Marbach am Neckar, 10 January 2024
Press Release
Cleaning automation is progressing inexorably. New generations of hardware and ever-improving human-machine interaction are causing the robot fleets of cleaning companies and end customers to grow massively. To document and analyze this enormous progress in cleaning robotics, FieldBots GmbH is organizing a ranking of the world’s largest fleets.
Broad industry support for the ranking
Even before the launch, “The Biggest Fleet 2024” can count on broad, international industry support. Internationally, retailers from Asia, North America, and Europe have joined the initiative. “The fact that The Biggest Fleet 2024 has met with open arms and willing support is a great stroke of luck for us. We are particularly pleased that manufacturers like PUDU Robotics, Cleanfix, Keenon Robotics, BIB Robotics, and ZACO see the potential of a joint effort,” says Philipp Feil, Managing Director of FieldBots GmbH. He adds: “What we would like to see is American manufacturers jumping on board and showing that autonomous cleaning is not only expected from Asia but naturally from the United States.” More than 20 partners worldwide now support the initiative.
How “The Biggest Fleet 2024” ranking works
The initiators use various information sources to design the ranking as comprehensive results as possible. On the one hand, the German company with subsidiaries in the US and the UAE already has an absolute treasure trove of data thanks to its fleet management system, FieldBots OS. Added to this are the submissions from companies that want to take part in the ranking. They can use the great attention surrounding the ranking to show that they are technology and automation pioneers in their sector. The dense network of partners and sponsors of the ranking also helps motivate manufacturers and dealers to encourage their key accounts to participate in “The Biggest Fleet 2024”. Last but not least, a research team scours the internet for press reports and company information to track down and verify the world’s largest fleets. The ranking distinguishes between large robots and microbots. All FM robots with a purchase price of less than USD 10,000 before tax count as microbots. Cleaning robots above this purchase price are counted as the equivalent of 5 microbots.
What can’t “The Biggest Fleet 2024” ranking do?
It is essential for the initiators to work as diligently as possible on this subject close to their hearts. However, it is just as crucial for them to communicate clearly what the ranking cannot achieve. First and foremost, The Biggest Fleet is not a representative study. Due to voluntary submissions or varying degrees of representation of FieldBots and its partners in different markets worldwide, the results cannot simply be generalized from a scientific perspective. Philipp Feil comments: “Nevertheless, we are convinced that our ranking will ultimately provide an insight into the status quo of cleaning robotics – and that it will grow over the coming years. Its data will become more reliable issue by issue.”
Who can take part, and what happens next?
Every operator of a fleet of cleaning robots – like cleaning companies or end users – is invited to submit them for the “Biggest Fleet Ranking 2024”. The closing date for entries is October 15, 2024, and the results will be announced at the end of November. “We are incredibly excited to see what can already be gleaned from this first ranking,” says Andrew Bruckner, Senior Business Developer at FieldBots. “With the great willingness of the industry to support us in our ranking, we are, of course, already keeping an eye on next year’s edition. Then we will certainly be able to draw exciting insights from the previous year’s comparison.”
FieldBots is the leading platform for managing autonomous cleaning robots. Operators can centrally control robot models from different manufacturers and document cleaning results. With configurable widgets, automated notifications, and integrated ticketing, both operational and technical staff are perfectly supported in their daily work.
