How SMBs And Blue Collar Workers Break Into Markets With Robotics

A couple of manufacturing process engineers had a discussion about welding assembly process improvement to decrease parts defect during production in front of the robot in an industrial factory. waste management concepts

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Robotics and drone business opportunities for SMBs and independent operators to access advanced technology and the support they need to build new businesses are opening up.

In this report, executives, leaders, and experts from Bosch Rexroth, SkyPSI, Locus Robotics, Beagle Technology, and Richtech Robotics talk about robotics and drones and new business opportunities. This is how the tech and the new business models work, why they work, and what blue-collar workers and SMB business leaders need to know.

Robotics is Unlocking Commercial Opportunities for SMBs in Agriculture, Cleaning, Warehouses, and Other sectors

Companies investing in robotics-as-a-service (RaaS) business models are making the technology accessible for SMBs and independent operators across a wide range of industries across the world. Demand for drones and robotics is on the rise in countless commercial sectors, including agriculture, cleaning, manufacturing, fleet and logistics, and others, driven by labour gaps and automation gains.

In Dallas, Texas, the tech company SkyPSI is investing $5 million in a RaaS business model that empowers blue-collar workers on a path to business ownership. Working in the building cleanup industry, SkyPSI goes beyond supplying commercial exterior cleaning drones, offering operators full operational guidance and support.

Launching in Dallas, SkyPSI plans to expand its operations and this RaaS business model across the U.S.

“We’re going to see, in my opinion, robotics-as-a-service companies coming in and enabling blue-collar workers to start and run their own businesses,” Vic Pellicano, founder and CEO of SkyPSI, told me.

“Where it was impossible before to start a window cleaning company in your area without 10 years’ worth of training, commercial contracts, and everything else, now we bring the technology and what workers right to them,” said Pellicano.

In warehouses and manufacturing, business opportunities for SMBs and independent workers are also rising.

Eric Updike, senior business development manager at Kassow Robots of Bosch Rexroth, a firm that manufactures 7-axis collaborative robots for assembly, pick-and-place, packaging, CNC machines, palletizing, and more, told me that robotics is no longer a massive capital project for SMBs, but rather, a practical business tool.

Smaller companies in manufacturing, warehousing, and industrial spaces can automate processes through a variety of applications, without needing a large engineering department or a fleet of robots, said Updike. “This creates opportunities not only for manufacturers and warehouses, but also for independent operators in integration, deployment, maintenance and robotics-as-a-service,” said Updike.

Companies that see robotics not as a replacement for people, but as a way to help smaller teams do more and compete at a much larger scale will undoubtedly realize a positive impact on productivity, Updike added.

On the other hand, Rick Faulk, CEO, Locus Robotics, told me that robotics allows SMBs and operators to take on bigger jobs, no longer having to turn down customers based on capacity.

“That gives an SMB more confidence to pursue larger accounts, manage peak programs or handle more complex e-commerce fulfillment without making a permanent infrastructure investment first,” said Faulk.

In agriculture, Yang Fang, a robotics engineer and founder and CEO of the California-based company Beagle Technology, a physical AI and robotics company that transforms traditional farming equipment, spoke about the importance of the operator behind the machine. “A talented field technician or operator can sometimes spend a few hours with the machine and immediately point out potential issues based on years of experience,” said Fang.

“This alone creates a lot of opportunities for independent operators,” Fang added. “Robotics companies need field testing, deployment, maintenance, training, and people who can give practical feedback,” said Fang.

“You don't need to be the person designing the robot to be valuable to a robotics company,” Fang added. “But you can be the one who understands the actual job, which is just as important as making the robot.”

How Do Robotics-as-a-Service (RaaS) Business Models Work?

The price for professional drones, automation hardware and software, and advanced robotics has been decreasing in the past years, as the sector innovates dramatically and leading players compete in the market. However, for SMBs and operators, buying the tech is often an investment out of reach. This is where RaaS companies come into play, offering customers more accessible business models that allow them to get their hands on the advanced tech.

