Demand and Consumption By 2028 - Cole of Duty

Joining the fight against coronavirus (COVID-19), the government-run Industrial Training Institute (ITI) in Cuttack has developed two low-cost robots, which can save health workers from the infectious virus and reduce the need for personal protective equipment.

The cost of each robot is expected to be around 2.5 lakh, ITI-Cuttack principal Hrushikesh Mohanty said.

In the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, the institute had constituted an innovation team that developed the robots in its laboratory, in association with SAK Robotics Lab, a start-up, Mr. Mohanty told the PTI.

One of the two robots is a service robot, named CO-BOT (Corona Combat Robot), which can move on wheels and has a humanoid structure. Its hand-like structures can hold a tray and carry a load up to 20 kg, the principal said.

It can be used in COVID-19 hospitals for carrying food, water and medicines to and from patients. This will reduce the risks to attendants serving the COVID-19 patients, he said.

The wireless communication protocols being used to control the robot can be further programmed with navigation and mapping to make them work autonomously in a hospital ward, Mr. Mohanty said.

The second one, named NIGA-BOT, is a tele-presence robot which can be used for surveillance and tele-consultation by doctors who can interact remotely with patients through live video-streaming. This robot is also enabled with a wheeled mobile platform and has an interactive device for video calling.

NIGA-BOT can be used by health workers who have to make several rounds to the patients bed for monitoring their health.

This will protect the doctors and nurses from contracting the virus during such interactions.

All these innovations would lead to reduced need for more Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) kits and could be a saviour for health workers, he said.

These are low cost robots developed by the institute to meet the emergent needs following the coronavirus outbreak, Mr. Mohanty said.

Once medical professionals spell out their specific requirements, new features will be integrated to the robots, he said.

The office of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has also hailed the job done by ITI, Cuttack in collaboraton with SAK Robotics for using their skill to strengthen Odishas fight against COVID-19.

T.N. COVID-19 isolation wards to get robots

Founder and CEO of SAK Robotics Lab, Sakyasingha Mohapatra said, the start-up has provided the required technology in the joint venture to strengthen the battle against the deadly virus.

The institute has a dream and desire to use industry automation to impact the lives of ordinary people, the ITI principal said.

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ITI Cuttack develops low-cost robots to combat COVID-19 - The Hindu

The COVID-19 pandemic will accelerate the usage and adoption of robots, according to new research from GlobalData.

It comes as artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics company Brain Corp announced yesterday that it has raised $36 million in funding to help meet the growing demand on the front lines of the crisis for autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) in retail, healthcare, airports, education and other industries.

We have always envisioned a world where robots make the lives of people safer, easier, and more productive, says Brain Corp CEO Eugene Izhikevich.

Autonomous robots are playing a vital role in supporting essential businesses and their workers during this health crisis. This investment will help us continue our pace of innovation and fuel our growth as we execute on the opportunity in front of us.

Brain Corp says the new funds will be used to further expand Brain Corps growth into new robotic applications beyond floor care, including inventory delivery, shelf analytics, and other applications that improve employee productivity, reduce costs, and enhance customer experiences.

The company says manufacturing and sales efforts in new markets will also be bolstered by the new capital, with the company planning a foray into the European and Asia-Pacific (APAC) markets.

GlobalData thematic analyst Wafaa Hassan says the emphasis around the world put on social distancing and little human-to-human contact will hasten the mainstream introduction of robots into industrial and retail workflows.

Robots have been replacing humans in certain jobs for some time, but the COVID-19 crisis is accelerating the process, says Hassan.

Robots will show their worth by performing tasks that human workers are unwilling or unable to do.

Retail giants such as Walmart and Kroger have been using Brain Corps cleaning robots for years, with Walmart announcing plans to add an additional 1,500 robotic floor cleaners to its existing fleet earlier this month.

Keeping stores and warehouses clean has become a priority during the pandemic.

But Hassan says people need to get more comfortable with interacting with robots during their everyday life to see true widespread adoption.

The COVID-19 crisis will ultimately increase the use of robotics across all industries. Primarily, they will be used for support functions such as cleaning and packing.

However, as consumers get more familiar with them and the robots themselves become smarter, they will increasingly be used to support customer-facing tasks.

Brain Corp has revealed that retailers have significantly ramped up their use of robotic floor scrubbers as the COVID-19 outbreak grew this year.

