Michel van Schie
We live in incredibly exciting times. Advancements in sensor technology, battery life and wireless communication are being combined with mechanical ingenuity, smarter software and intuitive interfaces.
The astonishing applications spawning from this just keep blowing our minds here at Spark.
Successful businesses are being created around automated pieces of equipment (robots?), whether they are toys, household items or tools for national security.
Here are a few businesses that we think are ones to watch. Like Dyson and Google. Just check The Robot Report for your own favorites.
Are all these applications actual robots? Probably not. When is something a robot and when is it just a clever machine? We cannot give you the answer. It’s not about the name. We just see more and more connected products with increasingly intelligent control and some degree of autonomous behaviour, using all kinds of input from sensors and available (cloud) data, communicating with you in intuitive ways. This trend will revolutionize industries.
Have you entered the Robot Era with your business? We have! In more and more of our projects we integrate sensors, electronics, smart software and mechatronics with interaction design and appearance design. We partner with specialized development partners and suppliers with specific unique skills. Together we create amazing solutions, focusing on the real goal: the added value, not the technology.
Here are a few developments that will likely blow your mind too. They convincingly show that the impossible is becoming possible.
Drones that think like athletes