Selected quotes from the International Federation of Robotics’ just-released 2010 statistical reports on the robotics industry:

Industrial Robots: There are many reasons for a bright future in robotics: Huge consumer markets are opening up in China, India, Brazil and Russia. The competitive nature of the automotive companies results in new investments in production facilities in these markets. Other industries are following as well. The degree of automation in North America is comparatively low with a need to catch up through investments in robotics. After the substantial rise of robot sales in 2010, a further increase will resume in the period between 2011 and 2013 by about 9% per year on average in the Americas, about 12% in Asia/Australia and by 8% in Europe.

Service Robots for Professional Use: Projections for 2010-2013 indicate that the number of professional service robots will double. Application areas with strong growth are defense (30+%), rescue and security applications, field robots, logistic systems, inspection robots, medical robots and mobile robot platforms for multiple use.

Service Robots for Personal Use: Projected sales of all types of domestic robots (vacuum cleaning, lawn-mowing, window cleaning and other types) in the period 2010-2013 could reach some 6.7 million units. The market for entertainment and leisure robots, which includes toy robots, is forecast at about 4.6 million units. The two markets combined will yield more than $5 billion.