ID :
210964
Tue, 10/04/2011 - 06:33
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/210964
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Robotic Cleaner Market Expanding in Japan
Tokyo (Jiji Press) - An increasing number of Japanese households are using robots to clean rooms, and the robotic cleaner market is expected to expand further as new products appear.
Sales of home robotic vacuum cleaners in Japan in 2012 will more than double to 400,000 units from the 2010 level, some industrial estimates show.
Electronics companies are developing home robotic cleaners as it become more common for both husbands and wives to work outside the home and as the nation's population ages.
On Saturday, Toshiba Corp. <6502> rolled out a new robotic cleaner for the first time in nine years.
Equipped with two central processing units, censors and cameras, the Smarbo can clean a big area in a short time, the company said. It retails at around 90,000 yen.
This Friday, Massachusetts-based iRobot Corp. will launch a fourth-generation version of its Roomba robotic vacuum cleaner series. The high-end model will be available for about 80,000 yen.
Other home electronics markers are also trying to release their products in haste.
Toshiba had previously launched a robotic cleaner in 2002. Around the same time, Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., later renamed Panasonic Corp. <6752>, created a prototype cleaner.
But Toshiba was forced to withdraw from the market as its product's high price of 300,000 yen did not help attract consumers, while Matsushita Electric gave up on commercializing the prototype.
The Roomba made its debut in Japan in 2003, and its initial sales were virtually zero. But thanks to iRobot's continued sales promotion efforts, the Roomba has gained support from those who cannot spare much time for housekeeping.
Also backed by increasing publicity in the country, the sales volume has jumped fivefold in two years since 2008.
Japan is the second largest market for robotic cleaners after the United States, iRobot Chief Executive Officer Colin Angle said, expressing his desire to boost Roomba sales further with the introduction of the new series.
Sales of home robotic vacuum cleaners in Japan in 2012 will more than double to 400,000 units from the 2010 level, some industrial estimates show.
Electronics companies are developing home robotic cleaners as it become more common for both husbands and wives to work outside the home and as the nation's population ages.
On Saturday, Toshiba Corp. <6502> rolled out a new robotic cleaner for the first time in nine years.
Equipped with two central processing units, censors and cameras, the Smarbo can clean a big area in a short time, the company said. It retails at around 90,000 yen.
This Friday, Massachusetts-based iRobot Corp. will launch a fourth-generation version of its Roomba robotic vacuum cleaner series. The high-end model will be available for about 80,000 yen.
Other home electronics markers are also trying to release their products in haste.
Toshiba had previously launched a robotic cleaner in 2002. Around the same time, Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., later renamed Panasonic Corp. <6752>, created a prototype cleaner.
But Toshiba was forced to withdraw from the market as its product's high price of 300,000 yen did not help attract consumers, while Matsushita Electric gave up on commercializing the prototype.
The Roomba made its debut in Japan in 2003, and its initial sales were virtually zero. But thanks to iRobot's continued sales promotion efforts, the Roomba has gained support from those who cannot spare much time for housekeeping.
Also backed by increasing publicity in the country, the sales volume has jumped fivefold in two years since 2008.
Japan is the second largest market for robotic cleaners after the United States, iRobot Chief Executive Officer Colin Angle said, expressing his desire to boost Roomba sales further with the introduction of the new series.
