The emotional appeal of robots and robotics technology for children and young adults is difficult to overestimate. Educators have found that this fascination among young people can be leveraged to stimulate interest in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), as well as robotics itself. Since robots represent a practical application of physics, computer science, engineering, and mathematics, robotics technology can be used to teach and physically demonstrate concepts within these disciplines.

It has been well established that robotics can be employed successfully as a tool for education and learning facilitation, particularly as it applies to STEM. The positive results also dovetail into larger social and political agendas operating at the national level in all industrialized states. As a result, Robotics Business Review expects that robotics will soon be taught across the industrialized world in every elementary, middle and high school, along with most colleges, as a subject unto itself or as an education enabler. This presents many opportunities for solution providers that have products and services targeting the educational robotics market.

This article describes the business development and commercialization opportunities in the educational robotics market. It examines market drivers, along with the learning theory and research foundation for the use of robotics as a teaching facilitator, and why knowledge of these elements is key for developing and marketing educational robotics products. Also included is a look at the adoption of educational robotics and an overview of the various submarkets that contribute to the overall educational robotics market, including commercial opportunities in each.

Market Drivers
Common wisdom holds that the educational robotics market is primarily driven by educators’ need for effective teaching tools. This is only partially true. Other drivers are acting in confluence to promote educational robotics programs, expand the size of the market, and solidify the role of educational robotics in society. The question is not what the individual market drivers are, but rather what is the aggregate impact of all market drivers? That impact is very large, indeed.

Download this paper to read more.