Don’t worry about keeping your lawn service on board. You can save some money by letting the housekeeper go, too. A few years from now, you and everyone else will just rely on robots to vacuum your carpets, wax the floors, shovel snow and mow the lawn.

OK, maybe not everyone, but at least one market research firm is expecting the consumer cleaning robotics industry to reach almost $2 billion by 2014. In its report “Cleaning Robots 2008,” Research and Markets is forecasting such home service robots to be a $1.8 billion business six years from now.

That would be quite an increase from what the firm says was a $295 million market in 2007, but Research and Markets is pointing to anticipation of mass-market adoption for automated processes, plus good price points for adoption of such robotics from companies like iRobot and Friendly Robotics that may be in the $300 range (more for Friendly Robotics’ products) critical to become home items.

The report also notes the crossover technology advances between robotics that are used for applications like ground roving, for example, being applied to a service such as vacuuming or lawnmowing.

So maybe you don’t need to ditch your John Deere rider just yet, but when the motor sputters out down the road you might have an alternative.

Read the entire press release here.

Arlen Schweiger - Managing editor of Electronic House Magazine

Arlen contributes product news items to electronichouse.com along with his role on the print publication. Got a tip? Send it along!