Rescue robots have a lot of balls

CHIP MARKET RESEARCH FIRM Future Horizons sent us an always interesting monthly update about the semi industry which was particularly riveting reading on the robot front.

Japan's trade ministry reckons that the robot industry will be worth $26 billion in 2010, and close to $70 billion by 2025.

That, said Future Horizons, will make Japan's robot industry as big as shipbuilding and home appliances combined, although obviously the numbers are open to speculation.

Forget Sony's stoopid Aibo dog, which appears to be living in the cyber equivalent of the Battersea Dog's Home.

Instead, consider Roboria, the successor to the highly expensive Banryu. Roboria is a soccer sized transparent ball that can sense a burglar, or fire, and costs around $2,000.

Roboria is being used to keep an eye on old people living on their own, or allowing people at a distance to re-assure family pets - obviously Aibo is no family pet now. You can also talk via the speaker using 3G tech to a person on their own. And turn up the volume, if necessary.

Plus, said Future Horizons, the working life of current industrial robots is over 100,000 hours, so the Japanese could be the lead country on all of this tech. Japan could well compete with other countries in robotic expertise, because robots are very much cheaper than human beings in terms of their working lives.

Also, they don't moan and whinge or get sick. They either work, or they don't work. Plus, they're more resistant to smoke and heat than us lot. Few have developed the ability to drink a fine whisky and muse on the stupidities of life while puffing a life-threatening fine Cuban cigar.

Increasing miniaturisation, more sophisticated software and the economies of scale are all helping to contribute to the robotic mix. µ

L'INQ
Future Horizons

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