OTS ALL AROUND BY GARY ARLEN First: what is a robot? ● Is it a toy or entertainment device that you control via apps from your smartphone? ● Is it a special purpose device to clean a grill, vacuum a floor and serve as an assistive device? ● Is it a social robot that provides companionship and interacts with people, possible in a humanoid form that "walks" and "talks" as it befriends you? ● Is it a specialized device, such as a smart glove that can handle things that you can't touch? ● Is it a drone or smart car that is programmed to move people and products? ● Is it an industrial device that assembles products, conducts medical procedures or performs in-store retail or warehouse functions? Next: what's all the excitement about? ● Predictions of 35 million units of "service robots" to be sold in the next three years. ● It will be a $7.6 billion market by 2018 for entertainment and leisure robots. ● Amazon and Lowe's are on the leading edge of retailers deploying robots. At CES, visit the Robotics Marketplace, presented by Robotics Trends, to discover intelligent autonomous machines that are changing the world. Sands Expo, Level 2. C TA . t e c h / i 3 JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2016 27