Jack Uldrich
Cross-posted from www.jumpthecurve.net
One of the fun things about being a futurist is trying to
understand how the convergence of various emerging technologies
might lead to the creation of radically different products in the
future. 
For instance, consider these two articles which, on their face,
appear to have little in common with one another. The first article
announced that
four robotics companies in Japan are uniting in an effort to create
a mainstream market for robots. (For fans of accelerating
technological change, please note how they hope to increase by
ten-fold the number of domestic robots employed in Japan by
2013). The second article discusses how
researchers at the The Franhofer Institute in Europe are making
impressive progress in having computers anticipate human
needs.
Now, one of the largest markets for robots in Japan is to have
them serve the country’s growing – and rapidly aging – population
of senior citizens. (cont.)
If the new alliance of Japanese robotic companies – which is
known as the Federation for the Market Creation of Next-Generation
Robots – gains access to some of the “human anticipation software”
that the Franhofer Institute is developing, it is reasonable to
believe that soon robots will not only be able to perform basic
functions they will also be able to anticipate many of their owners
needs.
If one further considers that iRobot is now
developing a shape-shifting robot and that Hasbro Electronics
is building a robot capable of
serenading you, it is even possible that your robotic butler of
the future will be able to sing you a catchy tune while cleaning
those hard-to-reach places in your kitchen.
Comment Thread ()