According to the companys data, autonomous usage of BrainOS-powered machines in retail locations in the U.S. spiked 13.6% in March 2020, compared to the same month last year, and 13% during Q1 of this year.

The company says BrainOS-enabled robots are on its way to deliver more than 250,000 hours of work over the next month.

Read more:

COVID-19 will accelerate widespread adoption of robots - report - IT Brief Australia

Robotics is quickly infiltrating every aspect our lives, including at home.Manufacturing

The manufacturing industry is probably the oldest and most well-known user of robots. These robots and co-bots (bots that work alongside humans) work to efficiently test and assemble products, like cars and industrial equipment. Its estimated that there are more than three million industrial robots in use right now.

Shipping, handling and quality control robots are becoming a must-have for most retailers and logistics companies. Because we now expectour packages arriving at blazing speeds, logistics companies employ robots inwarehouses, and even on the road, to help maximize time efficiency. Right now, there are robots taking your items off the shelves, transporting them across the warehouse floor and packaging them. Additionally, a rise in last-mile robots (robots that will autonomously deliver your package to your door) ensure that youll have a face-to-metal-face encounter with a logistics bot in the near future.

Its not science fiction anymore. Robots can be seen all over our homes, helping with chores, reminding us of our schedules and even entertaining our kids. The most well-known example of home robots is the autonomous vacuum cleanerRoomba. Additionally, robots have now evolved to do everything from autonomously mowing grass to cleaning pools.

Is there anything more science fiction-like than autonomous vehicles? These self-driving cars are no longer just imagination. A combination of data science and robotics, self-driving vehicles are taking the world by storm. Automakers, like Tesla, Ford, Waymo, Volkswagen and BMW are all working on the next wave of travel that will let us sit back, relax and enjoy the ride. Rideshare companies Uber and Lyft are also developing autonomous rideshare vehicles that dont require humans to operate the vehicle.

Robots have made enormous strides in the healthcare industry. These mechanical marvels have use in just about every aspect of healthcare, from robot-assisted surgeries to bots that help humans recover from injury in physical therapy. Examples of robots at work in healthcare areToyotas healthcare assistants, which help people regain the ability to walk, and TUG, a robot designed to autonomously stroll throughout a hospital and deliver everything from medicines to clean linens.

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What Is Robotics? Types Of Robots | Built In

RISE Robotics, a leader in high-performance and cost-effective electric linear actuation solutions, raised $3 million in additional funding. The funding round was led by The Engine, the venture firm spun out of MIT that invests in early-stage Tough Tech companies.

Linear actuators create the push-and-pull movements in the mechanisms of heavy machinery which are essential for lifting and loading materials across many industries, including: construction, agriculture, and waste management. Without linear actuators excavators couldnt dig, garbage trucks couldnt crush, and forklifts couldnt lift.

The majority of heavy machines today rely on hydraulic systems, powered by diesel, to enable motion. It is the most essential, but also the most wasteful component in the overall motion system, producing an estimated 55 million tons of CO2 annually in the US alone according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. As OEMs are forced to adapt their products to comply with imminent emissions regulations, the industry has struggled with the slow pace of innovation and high cost of using electricity as a power source for heavy machinery.

RISE Robotics partners with heavy machinery manufacturers to implement a fully-electric movement platform as a replacement for hydraulic systems. Built around a unique electrically-powered mechanical linear actuator, the RISE platform has all the abilities and power of hydraulics, but vastly improved efficiency and control.

Hybrid and electric retrofits to existing hydraulic systems are more expensive than the existing diesel systems and are much harder to control. Hydraulics are slowing and literally weighing down the adoption of electrically powered heavy machines. The RISE platform offers a completely new mechanical motion technology that makes electric-powered motor-to-movement solutions possible. Its a game changer for any manufacturer trying to electrify its heavy machinery.

Arron Acosta, CEO and Co-founder of RISE Robotics

The RISE Cylinder is the core of the platform; the cylindrical package delivers hydraulic performance in a robust linear actuator design that can perform under extreme circumstances for extended maintenance-free service.

Driven by modern brushless motors and lubricated for life, the cylinder eliminates fluids, doubles runtime, halves fuel consumption, and charges batteries with hybrid regeneration.

The RISE platform is a sealed electrically powered and digitally controlled system of steel cables and pulleys. This cable-driven actuation system offers levels of control not possible with traditional hydraulics, and far greater speed than a screw-based linear actuator.

