Simultaneous Localization and Mapping Market - Growth, Trends, COVID-19 Impact, and Forecasts (2022 - 2027)

The simultaneous localization and mapping market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 26.78% during the forecast period. The growing adoption of wireless technology, increasing investment in developing robust autonomous technology, rising demand for service robots for domestic applications, are some of the major factors driving the growth of the simultaneous localization and mapping market.

Key Highlights

• Growing large scale adoption of SLAM technology in various industries such as automotive, virtual reality, UAV, robotics, is expected to result in significant growth of the market in the coming few years as the need for mapping and location tracing is increasing across wide end-user application industry.
• Moreover, SLAM is being widely being researched by various universities to reduce the cost of delivery through robots and to increase the efficiency of last-mile delivery. For instance, in January 2020, the researchers at the Southwest University of Science and Technology, Singapore University of Technology and Design, the University of Moratuwa and Nanyang Technological University developed a new technique for collaborative SLAM that does rely on range-based or vision-based sensors. This technique enables more effective robot navigation within unknown indoor environments at a cost significantly lower than that of most previously proposed methods.
• Additionally, various navigation technology vendors are increasingly developing and offering SLAM based mapping solutions. For instance, Eaton is offering L2STAR V-SLAM, which is built on SLAM technology. The company developed V-SLAM merging the information from 4 cameras&IMU&GPS the algorithm creates in real-time a 3D map of the environment and uses it to estimate the vehicle position with accuracy and is expected to boost the market.
• Further, the SLAM technology is associated with challenges such as solving the loop closure problem using visual information in life-long situations due to dynamic elements, illumination, weather, or seasons. Also, the algorithms used in these environments are time-consuming and non-efficient, leading to their use in small environments which can hamper the growth of the market

Key Market Trends

UAVs and Robots Will Experience Significant Growth and Drive the Market

• UAVs are seeing growing applications from defense to agriculture in the recent years, in addition to this, the technology is increasingly becoming commercial for various purposes such as emergency response, disaster relief & control, agriculture, weather forecasting, mining, construction planning, and many more. Additionally, innovations in camera technology have had a significant impact on the growing application of UAVs. Drones with thermal imaging cameras have provided emergency response teams with an ideal solution for identifying victims, which are difficult to spot with the naked eye. For instance, in 2017, drones were used to help restore power to areas damaged by Hurricane Harvey, as well as to conduct survey damage to flooded areas and assist in search and rescue effort.
• Further, various vendors in the market are expanding their UAV offerings to industries with hazardous work environments where SLAM based UAVs can work autonomously. For example, Japan-based Terra Drone Corporation has signed an investment agreement with Unmanned Aerial Services Incorporated UAS Inc to form a new subsidiary in Canada, Terra Drone Mining, to offer unmanned mapping and inspection services to underground mines.
• With the recent outbreak of Covid-19, which highlighted the demand for automating various repetitive tasks to mitigate the risk of workforce shortage is expected to further augment the demand for automation over the coming years. With the growing number of automation, the demand for SLAM technology in various industrial spaces is also expected to see a positive boost.

North America is Expected to Experience Significant Growth

• North America's simultaneous localization and mapping market is expected to hold a significant share due to the favorable government regulations and increasing military spending on drones for the research and development of unmanned systems in the air, ground, and sea. The Department of Defense has requested approximately USD 9.39 billion for unmanned systems and associated technologies in the financial year 2019 budget, which would include funding for the procurement of 3,447 new air, ground, and sea drones. Moreover, according to the Teal Group, United States will continue to lead the investment in military unmanned aerial vehicle systems with research and development spending increasing from an estimated USD 2.2 billion in 2020 to USD 2.7 billion in 2029.
• Additionally, the growing gaming industry in the United States commands a prominent share of the demand for AR headsets and owing to which various vendors in the market are increasingly focusing on developing solutions specific to the industry. Various vendors in the market are building their own enhanced SLAM solutions to be incorporated in their offerings.
• For instance, in September 2019, ThirdEye announced commercial availability of its X2 Glasses which provides all-in-one hardware and software solution, with the company aiming to streamline the quality of work and performance for companies across all industries, including health care, manufacturing, field services, airlines, architecture, education, and insurance. The company offers its proprietary SLAM system called VisionEye SLAM under these glasses which is expected to drive the market.

Competitive Landscape

The simultaneous localization and mapping market is competitive and is dominated by a few major players like Apple Inc.​, Google LLC​, Intel Corporation, Amazon Robotics, ClearPath Robotics​​ and Microsoft Inc.​ These major players with a prominent share in the market are focusing on expanding their customer base across foreign countries. These companies are leveraging strategic collaborative initiatives to increase their market share and increase their profitability. However, with technological advancements and product innovations, mid-size to smaller companies are increasing their market presence by securing new contracts and by tapping new markets.

• June 2020 - OTTO Motors, a division of Clearpath Robotics, has closed USD 29 million in Series C funding for the continued expansion of its autonomous mobile robot (AMR) platform. This funding will be used to expand OTTO’s global network of delivery partners and accelerate its product roadmap for enterprise customers with an emphasis on its industry-leading autonomous technology.
• May 2020 - Kudan Inc has successfully implemented KudanSLAM*1 in ToF cameras using products made by Analog Devices, K.K. and the cooperative development of 3D SLAM demonstration software operating on ROS (Robot Operating System). The use of ToF cameras in autonomous robotics allows 3D SLAM to function even in poorly lit locations for which standalone RGB cameras are not well-suited. The provision of all of these features on ROS will not only shorten development times, but will provide a wide range of benefits to robotics developers and researchers of autonomous driving and other associated technologies through the implementation in the same devices of 3D SLAM and ToF-specific obstacle-detection functionality.

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