Collaborative robots market seen reaching $5.72B by 2031

Mordor Intelligence says the collaborative robots market will rise from $2.28 billion in 2026 to $5.72 billion by 2031, driven by labor shortages, warehouse automation and easier-to-deploy systems. Automotive is the biggest end-user segment, while Asia-Pacific remains the largest and fastest-growing region.

Why it matters: - Collaborative robots, or cobots, are becoming a practical automation option for factories, warehouses and logistics operators that need flexibility without fully fenced robot cells. - The market’s projected growth signals broader adoption of human-robot worksharing across manufacturing and service environments. - Higher demand for e-commerce fulfillment, labor-saving automation and simpler deployment is reshaping where robots are used and who can buy them.

What happened: - Mordor Intelligence projects the collaborative robots market will grow from $2.28 billion in 2026 to $5.72 billion by 2031. - The forecast implies a 20.15% compound annual growth rate over the period. - The report ties adoption to flexible automation, labor shortages, tax incentives, simplified programming and warehouse automation needs. - Automotive is the largest end-user segment, holding 30.35% of market share. - Asia-Pacific is the largest regional market and the fastest-growing region.

The details: - E-commerce growth and same-day delivery demand are pushing warehouse operators to use cobots for picking, palletizing, depalletizing, packaging and material handling. - Logistics companies are pairing stationary cobots with autonomous mobile robots to automate more warehouse tasks. - Plug-and-play cobot systems are lowering the need for specialized integrators and reducing commissioning time for small and medium-sized manufacturers. - Simplified controllers, pre-configured task libraries, intuitive interfaces and hand-guiding features are making first-time automation adoption easier. - Labor shortages across manufacturing and warehousing are increasing demand for robots that can handle repetitive and ergonomically difficult work. - Cobots are attractive in facilities where conventional fenced industrial robots are harder to deploy because of space or workflow limits. - Safety improvements such as force sensing, speed monitoring, collision detection and safety-rated control systems are expanding use in shared workspaces. - Asia-Pacific’s growth is supported by China’s robotics investments, Japan’s automation initiatives, South Korea’s intelligent manufacturing programs and growing electronics, automotive and logistics use cases. - North America is benefiting from reshoring, labor shortages, manufacturing investment and warehouse automation demand. - Europe is seeing adoption tied to flexible automation, workplace ergonomics and Industry 4.0 programs. - The report breaks the market down by payload, component, application, end-user industry, programming method and geography. - Component categories include hardware, software, services, consulting and integration, and maintenance and training. - Applications include material handling, pick and place, assembly, palletizing and depalletizing, welding and soldering, quality testing and inspection, and packaging. - End-user industries include automotive, electronics and semiconductors, general manufacturing, food and beverage, chemicals and pharmaceuticals, logistics and e-commerce, healthcare and life sciences, and metals and machining. - Programming methods include hand-guiding or direct teaching, lead-through teaching, and offline programming and simulation.

Between the lines: - The report shows cobots moving beyond niche factory use into broader operational automation, especially in logistics and high-mix production. - Competition is shifting from basic hardware toward software, connectivity and application-specific systems. - The strong regional outlook for Asia-Pacific suggests robotics adoption is being accelerated by public policy and deep manufacturing ecosystems, not just private-sector demand. - Recent product launches point to a race for faster, higher-payload robots that can handle more industrial tasks.

What's next: - Universal Robots said in August 2026 it was testing agentic physical AI on cobots through the Model Hardware Standard research preview, showing how AI agents could coordinate multiple robot applications through natural-language instructions. - ABB Robotics launched its PoWa high-speed collaborative robot family in April 2026 with payloads from 7 kg to 30 kg and speeds up to 5.8 m/s. - Mordor Intelligence expects continued expansion in warehouse automation, software integration and regional adoption across global manufacturing markets. - The report is also available in Japanese, French, German, Spanish and Portuguese.

The bottom line: - Cobots are shifting from a specialty automation tool to a mainstream productivity layer for factories and warehouses, with Asia-Pacific and automotive leading the next phase of growth.