IFR: professional service robot sales climb 24% as logistics leads

IFR: professional service robot sales climb 24% as logistics leads

30 September 2026: Shipments of professional service robots rose 24 percent to almost 250,000 units in 2025, according to the International Federation of Robotics in Frankfurt. Transport and logistics accounted for 117,500 of them, up 21 percent and 47 percent of the market.

Not yet independently verified. The figures are preliminary IFR statistics. IFR's headline gives 117,000 units for transport and logistics while the body says 117,500. We will update this when it can be confirmed, and remove this note.

Logistics, hospitality and cleaning

Transport and logistics is the largest application by a wide margin, covering transportation, material-flow automation and delivery. Hospitality ranks second, with robots for mobile guidance, public information points and telepresence, and professional cleaning ranks third, mostly floor cleaning machines.

The IFR also points to the business model. Traditional sales remain the main way robots are paid for, but robots-as-a-service, where a customer pays for use rather than buying the machine, is growing and is already the dominant model in the United States.

Humanoids: about 7,000 sold

For the first time the federation counted full-size humanoids, meaning machines taller than 140 cm, sold for commercial or professional use beyond research and entertainment. It puts the 2025 total at about 7,000 units.

The IFR is cautious about what they do. Most deployments are specialised, and many rely on teleoperation. It names three barriers: safety standards, the cost of training and maintenance, and a weak business case, especially in industry. World Robotics 2026 includes a special chapter on humanoids, and Dr Werner Kraus, chair of the IFR Service Robot Committee, says it will provide "a comprehensive overview about humanoids as the robotics newest market".

Consumers and operating theatres

Consumer service robots grew 37 percent to almost 34.2 million units, mainly mass-market domestic robots. The IFR lists three trends: automation of household tasks, the integration of AI and connection to smart home systems.

Medical robots overall grew 19 percent. Within that, surgical robots were the main driver, and 8,400 units were sold, growth of 57 percent.

Jane Heffner, President of the IFR, says: "Service robots are expanding into everyday operations". She adds that sales went up across all three segments with double-digit growth rates.

The position paper from the week before

On 24 September the federation published a position paper titled "Service Robots: Impact of Robots on Human Life". It names labour shortages as the strongest driver of adoption, with ageing populations and falling birth rates shrinking the workforce in many economies. Robots take on repetitive, physically demanding, hazardous or time-consuming tasks so staff can concentrate on work needing judgement and interpersonal contact.

The paper lists healthcare, hospitality, agriculture, cleaning, security, logistics, public services and retail as sectors, and hospitals, hotels, airports, retail environments and public facilities as deployment settings. It says the future of service robotics will not be dominated by one robot type: mobile robots, stationary systems, drones, legged robots and emerging humanoids each suit different applications. It also stresses cybersecurity, privacy, responsible AI and clear accountability where robots work among the public.

Where the numbers come from

The statistics are compiled by the IFR Statistical Department for the annual World Robotics report, which has one volume on industrial robots and one on service robots. The service robot volume gives global statistics for professional and personal service robots by application for 2024 and 2025, with market analysis. The IFR says the sample of companies for service robots varies each year.

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Sources

• IFR press release: global sales of professional service robots surge 24 percent, 30 September 2026
• IFR position paper release: Service Robots, Impact of Robots on Human Life, 24 September 2026
• IFR: World Robotics reports (read 2026-10-17), 17 October 2026