Source: http://web.stanford.edu/group/ifarmteams/files/BiotechConnectionSept162014.pdf
To assess the market for robotic actuators, you will do primary research (interviews, surveys) and secondary research (reports, statistics, articles.) This guide will help you do the secondary research.
Frost & Sullivan provides detailed analysis on all technology markets. In the search box at the top right of the screen, experiment with keywords - I used: actuator and robot - and found numerous reports, such as:
Some of the reports are read-only - if you need the .pdf, I can get it for you - just email.
Robotics Business Review - premier robotics business publication: industry reports, news, directories.
2015 World Robotics Industrial Robots and 2015 World Robotics Service Robots - Statistics, Market Analysis,Forecasts, Case Studies and Profitability of Robot Investment
Find companies that can be your target market, or your competitors:
US private company financials, information on private M&A deals, valuations, venture capital, private equity, etc. Over 800,000 US private companies profiled. Good for locating investors and competitive intelligence. NOTE: You must create an account using your CMU email. Use of this database is for academic purposes only.
A comprehensive global database of private companies and investors activities. Contains advanced searches for private companies, investors, and deals information (especially private equity and venture capital). Also great for news on emerging markets. An excellent resource for startups and entrepreneurship research. (NOTE: You must create an account using your CMU email).
(Also see the World Robotics reports at left.)
Below: several recent articles in the Business Source Premier database - from trade publications - on robotics and actuators. These provide news on competitors and market conditions. You can further limit the search in the side bar, or add keywords. If you need more of the same, you could also try ABI/INFORM or LexisNexis.