Bill Gates: Robots Will Be The Next World-Changing Technology

flickr: JD Hancock

Kevin Smith | Business Insider

The question posed: "What emerging technology today do you think will cause another big stir for the average consumer in the same way that the home computer did years ago?: Gates answered: "Robots, pervasive screens, speech interaction will all change the way we look at "computers". Once seeing, hearing, and reading (including handwriting) work very well you will interact in new ways."

Robots, by definition, are simply "mechanical or virtual intelligent agents that can perform tasks automatically or with guidance, typically by remote control." Mobile devices are becoming those remote controls. The robot revolution is already happening. Fortune 500 companies are spending a lot of money to acquire robotic companies.

The amount of time spent on computers five years ago is the amount of time spent on mobile devices today. That's also the amount of time we'll spend interacting with robots five years from today.

In the US, robotics is a $1.35 billion industry; It's a $20 billion industry globally. By 2015, personal robots are expected to be a ...

Read the whole story at Business Insider .....