There are truly exciting developments afoot in the field of robotics. We are starting to see applications for robot technology gaining steam in the market. For investors who get in on the ground floor, this transformational technology could pave the path to life-altering profits in the next few years. To that end, I wanted to share some of the more exciting developments in the robotics industry with you today…

According to the Japan Robot Association (JARA), the consumer robotics market is projected to reach $24 billion this year and balloon to $66 billion by 2025. By comparison, the digital music market was $5 billion in 2007 and will be about $15 billion this year.

Personally, I think that the JARA’s long-term estimate is actually pessimistic. Bill Gates is on record for predicting that by that year, personal robots will be as common as computers are today.

If he is even half right, investors who get in on promising robot techs today will be fantastically compensated for their vision and patience in the long run. Investing in the next wave of robotics now will be like buying Intel, AMD, Apple and Microsoft in the 1980s.

Granted, the Great Recession has dealt temporary blows. A mainstay of the robotics industry has been assembly line machines for the automobile manufacturers. This sector is currently down. The overall robotics industry, though, is diversifying.

The automotive industry itself gives a good example of innovating during downturns. During the Great Depression, automobile sales plummeted. Crucial improvements in automotive technology, like fully automatic fluid transmissions and hydraulic brakes, were made, however. When the Depression ended, motoring was revolutionized. Profits and sales went up, along with share prices.

Robots are already being used for dangerous jobs that humans would rather not do. I’ve already written about robots being employed by the U.S. military and manufactured by one of my Breakthrough Technology Alert companies.

Recently, the U.S. Commerce Department decided to fund a project to develop robots able to repair aging water transmission pipelines from the inside. The R&D costs are more than justified by doing away with the need to tear the infrastructure out of the ground for repairs.

Berkeley researchers are developing small inexpensive robots that can enter collapsed buildings to find survivors after earthquakes.

The economics of robotics is based on one simple fact: While cost of production for goods generally declines over time, prices for services generally fall less or not at all. Your computer costs a fraction for the performance you receive compared with two decades ago. The technician who repairs it, however, has probably raised prices.

Similarly, food prices have fallen steeply, due to improved agricultural technologies. This includes automation technologies that are, in fact, robotics. From John Deere to Alice-Chalmers, from balers to combines, automated ag equipment has drastically reduced what we have to pay to consume our daily bread. Nevertheless, we have only scratched the surface of the benefits robotics will bring to many areas.

Today, health care services have proven resistant to price declines partly because of labor costs. Improved robotic automation is one of the fastest ways to increase productivity and reduce labor costs. With the leading edge of the boomer generation entering retirement, the financial incentives for improved robots is enormous.

We’re not only talking about cutting-edge remote diagnostics and surgical procedures. Much of the cost of elder care is in simple housekeeping and personal services. Families that want to keep older members out of assisted care facilities and closer to home will increasingly look to improved robotics for help.

The Japanese, in fact, know this well. The famous Japanese enthusiasm for humanoid robots is often scoffed at, but they will tell you there is a logic behind their efforts.

More than a fifth of Japan’s population is over 65 years old. A major thrust of Japanese investment is aimed at developing robotics capable of providing the sorts of care that now depend on human workers. With a dwindling work force and an increasing demand for basic care in homes and health care facilities, the solution is very likely to resemble a humanoid robot.

I’ve got my eye on a couple of small robotics companies that could bring the first humanoid robots to commercial applications. I’ll continue to fill you in as the situation progresses…

For transformational profits,
Patrick Cox

February 5, 2010

Patrick Cox

Patrick Cox has lived deep inside the world of transformative technologies for over 25 years. In the 1980s, he worked in computer software development and manufacturing. By the mid-1990s, he worked as a consultant for Netscape — the company that handled 90% of all Internet browsing traffic at the time. InfoWorld and USA Today have featured Patrick's research numerous times. He's also appeared on Crossfire and Nightline. Patrick has been quoted by The Wall Street Journal and Reason magazine. His expertise brought him to Agora Financial, where he now heads Breakthrough Technology Alert, the only place you'll find the truly transformational technologies that offer exponential gains.

Special Report: Imagine Getting Rich as Ignored Stocks Soar- How you could turn $200 into $1.2 million!

View articles by Patrick Cox