10.Pervasive Internet
With the all encompassing reach of the Internet old ideas resurface and morph into a reflection of the current environment . With all the attention paid to drones and other related technology people have rediscovered robotics and using the connectivity of the Internet building a worldwide community. This factor gives some glue to the movement that didn't exist when the last crazes hit.
9. Shortage of New Technical Ideas
With technology breakthroughs being reduced to seeing how one can develop an API for Facebook or come up with another name for Cloud Computing is it any wonder people have rediscovered hard science and the tough problems that surround autonomous robotic behavior.
8. Robots Have Always Been Interesting
Since the days of Jules Verne and the advent of science fiction movies we have always been drawn to the mystic of robotic creations and potentials. In reality the Science Fiction is becoming Science Fact and we still are looking for our personal Gort or Robbie.
7. Popularity of Roomba & Scooba
The success of I-Robots home devices encouraged the market and has given a whole new legitimate cache to robotics. In the past there was no monetary basis or justification for the market. The fact a company could actually make money in this space has pushed the market along further then anything else could have.
6. Transformer Generation Grows Up
When the first robotics craze hit in the fifties the mass toy merchandising approach was limited to black and white TV adds that were pretty dull ,no Walmart's,Target's or Toys or Us and no Internet and companion video games. With the era of the Transformers twenty years latter a whole new generation got immersed in the total ecosystem that gave birth to the idea of reconfigurable toy robots. This generation now has the ability and where with all to dream of real robotic solutions for today's problems.
5. Government Incentives To Push The Envelope For DOD Requirements
Over the past few years DARPA and other DOD agencies have been pushing the state of the art in all things robotic by providing plenty of opportunities through challenges , BAA's, & SBIR's to gain funding for your robotic concepts. Having participated in the first DARPA autonomous land vehicle program in the mid 80's it's very rewarding to see how far things have progressed both technically and acceptance wise.
4. New Social Media & Old Line Technical Press Are Creating Buzz To Make Money
With the evolution of the Internet the era of the big trade show is over. No longer to 50,000 people in one day attend events like the NCC,Compdex, and all the other mega and minor trade shows. In the hay day of the Oil Industry, mini skirted girls served whiskey and beer while the Charlie Daniels band played. Those events have disappeared off the landscape and the trade show mavens have been replaced by the social media traffickers and their web pages ,tweeting and hijacking of LinkedIn and other sites to hype what ever market they are trying to create a buzz around. It is my observation that to fill an economic void this community has picked up on the robotics concept and proceeding to hype it to create a revenue stream for themselves. This trend has manifested itself in the past around any number of niche technologies. In the end the only winners are the companies hosting the websites , trade shows and related advertising entourage. The robotics technology companies are left asking :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EOyQfd7OqIY&sns=em
3. The Enabling Technology Really Has Arrived
Perhaps after 50 years of dreaming the market has really arrived or is just around the corner. With such a convergence of technology it's not possible the the era of actual sustainable revenue models being generated by robotics companies has finally arrived. I personally believe we are closer then we have ever been before but not quite there yet.
2. Everyone Wants To Cash In On Popularity Of UAV's
The wild success of UAV's in the asymmetrical encounters we now face has obviously helped keep robotics and all related enabling technology on the front pages of not only national non technical publications but technical ones as well. This buzz has undoubtedly helped push forward interest in all things robotic.
1. Naive Technical Founders With No Perspective of History
As mentioned before the robotics craze is not new , just coming back for the third time depending on how you count since the fifties. Each time a little different and of course with more technology around it . The difference is now more then ever there seem to be more companies involved. Many of course are hobby , life style groups run by people who really can't and don't want to learn from the past mistakes that has caused this market to really never bake. Consider for example placing the robotics market next to say the automotive and aerospace markets. The parallels are very similar in that when each started they were considered fads. Within a much shorter time frame each became viable industries while virtually over the same timeline the robotics market has lurched along.
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