Society has changed considerably in the last hundred years. In fact, we take sometimes take for granted the way in which we live; how products are readily available due to mass production with the ability to ship anywhere in the world. No longer are we constrained by vast distances, with most nations eager to participate in trade with the international community.

Automated manufacturing is a hot topic lately, and it’s a trend that is likely to continue. The benefits of this technology are marked: lower costs, higher efficiency and greater productivity, but with any new technology, they come with some marked risks. One major issue is cybersecurity, with competitors, governments, and rogue hackers all posing potential threats to networked infrastructure.

Identifying the wonders of the future is by no means a simple task for even the brightest contemporary mind. Technology, and the many uses society is developing for it, continue to shock and awe on a daily basis. And while the shape of the world in the not-too-distant future remains a mystery to most, there is one inalienable conclusion that can be drawn: the world of tomorrow will rely heavily on robotics.

When we think of robots, what comes to mind these days is usually something like a Roomba, arobot vacuum, or a huge arm that can be used to assemble cars, or a walking, talking, bipedal science-fiction style android. What all of these seemingly disparate robotic forms have in common is that they’re individual ‘creatures’ with a central control system and a single ‘body’, much like humans and many other animals.