What is the future for robots?
Robotic pets, lawn mowers and vacuum cleaners are already on the market. Following the success of their Aibo robot dog, Sony have developed a humanoid entertainment robot named QRIO. Honda’s Asimo welcomes customers to their showrooms in Japan. Toshiba have built a robot that can play volleyball. Fujitsu’s HOAP-2 can perform Japanese Sumo wrestling stances, as well as moves from the Chinese martial art taijiquan. Rapid advances are being made in robotic control systems, artificial intelligence, neural networks, and in the miniaturisation, sophistication and reliability of electronic circuitry, sensors and actuators. These are all contributing to a steady increase in the capabilities of robots. Robots currently under development may become widely used in the food, clothing, nuclear and offshore industries, healthcare, farming, transportation, mining and defence.
