As competition intensifies, "robot wars" begin. Recently, the US sweeping robot manufacturer iRobot initiated lawsuits against several competitors and accused them of infringing on the company’s six technology patents. Alleged targets include Bissell, Hoover, Royal Electric Manufacturing Co., Ltd., bObsweep, Black & Decker, Shenzhen Zhiyi Technology Co., Ltd., Panasonic Enterprise Co., Ltd., Suzhou Real Electric Appliance Co., Ltd. and Shenzhen Yinxing Intelligent Technology Co., Ltd., etc.
While the market structure is still contending, the patent warfare will go ahead. This can not only safeguard intellectual property, but also enhance the acceptance of new things through industry exposure. In the wrestling field, besides the veteran iRobot, the British brand Dyson, the American Neato, the domestic Coworth, Haier, Midea, and Xiaomi also targeted this blue ocean.
Robot Patent Warfare
Colin Angle, chairman and CEO of iRobot, said that as a pioneer in home robots, iRobot has invested heavily in the development of robotics technology and protection of intellectual property rights. If Shanzhai is allowed, its US operations may be threatened. In the opinion of iRobot, litigation is a case in which domestic American industry and international imitators confront each other. Alleged competitors infringe one or more of the company's six different patents, and iRobot requires the International Trade Commission (ITC) to impose sanctions. And prevented the import of counterfeit sweeping robots.
As the first listed company for global home robots, iRobot currently has approximately 300 patents in the United States and over 900 patented technologies worldwide. Since 2011, the company's investment in research and development has remained at 12%-13%. Compared to Cobos, which has the largest domestic share, patents and R&D investment have certain advantages. According to the prospectus disclosed by Coworth, the number of patents is 572.
Judging from the six patents mentioned by iRobot, the technology mainly involves two aspects. One is how to avoid obstacles through the sensor system and the optical distance measurement system, covering the sweeping area; the second is how to and trash cans, sensors, and concentration. Controllers are combined and work together to organize the room, including designing a remote control on the sweeping robot for control.
If iRobot can list the evidence to ITC's decision, its intellectual property rights are indeed violated, and the outcome is not good for competitors, because the purpose of this robot manufacturer is to "kill" the opponent's products. Of course, the premise is that iRobot must confirm that the Shanzhai incident does exist.
Cowos's technical staff told the 21st Century Business Herald reporter that the technology of sweeping robots is mainly concentrated in three parts. The first is the sensor, which senses the surrounding environment; the second is the judgment, which is calculated after the obstacle is encountered; Is the machine's athletic ability, feedback on the instruction.
However, it is worth noting that, as the industry matures and related technologies become open source, the technical barriers of sweeping robots are declining. After new players join, the competition will intensify. Whether it is Samsung, LG, Haier and other home appliance giants, or Kewo Si, millet and other emerging startup companies, can produce similar products. However, iRobot, which is known for its patents, has not obtained any authorized revenue from more than 900 patented technologies. This time, litigation companies also want to block the market's latecomers.
Ten billion market blue sea
Behind the patent war is the rapid rise of the sweeping robot market. With the increase in labor costs and room conditions, the demand for sweeping robots has expanded in the past two years.
Liu Buchen, a veteran of the household appliances industry, told the 21st Century Business Herald reporter: "In fact, 10 years ago, there were already related products for sweeping robots. At that time, the prices were high and the intelligence was low, which also led to low sales. The price of machines in the past two years In the downturn, the unit has dropped from ten thousand yuan to one thousand yuan, which has led to growth, and on the other hand, the degree of intelligence has been improved, sweeping robots can automatically charge and intelligently plan paths, but at present, there is not a single brand that is particularly strong, and everyone feels that there is an opportunity. In a quick start period, patent warfare is also very likely."
In his view, the sweeping robot is now similar to the air purifier three or five years ago, which means that there is still much room for growth in the sweeping robots.
According to data from the GF Securities Development Research Center, by the end of 2015, the penetration rate of U.S. household intelligent floor sweeping robots was 16%, the penetration rate of intelligent sweeping robots in domestic coastal areas was 4%-5%, and the penetration rate in inland areas was low. 0.5%. The products that form complementary products and substitutes with intelligent sweeping robots are washing machines and vacuum cleaners respectively. In Chinese families, the penetration rate of washing machines is close to 90%, and the penetration rate of household vacuum cleaners has reached 30%-40%.
From the penetration point of view, domestic sweeping robots still have growth opportunities. According to the forecast of GFK market research company, the market for sweeping robots in China is still maintaining rapid growth. The market size in 2017 will reach 7.5 billion yuan, and in 2018 it will increase to 12 billion yuan.
Bharath, a home appliance research analyst at Technavio, a research company, said that according to survey research, the average selling price of sweeping robots will decrease in the next three years, so Technavio researchers expect that the market will experience positive growth by 2020. Because it can reduce the daily house cleaning time, it is welcomed by urban consumers who are fast-paced.
In the face of Blue Ocean, iRobot and other foreign companies are aiming at potential Chinese markets. According to iRobot, China's household cleaning robot market will be between 1.1 billion and 1.7 billion US dollars in the next five years. In the context of consumer upgrades, companies such as iRobot and Dyson have taken a fancy to China’s high-end consumer market. The new companies in China are gradually moving toward Europe, the United States, Japan and South Korea. For example, Korver’s foreign sales accounted for more than 10%, and in February 2017, the German market accounted for 22.4%.
The patent war started the field of sweeping robots this year, and the global warfare has only just begun.
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