Has robotics as a technology reached maturity and affordability for smaller manufacturers? It seems the answer is yes and no. Years ago future trends in manufacturing frequently imagined completely automated environments, and while that hasn’t entirely happened yet, last year the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology identified robotics as one of 11 cross-cutting technologies important for advanced manufacturing in the United States.

From the first robot of the 1960s to the first-ever robotic stock index that appeared last November on NASDQ, the industry has clearly matured.

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