Mobile Industrial Robots has launched a leasing program for its autonomous mobile robots (AMRs). The robots as a service (RaaS) program lets companies of all sizes deploy mobile robots with low (or no) upfront costs and low monthly payments. This lowers financial barriers for investing in AMRs and gives customers a near immediate return on investment (ROI).

MiR’s RaaS program, which is called “MiR Finance,” let’s customers lease the AMRs and includes integration and top modules for the robots. The monthly cost depends on the type of robot and the length of the leasing period. For example, MiR said the cost to lease a MiR100 that runs in one-shift operation is $4.44 per hour – or $711 per month.

RaaS was a big topic of discussion at last week’s Robotics Summit & Expo, which is produced by The Robot Report and parent company WTWH Media. On top of the benefits to end users, RaaS also opens up new recurring revenue streams for robotics companies.

ABI Research recently estimated the installed base for RaaS will grow from 4,442 units in 2016 to 1.3 million in 2026. The yearly revenue from RaaS providers is expected to increase from $217 million in 2016 to nearly $34 billion in 2026.

“While sales of our mobile robots continue to thrive, many companies still prefer to lease their logistics equipment rather than make a capital investment upfront,” said Thomas Visti, CEO, MiR. “Leasing the robots becomes an operational expenditure instead, enabling our customers to quickly get started reaping the benefits AMRs offer as they automate monotonous, repetitive, and often injury-prone manual material transportation.”

MiR’s distributors will be working with a third-party company to provide lease programs for the customer. The leasing terms are flexible, with 48 months being a popular option. MiR’s distributors will continue to be responsible of first-level support, service and maintenance. In this way, not much will change for the customers, that will now have one more option in terms of payment for their robots.