Food robotics is the machines utilized in the food and beverage sector to carry on complex tasks like palletizing, packing, and picking. The involvement of automation in the food processing sector to cater to heavy machinery, material handling systems, sophisticated processing procedures, packaging, and placement has brought up robotics. The functions and capabilities of automated systems have widely garnered the utilization of food robotics.
The surge in the demand for food with growing population along with the increase in demand for higher productivity in the food processing sector is the major reason fueling the growth of the global food robotics market significantly. Moreover, the growing technological transformation throughout the globe especially in robotics technology is paving the way towards the deployment of advanced robotics in processing sectors. Additionally, the ease of use of robotics technology and low dependency on the workforce to maintain the qualitative output is a big factor inducing the market players to adopt robotics technology in the food processing units. Moreover, the safety measures undertaken by regulatory authorities are also supporting the proliferation of robots in the food and beverage sectors. Also, the transforming lifestyle of people is thereby escalating the demand for ready-to-eat and packaged food products, which in turn is likely to augment the growth of the global market during the forecast period.
The global food robotics market can be segmented into application, payload, types of robots, and region.
By application, the market can be segmented into processing, picking, palletizing, repackaging, packaging, and others. The packaging segment accounts for the largest share in the global market due to the increasing demand for packaging all across the globe. Moreover, the utilization of robotics for packaging increases productivity, brings uniformity, and reduces wastage.
By payload, the market can be segmented into heavy, medium, and low. The medium payload segment holds the largest share in the global market owing to the large number of applications being addressed by it.
By types of robots, the market can be segmented into cylindrical, SCARA, parallel, articulated, and others. The articulated segment holds hegemony over others due to the extensive use of the system for material handling and palletizing.
Europe accounts for the largest share in the global food robotics market due to the high food safety standards in the region. Moreover, the high labor cost also encourages the adoption of robotics in the food sector.
Asia Pacific is expected to witness huge growth in the forthcoming years due to the growing disposable income of the people in the region along with the increasing demand for processed and packaged food.
Some of the significant players in the global food robotics market are Moley Robotics, Fuji Robotics, Ellison Technologies Inc., Aurotek Corporation, Mayekawa Mfg. Co. Ltd., Schunk GmbH, Bastian Solutions LLC, Staubli International AG, Universal Robots A/S, OMRON Corporation, Nachi-Fujikoshi Corporation, Denso Corporation, Yaskawa Electric Corporation, Mitsubishi Electric Corporation, Rockwell Automation Inc., Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd., Fanuc Corporation, KUKA AG, and ABB Group. To cite, in December 2020, 50 SCARA robots were deployed by ABB in Singapore. The robotics implementation is likely to reduce the labor cost and boost output efficiency.
