Scientific American January 2007 issue features an article by Bill Gates titled A Robot in Every Home [1]. Is domestic robotics industry going to reach critical mass in the short term? Robotics applications in manufacturing are a reality. However, practical application of robotics in the residential market is another story. In his article, Bill Gates talks about the challenges of this domain, and remarks the need for a standard framework (although he doesn’t mention it initially, obviously he is referring to the newly released Microsoft Robotics Studio).

Gate’s vision of robotics is based on an evolution of the PC. From personal computers in every home, to personal robots in every home. It is like endowing the current PCs with the features of typical science fiction robots. But, is this likely to happen in the short term? Is Microsoft powerful enough to drive such a change in the market? Do we actually have the required technology? I wouldn’t answer these questions yet, but I’d say that the time of NS-5 type robots hasn’t come yet.

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