How to Choose the Right Robot for Your Business: A Decision Framework
With over 50 robots available to hire across 12 categories, choosing the right one for your business can feel overwhelming. This decision framework walks you through the key questions to ask, matches your answers to the right robot category, and helps you select the best hire model for your budget.
Step 1: Identify Your Primary Use Case
Start by defining the core task the robot needs to perform. The most common use cases across roboTED customers break down as follows:
| Use Case | Recommended Category | Starting Price |
|---|---|---|
| Restaurant food delivery | Delivery Robots | £150/day |
| Manufacturing / assembly | Cobots | £500/week |
| Site inspection | Quadruped Robots | £400/day |
| Events and entertainment | Humanoid / Social Robots | £800/day |
| Facility cleaning | Cleaning Robots | £200/day |
| Security and surveillance | Security Robots | £300/day |
| Warehouse logistics | AMR / AGV | £250/day |
Step 2: Consider Your Environment
Where the robot operates determines which models are suitable. Ask yourself these questions:
- Indoor or outdoor? Indoor robots are lighter and use LiDAR. Outdoor models need IP54+ weatherproofing and GPS.
- Floor type? Flat floors suit wheeled robots. Stairs, rubble, or rough terrain require quadrupeds like Spot or Go2.
- Public-facing? Robots interacting with the public need safety certifications, emergency stops, and insurance.
- Hazardous? ATEX-rated robots are required for explosive atmospheres. ANYmal supports Zone 1 environments.
Step 3: Choose Your Hire Model
roboTED offers three hire models to suit every budget and timeline:
- Daily Hire , best for events, trials, and short-term needs. Minimum one day.
- Weekly/Monthly Rental , ideal for project-based deployments with discounted rates from 20% off daily pricing.
- RaaS Subscription , the most cost-effective for ongoing use. Fixed monthly fee includes maintenance, insurance, and upgrades.
Step 4: Budget Planning
As a rule of thumb, if you plan to use a robot for more than 10 days per month, a RaaS subscription will be more cost-effective than daily hire. For less frequent use, daily or weekly hire gives you flexibility without commitment. roboTED's team can model the ROI for your specific use case during a free consultation.
Still Not Sure? Let Us Help
Our team speaks to hundreds of UK businesses every month about robot hire. Whether you are a restaurant owner exploring your first delivery robot or a facilities manager looking to automate cleaning across multiple sites, we can recommend the right robot, hire model, and budget in a 15-minute call.
Get a Personalised Recommendation
Tell us your use case and budget, and we will recommend the right robot and hire model for your business.