Military Robot Markets to Exceed $8 Billion in 2016

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Between 50 and 80 countries either already utilize defense robotic systems, or are in the process of building or acquiring the technology to incorporate them into their military programs. These robots may take the form of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs), and even unmanned underwater vehicles (UUVs), but they all have in common the purpose of taking the place of, or supplementing, humans in battlefield situations.

“While the use of semi-autonomous or autonomous robots can improve military efficiency, accuracy, and operational performance, the overriding ROI for these systems is the ability to reduce the likelihood of injury or death.”

According to a new study by ABI Research, Defense Robots: UAVs, UGVs, UUVs and Task Robots for Military Applications (http://www.abiresearch.com/research/1006109-Defense_Robotics), the global market for military robotics will grow from $5.8 billion in 2010 to more than $8 billion in 2016.

The military robot market includes a variety of machines that effectively replace humans on the battlefield. Amongst the robots are unmanned aerial vehicles, unmanned ground vehicles, and unmanned underwater vehicles.

“While the use of semi-autonomous or autonomous robots can improve military efficiency, accuracy, and operational performance, the overriding ROI for these systems is the ability to reduce the likelihood of injury or death,” stated Larry Fisher, research director of NextGen, ABI Research’s emerging technologies research incubator.

These defense robotic systems are already in use in 50 to 80 countries. And those countries that do not already use these systems are in the process of building and acquiring the technology.
The ABI study, Defense Robots: UAVs, UGVs, UUVs and Task Robots for Military Applications, stated that the worldwide market for military robotics will reach approximately over $8 billion in 2016, up from $5.8 billion as reported in 2010.
These huge developments in the robotics industry stem from certain attempts to improve military strategy including preventing casualties on the field, altering reconnaissance tactics, reducing military spending, developing materials science, and creating more advanced robots.
The robotics industry faces several conflicts though involving the most prominent of which: the weak economy. The other hot controversial topic is the ethical questions that arise out of using robots in place of humans for active duty combat.
Fisher continued, “ABI Research projects that the market for military robots will remain healthy throughout the forecast period and beyond, with even greater opportunities opening up by the end of the decade, driven by technological advances and a growing, real-world track record of tangible benefits offered by these systems.”