Market Overview

The autonomous delivery robots market is expected to register a CAGR of over 49.5% during the forecast period, 2019 - 2024. Smart meters boost a utility’s ability to precisely and timely bill customers for the extent of gas used. The remote read capability allows for smaller intervals between billing reads, better business preparation in understanding future revenue streams, or in producing a continuous flow of capital. For instance, smart gas meters take readings every half an hour in a day, and send it to the supplier.

The last mile in supply chain management and transportation planning describes the movement of goods from a transportation hub to the final delivery destination. Delivery is typical to a personal home/residence and can involve big and bulky items that require setup or assembly inside a home or office. Consumers are becoming increasingly sophisticated in what they demand from last-mile delivery. About 20% to 25% of consumers would pick same-day or instant delivery if it were available at low prices. Moreover, the e-commerce industry is growing without cessation and does not show any signs of stopping, more so as developing countries jump on the bandwagon.

This has led to the continued growth of courier, express, and parcel services across different regions of the world, as home delivery has grown to be the most preferred package delivery method, especially among the millennial population. In addition, municipalities are looking at regulating the use of these robots on city sidewalks in some countries. For instance, in December 2017, the city of San Francisco banned delivery robots from most of its sidewalks, forcing companies to test their robots in other cities.

Autonomous delivery robots began toting food to waiting for customers in San Francisco earlier in 2017 after Marble partnered with Yelp Eat 24 to test its flagship delivery bot. The four-wheeled robot is the size of an office copy machine. However, some pedestrians in San Francisco have complained that they crowd sidewalks and present a hazard to humans. Therefore, in May, shortly after Marble's first bot rolled down the sidewalk, San Francisco Supervisor Norman Yee proposed a ban on the use of the technology in the city, citing public safety concerns. These challenges, among others, will determine whether last-mile delivery robots move from an emerging technology to a more mass-market offering. Thus, delivery robots are not likely to find easy usage on crowded roads, which is the most common scenario in urban areas.

Moreover, although the market is expected to grow, several challenges are expected to contest automated last-mile deliveries. Like self-driving cars, many trials of autonomous last-mile delivery robots are occurring in fair-weather locations. Outdoor deliveries will challenge such vehicles with snowy, icy, or rainy conditions.

For instance, in Boston, where NuTonomy has been road testing autonomous vehicles in cooperation with city planning officials, snow and seagulls have emerged as two of the biggest obstacles. Further, since delivery robots can be understood as cyber-physical systems in the context of Industry 4.0, there has to be the related regulatory framework of Industry 4.0 in international terms. As some of the autonomous delivery robots available currently are still remotely controlled from a control center, a permanent exchange of data between the robot and the control center occurs, resulting in serious issues in terms of data protection. Unless all firms shift to provide completely independent autonomous delivery robots, such as Starship Technologies, this factor will challenge market growth.

Scope of the Report

Report scope can be customized per your requirements. Click here.

Key Market Trends

Retail and Logistics Segment is Expected to Register a Significant Growth

Retail and logistics is the largest end user for autonomous delivery robots, globally. The increasing presence of e-commerce players and omnichannel retailers worldwide is the primary factors driving the demand for autonomous delivery robots, especially for last mile delivery.

Although there are several initiatives for airborne delivery systems, such as the Amazon Prime Air, they are not efficient enough to bridge the gaps in last mile delivery and logistics. But in the case of autonomous delivery robots, they can serve more customers at more economics costs, traveling more distances in a much safer manner. In the current market scenario, most of the pilot programs and innovations made for the autonomous delivery robots are targeted to address the last mile delivery problems. In many countries across the world, they are even functional in several cities. Countries like the United States, Japan, China, and several other European countries have a considerable number of services that are already using autonomous delivery robots for last mile deliveries.

For example, as of June 2018, JD.com, the second largest e-commerce player in China after Alibaba, started last mile deliveries using autonomous robots in Beijing. Previously, the company also employed autonomous delivery robots in several closed areas, such as college campuses and closed-off industrial communities, staying ahead in the competition.

To understand key trends, Download Sample Report