Roland Berger says humanoid robot manufacturing could be $750 billion market by 2035 - Consultancy.uk

Roland Berger says humanoid robot manufacturing could be $750 billion market by 2035

29 June 2026 Consultancy.uk 5 min. read

The preserve of dystopian science-fiction for the best part of a century, a new study from Roland Berger claims that humanoid robots are on the verge of moving from the prototype phase to industrial-scale rollout. According to the researchers, the machines could be used to cover for labour shortages, creating a robot manufacturing market worth as much as $4 trillion – though such an approach would require “harmonised legislation” to ensure ethical use. In the case of Japan, long touted as the way of the future, technology was touted as the way forward. With public and private investment accelerating markedly in the 2010s, by 2018, the national government alone had spent well in excess of $300 million funding research and development for humanoid robots to care for the elderly – and indirectly avoid loosening immigration controls. However, a major national survey of over 9,000 elder-care institutions in Japan showed that in 2019, only about 10% reported having introduced any care robot, while a 2021 study found that out of a sample of 444 people who provided home care, only 2% had experience with a care robot. While software maturity increases could grow the range of tasks, issues such as durability, safety, and liability will also determine the speed and breadth of industrialisation, the researchers believe. But this may move slowly, as while existing safety standards are designed for traditional, fenced-off automation, humanoid robots, “work dynamically and move in the same spaces as people”. As a result, new testing and certification approaches as well as “harmonised legislation” will be needed before their wider implementation. Even so, the researchers are confident in the technology itself – if not its application.

Source: Roland Berger