Every once in awhile there’s a pivotal moment when you catch a glimpse of the start of some future revolutionary transition. The first Ford automobile. The Walkman, the PC; I’m certain a few people recognized how much would change when those things came along the first time to a few individuals. It seems to me that there’s at least a 50% chance we’re looking at one here, when we make that shift into a world of personalized robotic assistants and an entire universe of as-yet-unrecognized cascading effect.

It’ll start with shopping centers, before moving into carrier robots that slot into one’s automobile. Soon enough they’ll fetch things around the house, navigate stairs, take your dishes to the dishwasher, and so on. If nothing else, these things’ll be moving chairs for the elderly, which over half the world will be soon enough.