Robotics firms ride wave of strong AI growth in global markets

Robotics companies worldwide are experiencing substantial growth, fueled by the integration of powerful artificial intelligence (AI) technologies. 

This surge is transforming traditional industrial automation and rapidly expanding the service robotics market by enabling systems that are more autonomous, adaptive, and efficient across diverse industries. 

AI essentially provides robots with the "brains" for perception, learning, and real-time decision-making, allowing them to move beyond fixed, pre-programmed tasks and competently handle complex, dynamic environments.

This shift delivers significant benefits, including enhanced operational efficiency and cost reduction. 

AI-powered robots operate with high precision, minimizing human error, and utilizing predictive maintenance to boost productivity. 

Furthermore, automation is proving critical in addressing persistent labour shortages and rising labor costs across sectors like logistics, manufacturing, and healthcare.

Leading this global surge are established industrial giants such as ABB and FANUC, which are integrating AI for smarter, more flexible automation and collaborative robots (cobots). 

Key technology enablers, like NVIDIA, provide the high-performance GPUs and platforms essential for running complex AI and robotics workloads. 

Firms like Boston Dynamics, known for its agile robots, and Intuitive Surgical, which dominates medical robotics, leverage AI for advanced movement, navigation, and enhanced surgical precision. 

The sector is also seeing massive investment in emerging developers like Figure AI, focusing on the commercialisation of general-purpose humanoid robots for logistics and manufacturing tasks.