The idea of robots picking items from warehouse shelves may still seem futuristic today. But the future may be closer than many people think. Of the almost 1 million robots we expect to be sold for enterprise use in 2020, we predict that just over half of them will be professional service robots, generating more than US$16 billion in revenue--30 percent more than in 2019. What's more, with regard to enterprise spending, the market for professional service robots is growing much faster than that for industrial robots (figure 1). If recent trends are any sign, professional service robots may pass industrial robots in terms of units in 2020 and revenue--in 2021. That's not to say that the industrial robotics market is hurting.

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Press releases for this batch of 30 research reports all agree that most segments of the robotics industry are expected to grow at a double-digit pace at least through 2022. Although these reports vary widely in their forecasts – often on the same topic, they all seem to agree that the global robotics industry is growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) in the teens or greater. Low power, smaller, lighter sensors with enhanced performance attributes and minimal false alarms is driving innovations in the sensors space for safety systems, wearables, drones, radar and intrusion detection. The fact-based backbone for many of the research reports shown above are the International Federation of Robotics' (IFR) annual World Robotics Industrial Robots and World Robotics Service Robots reports. These two books represent the official tabulation and analysis from all the robot associations around the world and cover all aspects of industrial and service robotics.The 2017 reports cover 2016 activity.

A new white paper by the Robotics Industries Association (RIA) says that as many as 2 million US manufacturing jobs will go unfilled in the next ten years due to a lack of skilled workers. According to the paper: "80% of manufacturers report a shortage of qualified applicants for skilled production positions, and the shortage could cost US manufacturers 11% of their annual earnings." Sought-after skills include: computer vision, algorithm design, robotics, vision systems, motion control, robot design, safety expertise, application developers, human-robot interface design, PLC controls, mechatronics, networking, and integration. According to Deloitte's 2016 Global Manufacturing Competitiveness Index, manufacturers rank talent as the most critical driver of global manufacturing competitiveness. "The skills gap is the industry's number one concern," said A3 President Jeff Burnstein in an interview, "and it's threatening the US manufacturing industry's ability to compete globally."

The fast development of robotics has raised public concern about robots replacing workers not only on factory floors but also in offices, and causing a global unemployment crisis. To an extent, people's concern seems justified. For example, Apple Inc's largest original equipment manufacturer Foxconn Technology Group has started using robots in large numbers, resulting in many workers losing their jobs. An equally fearsome threat is the wide application of artificial intelligence, because it can render many professionals, including financial analysts, jobless. Japan-based Fukoku Mutual Life Insurance Company, for instance, laid off 30 percent of its employees in the claims settlement department in January, as those posts were to be taken over by machines with artificial intelligence.

In warehouses, hospitals and retail stores, and on city streets, industrial parks and the footpaths of college campuses, the first representatives of this new invading force are starting to become apparent. "The robots are among us," says Steve Jurvetson, a Silicon Valley investor and a director at Elon Musk's Tesla and SpaceX companies, which have relied heavily on robotics. A multitude of machines will follow, he says: "A lot of people are going to come in contact with robots in the next two to five years." The arrival of the robots -- and their potentially devastating effect on human employment -- has been widely predicted. Now, the machines are starting to roll or walk out of the labs.

BEIJING – The Canbot can say its name, respond to voice commands, and "dance" as it plays Michael Jackson's "Billie Jean." Other robots China is displaying at the World Robot Conference can play badminton, sand cell phone cases and sort computer chips. China is showcasing its burgeoning robot industry at the five-day exhibition in Beijing, part of a national effort to promote use of more advanced technologies in Chinese factories and create high-end products that redefine the meaning of "Made in China." Apart from the cool factor, China's sweeping plans to upgrade its factories and production lines depend on building and better using advanced robots. Automation is crucial for industries facing rising labor costs and slowing growth in the work force thanks to the "one-child" policy era and aging of the population.

In warehouses, hospitals and retail stores, and on city streets, industrial parks and the footpaths of college campuses, the first representatives of this new invading force are starting to become apparent. "The robots are among us," says Steve Jurvetson, a Silicon Valley investor and a director at Elon Musk's Tesla and SpaceX companies, which have relied heavily on robotics. A multitude of machines will follow, he says: "A lot of people are going to come in contact with robots in the next two to five years." The arrival of the robots -- and their potentially devastating effect on human employment -- has been widely predicted. Now, the machines are starting to roll or walk out of the labs.