That's exciting because to create new value in the robot space quickly, you need to stand on the shoulders of other technological developments.
Colin AngleHollywood likes to imagine robots as mechanical copies of ourselves - which is a terrible idea.
Colin AngleAt the World Cup, there is a constant risk that you might find a bag or some object that has been left behind, and no one is quite sure what it is. To bring in a full bomb-disposal team for each item can be very time-consuming. The PackBot can go over rough terrain, climb stairs, pick things up, and also be operated from a safe distance.
Colin AngleThe answer is navigation, manipulation, and implementation of more sophisticated intelligence. The idea that a robot will become more aware of its environment, that telling it to "go to the kitchen" means something - navigation and understanding of the environment is a robot problem. Those are the technological frontiers of the robotics industry.
Colin Angle