From cheaper competitors to regulatory concerns to consumers not buying, the tale of iRobot is one that any robot firm pitching Home Robots should be one that is studied
Your statistic, "As of recent estimates, only about 20-30% of warehouses in the U.S. are automated to some degree," seems to be based on the number of warehouse buildings or companies, and might include any type of robot.
Considering that dominant players such as Amazon or Walmart automate far more than others, if this statistic were about square footage, cubic footage, package count, product value, etc., do you know what that percentage would be?
It depends on how you measure it, and that is why the 20-30% range is so wide. Everyone uses different criteria to measure the percentage of automation. I can walk into a brand-new Walmart warehouse and see automation doing a vast majority of the work but still hundreds of employees and then walk into an old Walmart warehouse with only conveyor belts and hundreds of employees, and it is hard to nail down what the true number is even within a company itself.
Aaron,
Your statistic, "As of recent estimates, only about 20-30% of warehouses in the U.S. are automated to some degree," seems to be based on the number of warehouse buildings or companies, and might include any type of robot.
Considering that dominant players such as Amazon or Walmart automate far more than others, if this statistic were about square footage, cubic footage, package count, product value, etc., do you know what that percentage would be?
It depends on how you measure it, and that is why the 20-30% range is so wide. Everyone uses different criteria to measure the percentage of automation. I can walk into a brand-new Walmart warehouse and see automation doing a vast majority of the work but still hundreds of employees and then walk into an old Walmart warehouse with only conveyor belts and hundreds of employees, and it is hard to nail down what the true number is even within a company itself.