Robotics is a technology driven by applications. Applications are driven by customer needs.

Once the industry pioneers proved that computers could accurately drive servo actuators controlling the movement of a mechanism with multiple degrees of freedom, these two sentences became the mantra that have driven the spectacular growth in robot sales over the past two decades.

The quantum leap in technology that occurred during this same period was fueled by a need to provide competitive advantages that could be applied to improve robot performance within specific applications. Digital servos, multitasking, motion enhancements, sensory perception and increased mechanical efficiencies are but a few examples of technical improvements made to improve assembly, palletizing, welding and painting applications. End users drove the industry to develop or adapt new technologies to improve the performance of robot systems in their factories.

Most of the improvements over the past decade were driven by factory applications, with a majority of those originated by the automotive industry. The end users within these manufacturing organizations often had internal robotics departments, expert staffs and fairly deep pockets to either fund the developments directly or purchase robots in large quantities to provide a substantial return on the investment made by robot suppliers in new product development.

Today the industry is changing dramatically. While the automotive industry still purchases a majority of the robots sold each year, the accelerated growth in new applications is coming from the general industry, such as PET bottling, food handling and warehousing.

Furthermore, the growth of robotics in non-industrial applications, such as surgery and entertainment, is steadily on the upswing. The fact that one of the largest single purchasers of robots last year was the U.S. Post Office is testimony to the substantial potential for robotics in the non-industrial world.

Unlike industrial end users, or those industries not related to automotive, most users of robots do not have the internal resources, human or financial, to drive the robotics industry to provide applications. With few exceptions, we are currently relying on the vision of the new pioneers who have lined up substantial financial backers willing to take a risk on, as well as a long-term view of, the promise of a fledgling industry.

Over the past few months, readers of Robotics World have been kept abreast of the exciting robotics developments in the health-care industry. But which hospitals or insurance companies have internal robotics experts? Robotics departments? A budget for robotics research? The promise of significant robot orders in large numbers? These questions can also be asked of dozens of other industries: home products, building construction, elder care, education, publishing, distribution, human safety, security, etc.

For the past several years, some of the original industry pioneers have recognized the need to promote nontraditional applications that have substantial social benefits. In 1997, robotics researchers and commercial suppliers held a joint briefing with demonstrations to the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives.

In this presentation, a credible plan for using the existing network of the nation's research facilities to accelerate innovative application development was set forth. The plan was endorsed by members of both political parties in both houses in an official letter of recommendation to the major agencies. (See letter on page 8.)

Without busting our national budget, jeopardizing national defense or undermining Social Security, the federal government was shown away in which focused funding of innovative application development serving a diversity of industries would generate an overwhelmingly positive social benefit from the broad adoption of robotics technology in the United States.

Joe Engelberger created the world's robotics industry in the 1960s. Every robot in operation around the world today has technical roots that can be traced back to Unimation, the company Joe founded. Spot welding, painting, stacking, machine loading, assembly, inspection -- even human surgery -- were first done with a Unimate.

It took Unimation nearly 15 years to earn its first profit.

Today's pioneers should not have to wait that long. They need our support.