The additional funding will support RISE Robotics work with a leading forklift manufacturer to accelerate the electrification of its machinery, increasing the performance of the manufacturers existing electric forklifts and enabling the electrification of its larger scale machinery, which is currently diesel-fueled.

Reed Sturtevant, a General Partner of The Engine, and angel investor Walter A. Winshall will join RISE Robotics Board of Directors.

It takes a lot to make a machine move. Displacing hydraulics is just the first application of RISE Robotics IP for improving motion and electrifying heavy machinery. Their research, approach and systems will be crucial in evolving how other key mechanical components work, but most importantly these innovations to the fundamentals of how machinery moves will lead the industry toward not just compliance with emissions standards but helping heavy machinery become an oil-free, zero emissions industry in the future.

Reed Sturtevant

RISE Robotics' co-founders Arron Acosta and Blake Sessions met while at MIT and formed the company with Toomas Sepp and Kyle DellAquila. The company was part of the Techstars accelerator and has received angel funding from notable Boston investors and advisors including John P. Strauss, William J. Warner, and Walter A. Winshall. RISE Robotics has two commercial agreements, one with a major manufacturer of lifting machinery, and another with the US Air Force.

See the original post:

RISE Robotics raises $3M in additional funding; electric linear actuation systems - Green Car Congress

Disinfectant and other use cases will also propel the small drone delivery market in the US to reach $414 million by 2021, and $10.4 billion by 2030, according to ABI Research.

The ability of mobile robotics to successfully disinfect, monitor, surveil, and handle and deliver materials will propel the market to $23 billion by 2021, according to ABI Research. "Crises shift perceptions on what is possible regarding investment and transformative action on the part of both private and government actors," said Rian Whitton, a senior analyst, in a statement. "By the time the COVID-19 pandemic has passed, robots will be mainstreamed across a range of applications and markets."

The coronavirus outbreak has been a good opportunity for companies to display robots for public applications, ABI Research said. One of the more popular examples has been the deployment of mobile unmanned platforms with ultraviolet (UV) light to disinfect facilities, the firm said. Danish company UVD Robots is reaping the benefits of this opportunity and is scaling up deployments of robots to disinfect hospitals, ABI Research said.

SEE: The finance robots are coming: 73% of organizations plan to replace humans with machines this year (TechRepublic)

Additionally, US-based Germ Falcon is offering a similar UV disinfection solution for aircraft, while Chinese TMiRob is deploying disinfection robots in Wuhan, according to the firm. "Automating disinfection is a key part of maintaining health and safety and could be one of the major bright spots in the response to COVID-19," Whitton said.

Drones have also been deployed to enforce curfews and surveil areas for security purposes, according to ABI Research. This represents a big opportunity for aerospace and drone companies to increase sales to government agencies, the firm said. ABI Research expects the small drone delivery market in the US to reach $414 million by 2021, and $10.4 billion by 2030.

In the short term, to enforce quarantine mandates, governments will need to increase their security apparatuses, as well as the productivity of their medical agencies, according to ABI Research. Robots will be key to achieving that through disinfection, monitoring, and surveillance, the firm said.

Furthermore, the shutting down of households and even ships represents a chance for robot delivery companies for both land and air to display their worth, the firm noted. The drone delivery market could take its experience with transporting supplies in the developing world and scale up operations in the most affected countries.

In the long-term, COVID-19 is leading to a significant reassessment of the global manufacturing supply chain, the firm believes. America's dependence on Chinese imports for basic equipment and medicines is becoming a contentious issue, and government representatives are already interpreting the crisis as a chance to revitalize the campaign to re-shore more manufacturing capacity to the domestic market, ABI Research said.

"If this translates into more significant measures by governments to diversify or re-shore the manufacturing of key goods, this could bode very well for the robotics industry, as such changes would require big increases in CAPEX and productivity improvements within developed countries," the firm stated.

COVID-19 represents a disaster for robotics vendors building solutions for developed markets in manufacturing, industry, and the supply chain, ABI Research said. But for vendors targeting markets closer to government, such as health, security, and defense, it represents a big opportunity, the firm said.

"Industrial players [should] develop customized solutions for non-manufacturing use cases or look to build comprehensive solutions for enabling a scale-up in medical supply manufacturing," Whitton recommended. "For mobile robotics vendors and software companies targeting more nascent markets, this represents a big chance to highlight the importance of robotics for dealing with national emergencies, as well as mitigating the economic shock."

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Read more:

Mobile robotics market expected to soar to $23 billion in 2021 - TechRepublic