"In the last millennium, we came to rely on machines. In the new millennium, we will become our machines," Rodney Brooks, director at the Artificial Intelligence Laboratory and Fujitsu professor of computer science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, said at the Association of Computing and Machinery's Beyond Cyberspace conference in San Jose last month.
And that seemed to be the consensus of the whole group, which in its last gathering four years ago was all abuzz about the just-exploding Internet.
Indeed, it's no secret that robotics are no longer just the stuff of science fiction. From robotic pets to assembly lines and hospitals, humanoid machines are gradually infiltrating everyday life.
Within a decade, robots that answer phones, open mail, deliver documents to different departments, make coffee, tidy up and run the vacuum could occupy every office, experts insist.
Scientists and engineers in laboratories across Europe, Japan and the US are building so-called "robo sapiens" that can navigate the corridors of today's office buildings and perform the tasks of an office assistant.
Already, robots have taken over many tasks that humans once performed. Robots stroll the hallways of many hospitals in Japan and the US, carrying medications to nurses stations, and they dominate many manufacturing plant assembly lines. They also assist in some surgeries.
In agriculture, robots spray chemicals, milk cows, and assist in farming and forestry. Industrial service robots help with inspections, cleaning, security, fire fighting, bomb removal, search and rescue, and mining. And throughout manufacturing plants, robots help build parts and assemble everything from computers to automobiles.
In the next few years, they will begin appearing in more industries. A multifunction android capable of almost substituting for a general-purpose waiter is likely five to 10 years away, according to ActivMedia Research. And a food delivery robot in the predefined venue of a fast-food restaurant could be a reality very soon.
ActivMedia projects more than 3,500 percent growth in the number of robots produced and 2,500 percent growth in the dollars spent on robot development worldwide in the next five years. Mobile robot sales are expected to soar from US$665 million in 2000 to more than US$17 billion by 2005.
Technologies such as artificial intelligence, sensing, navigation, communications and response are beginning to help form practical mobile robots.
"Robots are becoming more human, and humans are becoming more robotic," says Bob Metcalfe, Ethernet inventor, founder of 3Com and vice president at International Data Group.
