• by Chuck Martin , Staff Writer, February 1, 2019

Robots have been working behind the scenes for many years but now they’re about to start moving into the lives of consumers, not necessarily to replace them, but rather to help them.

Consumer robots already are selling, though many focus on cleaning, such as the Roomba from iRobot and the Robot Vacuum for Pets and Allergies from Neato Robotics.

Worldwide sales of consumer robots passed $5 billion in 2018, according to a new forecast from Tractica, which sees the market continuing to grow.

Tractica estimates that worldwide consumer robot shipments will increase from 15 million units in 2018 to 66 million by 2025. The market value by then would be $19 billion.

As in other Internet of Things technology, the tech powering consumer robots is improving as research continues to create robots with more powerful emotional connections with people.

Consumer robots can incorporate lots of technology, including sensors relating to vision, touch and proximity, which could help them find ways to assist around the house. Gyroscopes and accelerometers, used in smartphones, are also finding their way into consumer robots.

The tough market nut to crack at the moment is price.

While robots can be made to clean floors, windows, swimming pools and even mow the lawn, the value has to outweigh the price of such devices. Until then, humans will continue to perform those tasks. The robots will wait.