Voice-based assistant robots accounted for the majority share of global sales of service robots for 2016.
This is according to market analyst firm TrendForce, which notes voice-based assistant robots accounted for 50% of total sales last year.
TrendForce attributes the growth to the rapid development of artificial intelligence (AI). Rapid progress in the development of AI has allowed humans to communicate with robots using natural languages, the market analyst firm notes.
Robot vacuum cleaners made up the second-largest share of total service robot sales at nearly 40%, it says.
"Voice-based robot assistants have been on the market for many years, but sales had not really taken off until recently, when they included new functions such as remote operation of connected appliances and Internet searches," says Harrison Po, senior manager of TrendForce's photonic and innovative technologies research.
"Due to the successes of several assistant robots, many large IT companies and technology start-ups have decided to enter the market with their own products."
For example, Po explains, Amazon has become a major vendor in the service robot market with its Echo speaker, which arrived on the market in 2014. Echo achieved a sales volume of around 5.2 million units for the entire 2016.
TrendForce points out that several global brand companies across different industries have entered the service robot market. Well-known examples are Honda's ASIMO, Softbank's Pepper and Amazon's Echo. Sharp, Hitachi, Toyota and LG Electronics are also developing voice-based assistant robots, it adds.
"Going forward, voice-based assistant robots not only have to continually improve their voice recognition capability, they also have to integrate with more powerful machine learning technologies," says Po.
"With better AI, these robot assistants will be able to respond appropriately according to individual users' emotions, habits and expectations. In a sense, they will become more personalised in the future."
For example, Toyota's Kiro Mini, a robot designed to serve as a companion to the driver and passengers in a vehicle, has a conversation function that consists of a voice recognition solution developed by Fuetrek and an in-house conversation engine, says TrendForce.
This conversation engine, designed to freely interact with users without pre-set questions, can create responses catering to specific needs or interests, it concludes.
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