25 October 2004
More robots
A recent Wired article discussed the findings of a United Nations report on world robotics. /. also picked up on the story this week, and someone there made the connection I did with Marshall Brain's Robotic Nation essays (I wrote about them a few months back). Oddly, he has not added this article to his Robotic Nation blog--apparently inactive since August of this year.
Quoting the report, the Wired articles says that [b]y the end of 2007, some 4.1 million domestic robots will likely be in use.
Sure, that includes the Roomba [Amazon] from the iRobot Corporation, but combine those with lawnmowers, pool cleaners, automatic checkout, and low-level factory robots, and the economic fears become, although not completely justified, somewhat understandable. Where's our invisible hand?!?
What is the forecast for 2007? A conservative forecast points about one million units worldwide, of which 350,000 in Japan, 326,000 in the European Union and 145,000 in North America.
- Posthuman dystopia posted by sstrader on 22 March 2015 at 10:21:25 AM
- Today's reading list posted by sstrader on 19 January 2014 at 12:10:54 PM
- Closing posted by sstrader on 18 January 2014 at 9:51:27 AM
- Info wars 2010 posted by sstrader on 13 February 2010 at 11:50:50 AM
- Limiting noise posted by sstrader on 15 December 2009 at 9:58:00 AM