The uptake in the use of automatic floor scrubbers has increased across numerous sectors in recent years as facility managers look for more effective and efficient ways to ensure cleanliness.
That growth doesn’t look like slowing down as the COVID-19 pandemic continues.
The floor scrubbers and sweepers market is expected to keep surging in the coming years. A new report from market research firm Arizton Advisory & Intelligence suggests the market will grow at a compound annual growth rate of over 8 per cent between 2020−2026. Key drivers include a growing demand for cleaning technologies, a greater inclination toward sustainability, and a rising call for cleanliness in industries like hospitality.
The scrubbers segment dominated over 57 per cent of the market. Contract cleaners, such as building service providers (BSCs), account for the majority share of the scrubbers and sweepers market at approximately 14 per cent of the global share.
And automatic or autonomous floor scrubbers are leading the way.
Another study, from ABI Research in 2019, found that autonomous mobile robots are likely to be the fastest-growing category in the mobile robot market between 2020 and 2030. ABI predicted a significant sector for mobile automation would be maintenance and cleaning, noting 5,000 autonomous floor scrubbers were already in U.S. retail stores and commercial buildings at the end of 2019.
Today, there are thousands of machine-powered “intelligent cleaners” deployed globally in facilities like retail and grocery stores, malls, airports, schools, hospitals, and other public locations.
“The main difference between those very early versions and the machines of today have to do with the quality of sensors and cameras for autonomous navigation, the sophistication of the artificial intelligence (AI), safety, ease of use, cleaning efficiency, and much more,” said Alan Butcher, Vice President of Global Client Services at Brain Corp., a provider of AI and robotics technology used in autonomous scrubbers, vacuums and other applications. “It’s literally night and day—probably what you would expect from two decades of innovation.”
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The current versions of automatic floor scrubbers offer numerous benefits, including easy repetition of tasks, greater efficiency, reduced costs, and the ability to reallocate personnel and resources to other high-value tasks.