Getting the tech is just one part of the business journey. Pellicano from SkyPSI told me that SkyPSI does not manufacture drones but distributes them through a partner, allowing customers to either buy or lease them. But SkyPSI does not stop there. To avoid workers being stuck with a drone in their garage after initial investment, SkyPSI bids and wins on commercial contracts with property managers and engineers and then makes these contracts available to their customers.

“One of the benefits of partnering with us on this journey, instead of going direct to the original equipment manufacturer (OEM) and buying, is that we will bring them down and we will put them on real jobs because we have bid and won our own real jobs already, and we will come down and put them on real jobs and give them work,” Pellicano told me.

Besides commercial contracts, SkyPSI also offers drone and exterior cleaning training as well as support for operators to get insurance and their drone FAA 107 certification, which they need to compliantly fly the drone.

“We also offer training and help with their own marketing and sales to teach them how we do it (bid and win on commercial contracts),” said Pellicano.

“Our goal is to teach them how to run their own business,” said Pellicano.

RaaS business models that go beyond just offering the technology are becoming the industry standard.

Instead of buying a large automation system upfront, the operator can move to a predictable operating model that includes the robots, software, service and support, then add capacity as the business requires it, Faulk from Locus Robotics said.

“RaaS works because the economics follow the operation: you preserve capital, scale incrementally and avoid sizing a fixed system today around a forecast that may look very different two years from now,” said Faulk.

What Do SMBs and Independent Operators Need to Know about Robotics and Drones?

While increasingly more RaaS companies like SkyPSI offer holistic robotics business approaches for blue-collar workers, there are still several things decision-makers need to know.

Parag L. Amin, Founder of LawPLA, told me that while drones and robotics are creating real opportunities for SMBs, they also create real legal exposure.

Amin explained that the legal analysis should start with three questions: where are you operating, what exactly are you doing with the equipment, and which government agencies have jurisdiction over that activity?

“The answers determine whether you’re dealing with federal rules, state rules, local rules, or all three,” said Amin. “And, if you're leasing equipment or working with a third-party operator, your agreement should spell out who ensures compliance, who carries the insurance, and who's responsible if something goes wrong.”

“Businesses that get ahead of these questions now will be the ones still competing for future opportunities when they arise," said Amin.

Faulk from Locus Robotics said that the FCC recently added foreign-produced advanced robotic devices to its Covered List. This creates new considerations around equipment authorization and market access in the U.S., said Faulk.

“Ask where the robots are designed and manufactured, whether the specific systems have the required authorizations, and whether that supplier can continue delivering and supporting the platform over the life of the deployment,” said Faulk.

On the other hand, Phil Zheng, COO of Richtech Robotics (NASDAQ: RR), told me that business owners should know that robots are assets to their workforce, helping to increase efficiency and support human workers.

When short-term trials end and units are returned, staff members are often the first to express missing the operational support the robots provided, said Zheng.

According to the International Federation of Robotics, U.S. automation, while now on a growth trajectory, still trails behind international benchmarks, operating at 307 industrial units per 10,000 workers compared to leaders like South Korea at 1,220 or Germany at 449.

To help American operators close this gap, robotics providers like Richtech Robotics offer risk-free trial pilots so businesses can experience physical AI before making a long-term commitment.

Robotics and the Future of Blue Collar Workers

“Blue collar workers want to make money with their hands, and they need a unique piece of technology to do it,” Pellicano from SkyPSI told me, highlighting the role that companies that offer blue-collar workers the tech, training, and support they need will play.

“The idea of empowering operators, the big vision, what you’re going to see in America is an explosive growth of small businesses,” said Pellicano.

As robotics and drones continue to evolve, new RaaS companies are rising to close labor gaps and drive performance while empowering SMBs and independent operators with more than just advanced tech. Across agriculture, commercial cleaning, logistics, manufacturing, and a growing range of other commercial sectors, advanced tech and robotics are creating new pathways for blue-collar workers to innovate and establish technology-backed businesses.