Robots on the Rise

No I'm talking about some scenario where we see the "rise of the machines" the likes of The Terminator. Rather I'm talking about the useful application of robots in our society. I've reviewed robots here in the past like the
Roomba (my much loved robot that cleans my lab) and have often wondered, "how many of these are out there?" I've always felt that over the next 5-8 years, robots in the household will become as widespread as PC's are today. That's why this article from Wired struck my interest. It's got some great stats.

Take for instance the total total number of domestic robots currently deployed. What would you guess the number to be? In the article we see a report that estimated

that 607,000 automated domestic helpers were in use at the end of 2003, two-thirds of them purchased that year.

Most of them — 570,000 — were robot lawnmowers. Sales of vacuum cleaning robots reached 37,000.M/em>

The estimate for 2007 - a mere 2 years away - is that there will be 4.1 million such robots deployed, and not just vacuums and lawn mowers but also

window-washing and pool-cleaning robots are also set to take of

The other thing I found interesting was the look at "entertainment robots" like Aibo (another favourite in my home, more so with the kids than my wife who still prefers the vacuum ).

Sales of robot toys, like Sony's canine Aibo, also have risen. The study said there are now about 692,000 "entertainment robots" around the world.

It will be interesting to see as the next 3-5 years unfold and robots become more and more a part of our social fabric, in the homes, at work....in our lives. Do give the article a read if robots are your thing...it's bound to make you excited about what awaits us!