Robots are to industrial trade shows as chimps are to zoos - guaranteed crowd pullers and perfect for photo opportunities. So it's no wonder that German Chancellor Angela Merkel was much snapped fraternising with an iCub at yesterdays's Hannover Messe 2011 opening, rather than one of its hugely functional relatives from the worlds of control engineering and precision manufacturing, also exhibited.
An iCub is of course a humanoid robot for research into human cognition and AI, designed by a consortium of European universities, and fully open-source, with the hardware design, software and documentation released under the GPL license. That all notwithstanding, robots of all varieties are a big part of what Hannover Messe has to offer, with a special area - Mobile Robots and Autonomous Systems (Hall 15) - devoted to showcasing the technology's progress. One stand drawing much attention was BlueBotics: 'Mobile robots at your service' is the Swiss company's motto, and there to help was Gilberto, the entertainment robot who 'speaks' four languages, and also interacts with a touchscreen, as well as being able to provide Web information.
Useful as he may be Gilberto doesn't look likely to entirely replace a fully-functional human playmate, but his BlueBotics relative Atom just might. Designed for home assistance', home security, and tour guide, it can also double as a portable floor lamp, and even an occasional table; BuzzSore wouldn't be surprised to see it harnessed to a Hoover and pressed into service as an autonomous domestic help. But the good burghers of Hannover at least are unconcerned that such cutting-edge technology could be hedging humans' employment prospects. "Gnädige Frau, sorgt es sich sie, dass roboter ihren job nehmen können?" I asked a domestic cleaner I got chatting to at the Stadtbahn stop.
No, she replied, shaking her head: "I verstehen nicht die gesellschaftlichen auswirkungen solcher auftauchenden technologie" (I understand not the societal impacts of such emerging technology).
I tried to explain at length that this area of study itself was an emerging discipline, and that in a very real sense society was empowering itself to challenge technological impositions; unfortunately, while doing I so distracted her that she missed her homeward train. "Ich bin spät, mein husband' erhalten; s-Abendessen!" (Now I will be late getting my husband's dinner), she exclaimed. Just then my own train arrived, and I got on; she glowered at me through the glass as it pulled away from the station.

Edited: 06 April 2011 at 01:22 PM by James Hayes