EUROPE AND AMERICA MAKE UP LOST GROUND ON JAPAN IN ROBOTICS.

Europe and North America have begun to make up lost ground on Japan in the area of robotics and the growing automation of industry should continue worldwide into the next century, according to a study published on October 14. Drawn up by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UN/ECE) in collaboration with the International Robotics Federation, the World Robotics 1998 study predicts that a new services market, ranging from cleaning to surgery, will emerge alongside these intelligent machines over the next 10-15 years.A total of 85,000 new industrial robots were installed around the world last year, exceeding the 1990 record for the first time, with a total of 711,500 units now operational. The unchallenged world leader with 413,000 robots, Japan has nevertheless seen its share of the new installations market fall from 74% to 50% as a consequence of the on-going economic crisis. Investment in...