IRobots - Robots for Remote Health Care Market - Market Size, Growth, Trends, Forecasts (2020 - 2025)

iRobot Corp., a leader in delivering robotic solutions, made the first autonomous navigation remote presence robot RP-VITA. RP-VITA was a joint effort of iRobot and InTouch Health. RP-VITA is being sold into the healthcare market by InTouch Health as its new flagship remote presence device. FDA clearance specifies that RP-VITA can be used for active patient monitoring in pre-operative, peri-operative and post-surgical settings, including cardiovascular, neurological, prenatal, psychological and critical care assessments and examinations.

 The advantage of developing robots is it allows to remote doctor-to-patient consults, ensuring that the physician is in the right place at the right time and has access to the necessary clinical information to take immediate action. iRobot is continuing to explore adjacent market opportunities for robots like RP-VITA and the iRobot Avamobile robotics platform. iRobot's Ava 500 video collaboration robot, developed in conjunction with Cisco Systems. It was also the first self-driving business collaboration robot. It was designed to produce an easy-to-implement, versatile, affordable robot platform for security and healthcare applications.

These robots combine the latest in autonomous navigation and mobility technologies developed by iRobot with state-of-the-art telemedicine and electronic health record integration developed by InTouch Health. It maps its own environment and uses an array of sophisticated sensors to autonomously move about a busy space without interfering with people or other objects. Using an intuitive iPad interface, a doctor can visit a patient, and communicate with hospital staff and patients with a single click, regardless of their location. These robots have unprecedented ease of use.   

With fewer doctors to meet the growing health-care needs of our aging population, hospitals and health systems are investing in robotic systems for surgery and telemedicine that increase their patient capacity and geographic reach. International Federation of Robotics (IFR) reports that sales of industrial robots increased 12% from 2012 to 2013, and the organization reports that 2014 is headed for similar growth. Reports also say the global medical robotics sector was estimated at almost USD 5.5 billion in 2011 and is expected to reach USD 13.6 billion in 2018.

VGo Communications, Inc. is developing robotic telepresence solutions for healthcare. To gain access to advanced mobile robotics KUKA spent USD 335 million to buy Swisslog, a global provider of integrated logistics solutions for warehouses, distribution centers and hospitals. Companies like SRI International, Medrobotics Corporation, Axon Motor, Kinova designs, Innovation, Ekso Bionics invested in robotics for health care. Cyberdyne commercializes the inventions of Prof. Sankai and his laboratory at the University of Tsukuba. The company's flagship product is the Hybrid Assistive Limb (HAL) suit, which enables and/or augments human motor function by reading nerve signals through the skin.

The threat level of new competitors entering the robotics industry is medium-high. New competitors entering the industry would need extensive experience in robotics as the industry requires companies to have large amounts of engineering and robotics-related human capital. Such expertise would need to come from government-sponsored laboratories or universities focused on robotics-based research and development.

Technological advances in computing power, miniature precision sensors, and application programming are accelerating the adoption of healthcare robotics by making healthcare robots more sophisticated, precise, efficient and affordable. Aggressive marketing by robot manufacturing firms is putting hospitals in a fix. If they don’t buy the latest machine, patients may perceive them to be behind the times. Patients are increasingly opting for minimally invasive surgical procedures that minimize trauma and shorten the hospital stay which may require robotic assistance.

With most of the developed nations growing faster than developing countries, governments will increasingly subsidize and encourage healthcare robotics not only to improve productivity but also to offset regional differences in skilled healthcare labor availability and costs. By assisting humans in some instances and replacing them with others, robotic systems offer tangible cost savings to healthcare organizations. Boring, repetitive and hazardous tasks could increasingly be taken over by robots. They may gain more acceptability to take on the roles of care-giver, nursing assistant and companion for elder care.

The study, besides estimating the potential for robots in remote healthcare between 2016 and 2021, analyzes on who can be the market leaders and what partnerships would help them to capture the market share. The report gives an overview of the dynamics of the market, by discussing various aspects such as drivers, restraints, Porter’s five forces, value-chain, customer acceptance and investment scenario.  

The study in brief deals with the product life cycle, comparing it to the relevant products from across industries that had already been commercialized. It approximates the time for innovation, in order for the industry to maintain a stable growth over a sustained period. The report also details the potential for various applications, discussing the recent product innovations and gives an overview on potential regional market shares.

Key Deliverables in the Study

• Market analysis for the IRobots market, with region-specific assessments and competition analysis on a global and regional scale.
• Market definition along with the identification of key drivers and restraints.
• Identification of factors instrumental in changing the market scenario, rising prospective opportunities, and identification of key companies that can influence this market on a global and regional scale.
• Extensively researched competitive landscape section with profiles of major companies along with their market share.
• Identification and analysis of the macro and micro factors that affect the IRobots market on both global and regional scale.
• A comprehensive list of key market players along with the analysis of their current strategic interests and key financial information.
• A wide-ranging knowledge and insights about the major players in this industry and the key strategies adopted by them to sustain and grow in the studied market.
• Insights into the major countries/regions where this industry is growing and also identify the regions that are still untapped.