The collaborative robotics sector is expected to grow rapidly in the next four years and be worth US$1 billion by 2020, according to the Institute for Information Industry's Market Intelligence & Consulting Institute (MIC).

The sector had an economic value of US$95 million in 2014 but is likely to soar as collaborative robots (cobots) designed to work alongside human workers become more widely used in the plastics and electronics industries, said MIC research fellow Lee Yi-cing. 

The growth in demand for cobots could even cut into demand for traditional industrial robots, Lee suggested.

The three main future directions of cobot development, according to the MIC researcher, will be the extension of applications from heavy industry to light industry, the creation of a full range of applications, and the rise of industrial robot rental services.

Lee expects the use of robotics to expand from the automotive industry to the electronics and food processing sectors as the world's aging population pushes labor costs higher.

She also believes cobots will be rented out in the future, which will create opportunities for peripheral businesses, such as robotics maintenance and repair services.