Over in the United States of America they seem to be focused upon the future of the robotics industry far more than in the UK and the rest of Europe and this is most evident in the upcoming National Robotics Week.
The National Robotics Week 2011 is the second such event and with the 2010 proving to be such a successful event it is expected that this years celebration will be much greater. The 2nd annual National Robotics Week will be between the 9th and 17th of April this year and things are already beginning to heat up!
Last year saw fifty affiliated events held in twenty one states, with nearly 50,000 people taking part, a great many of whom were students (over 22,000 K-12 students). These statistics highlight the esteem in which the US robotics industry is held and, with a growing interest, there appears to be a large number of students learning for the future.
It is such a shame that European governments appear not to be sufficiently interested in such an important sector of industry. With unemployment, especially amongst the young, running high it would surely be wise to invest in the future? The robotics industry is growing creating numerous high-tech jobs across a variety of sectors including agriculture, healthcare, manufacturing and numerous other sectors including the immensely important renewable energy sector. Across the Atlantic it would appear that they are fully aware of the fact that robotics within education enables a hands-on approach to the sciences which can prove exciting for students who could take their education further into engineering or maths (two subjects which appear to have a declining popularity).
Besides the fact that the Americans seem to understand the many educational benefits of robotics they are keen to promote themselves as a world leader in the field of robotics technology and development. Their National Robotics Week celebrates this fact but, importantly, it brings robotics to the attention of both the general public and the government. This increased awareness can lead to increased funding for both education and for research and development, something which is desperately needed in places such as the United Kingdom.
So, while I wish the US National Robotics Week all the success it deserves, I cannot help but feel just a little envious of them. There is an emerging interest within the UK in robotics but this has been the case for many years now and it is a real shame that the UK government is currently seeking to save cash in dramatic cut-backs when, in reality, they should be focusing in investment for the future and the robotics industry could easily be our future, if only it had sufficient funding!