Increasing use of personal robots

The prevailing wisdom is that the personal robotics market resembles the personal computer market of the mid-1970s; many small companies with greater expertise in R&D than in marketing are trying to create a product for which others will develop applications. Proprietary specifications are giving way to standardized solutions, especially on the high end where the robot will have a full computer on board or off-board, connected via Wi-Fi or 3G to a PC or the network cloud.

According to the NextGen Research study “Personal Robotics 2009: Task, Security & Surveillance/Telepresence, Entertainment and Education Robot and Robotic Components Markets Through 2015,” the global personal robots market will grow from $1.16 billion in 2009 to more than $5 billion in 2015. The majority of such robots in 2009 are entertainment robots considered toys, and single-task robots, such as vacuum cleaners or floor washers.

“The market is being affected by the global economic downturn,” said Marc Liggio, the study’s author. “These are good products, but not yet must-haves. Task robots cost several hundred dollars, and are not a full replacement for a regular vacuum cleaner or mop. The downturn will slow sales growth and marketing expenditures through 2010.”

The new study finds that entertainment robots in particular are being affected by the recession; people are buying lower-cost products, and manufacturers are seeking lower price points. The task robot segment will grow as customers in current markets move to more expensive and more effective devices, but then will decline as expansion into less-wealthy markets increases sales of lower-cost robots, according to the study.

In the next phase of the market’s evolution, robots will be partially controlled by a user at a remote location. Telepresence robots will allow people to interact with family members at another location or to check on pets or second homes. Health personnel will monitor the elderly or infirm remotely, making sure they take their medication on time or guiding them through blood pressure or blood sugar measurements.

Weather info for all

The Global Humanitarian Forum and its president, former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, together with Zain, Ericsson and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), have introduced a major initiative, dubbed “Weather Info for All,” to radically improve Africa’s weather monitoring network in the face of the growing impact of climate change.

A recent Global Humanitarian Forum report estimated that climate change is responsible for some 300,000 deaths each year and over 100 billion US dollars worth of economic losses, mainly because of shocks to health and agricultural productivity. Sub-Saharan Africa accounts for close to a quarter of these losses, and is the region at the most immediate risk of droughts and floods.

The Global Humanitarian Forum initiated this collaboration in response to Africa’s severe gap in weather information highlighted at the Forum’s first annual event. The members of the initiative will deploy 5,000 new weather observation stations across Africa, providing a massive increase in crucial information to predict and manage climate shocks.

Africa has a network eight times below the WMO minimum recommended standard, and less than 200 weather stations that meet WMO observation requirements, compared to several thousand each in Europe, North America and parts of Asia. The 5,000 weather stations will be installed at new and existing mobile network sites throughout the continent over coming years, in what promises to save lives and bring increased economic opportunity to tens of millions of people.

As an innovative public-private partnership on a unique scale, the initiative relies on the core business of telecom. Zain will host the weather equipment at mobile network sites being rolled out across Africa in coordination with Ericsson. Mobile networks will provide the necessary connectivity, power and security to sustain the weather equipment. Through its Mobile Innovation Center in Africa, Ericsson will also develop mobile applications to help communicate weather information developed by national meteorological and hydrological services via mobile phones. Mobile operators will maintain the automatic weather stations and assist in the transmission of the data to national met services. It is hoped that other mobile providers will soon join the initiative.

The initial deployment, already begun in Zain networks, focuses on the area around Lake Victoria in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda. The first 19 stations installed will double the weather monitoring capacity of the Lake region.