Robotics and the Big Trends

I’ve been thinking and reading quite a bit lately about how robotics ties in with the big trends impacting our society.  If the robotics industry is to fully reach its potential, we’ll have to find new applications, new users, and new ways of helping society achieve important goals.

While there are many important trends, I’ll discuss just three in this article that I believe create significant opportunities for robotics in the decades ahead.

Globalization
In the early days of robotics, the opportunities primarily could be found in Japan, the United States and Western Europe.  Today, as products are being manufactured and assembled in every corner of the globe, China, India, Korea, Eastern Europe, Latin America, and many other regions present enormous growth potential for robotics.

Plus, as robotics researchers and technology developers spring up everywhere, we find new innovations as well as new opportunities outside the factory.  Korea, for instance, is taking the lead in promoting the use of robots for service applications such as elder care.  The United States is taking the lead in using robots to protect soldiers on the battlefield.  European companies are taking the lead in using robots in the manufacture of solar panels.  There is so much global activity occurring in robotics that one can’t help but be excited about the long term potential, despite the current global economic crisis.

Read the entire article here.