The Rising Influence of Rising Affluence

[jbog]

Robots Rise in the Old World
Siemens and Schneider lead the wave of automation sweeping Europe’s factories. Robotics is no longer a trend of the future.


The robots that were once a science-fiction staple are rapidly becoming a commercial fact, spawning a dynamic, growth-driven sector that recently has been delivering hefty returns to many European investors.

Automation has progressed dramatically since the early 1960s, when clunky machines were first introduced to some assembly lines to execute repetitive tasks previously done by humans, fueling fears of everything from massive job losses to smart robots taking over the world.

The pace of change in the sector has recently been exponential, taking robotics and automation from niche to mainstream as tech advances and falling costs have pushed it into almost every part of daily life.

Travis Briggs is CEO and partner of ROBO Global, a business that spotted the emerging trend nearly four years ago and launched an index focused on the sector in mid-2013. Around 20% of the ROBO Global Robotics & Automation index members have headquarters in Europe.

http://www.barrons.com/articles/robots-rise-in-the-old-world-1497673772?mod=BOL_hp_we_columns