Well, think again. Swedish-manufactured robots are taking Europe by storm. They may not have much of a personality, but these high-tech gadgets are making life easier at home and at the workplace. United Nations Television predicts continued growth for industrial robotics. Multitask robots are already on the European market, UNTV reports.
Surgeons rely on the steady hand of a robotic arm to assist in brain surgery.
This reduces the operation time and speeds the recovery rate, since doctors have less physical probing to do. Students at Sweden's Royal Institute of Technology have developed a robotics system that helps increase the mobility of disabled people. A specially designed wheelchair can automatically detect obstacles, and stop to avoid collision. At a time when unemployment is still high in many European countries, the advance of industrial robotics could put more people out of work. On the positive side, Jan Karlsson of the U.N. Economic Commission of Europe points out that industrial robots will increase a company's productive output, thereby increasing job security for its workers.