Sales of Personal Robots to Surpass $15 Billion by 2015

Personal Robots

A report from GeckoSytems International Corporation projects estimates personal robot sales will be significantly higher than the previously announced figure of $15 billion by 2015.

While even this forecast could be very low, it does show that over fifty thousand new jobs will be created in high paying robotics development and manufacturing within the next four to five years.

The main reason for guessing that the $15 billion estimate was on the lower side is because of a parallel his company draws to the last major recession that happened in the early eighties.

At that time personal computers were seen as a simple, economical way of automating work, reducing manpower, not having to pay additional salaries and still getting the work done.

"The immediate impact of productivity improvements and cost savings drove the PC into markets faster than the adoption in good, less stressed economic times," said Spencer. “That new, high tech, high growth PC industry created hundreds of jobs during that recession.”

The company feels that the same scenario will be replicated during this recession and instead of the static PC’s of those days, companies, hospitals and individuals will instead now have a choice of personal care programmable robots that wash cars, look after old people, and serve drinks and food at restaurants.

“Due to the less than one-year payback for many, if not most, of our mobile service robot solutions, we expect our growth to be driven not only by the present economic downturn's severe cost reduction pressures, but also by pent up demand," said Spencer. “We expect to add more than a hundred new employees in the next year."

The company does agree with the projected forecast that claimed 50,000 jobs will be added by 2015, and says that there are jobs available, or will soon be available, in the following categories: software programmers - Artificial Intelligence, and Human Machine Interaction; Computer, software and electrical engineers - Actionable Situational Awareness and Sensor Fusion; Computer and electrical engineers - Control Systems, Hardware Abstraction, Embedded System Design; Electronic contract manufacturing production facilities - final assembly, calibration, and testing prior to shipment to Value Added Resellers (VARS), Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEM’s), dealers, and the rest that make up the supply chain cycle.

Robotics are also being used in microscopic, pin-point solutions, for insertion and navigation of catheters within the human body to rectify differently beating hearts, or arrhythmias.

Personal Robots