Preparing the published article.
Service Robot Deployment Economics
Cleaning and delivery robots live or die on utilisation.
What drives the numbers
| Factor | Effect on payback |
|---|---|
| Utilisation | Hours actually worked per day |
| Labour rate replaced | The larger the local wage, the shorter the payback |
| Fleet size | Maintenance cost per unit falls as the fleet grows |
| Downtime | Each lost hour is a lost substitution |
| Consumables | Brushes, filters and batteries add up |
How buyers should model it
- Use measured cleaning times from your own site, not vendor averages.
- Include supervision and exception handling in labour saved.
- Test a single unit for a month before committing to a fleet.
Service robot economics are very site-specific. Pilot before scaling.