Global investment activities in robotics, nanotechnology and energy

Abstract

Summary form only given. Public and private investment in key emerging technologies continues to be strong globally even in the midst of modest economic growth expectations and concerns about the growing U.S. budget deficit. Political concerns over the need to develop alternative energy sources and the war in Iraq have ensured public funding would be available. Such funding, especially for technologies that demand large amount of blue-sky and continued R&D spending, helps to reduce investment risk for the private sector. This sharing the burden of commercializing new technologies is vital in order for the private sector to continue to attempt to develop commercial applications and new growth markets. It is expected that both robotics and energy sectors would continue to growth and serve as two of the key markets in the 21st century. In order for the above to experience this expected growth, it is necessary for researchers to develop breakthroughs in micro/MEMS and nanotechnology - i.e. "small tech." Public funding for small tech has experienced tremendous increases over the past decade as not only major industrialized countries have developed extensive small tech programs but even emerging markets have attempted to stake a competitive claim in key niche areas. Small tech is believed to be the key enabler to assist in the sudden, exponential expansion in the robotics and energy industries, and a great deal of R&D and commercialization in small tech is directly related to both. The US and Japan have provided the bulk of funding for all of the above with a number of countries playing key supporting roles. Though a great deal of U.S. public research and development is currently focused on military applications, a great deal of innovation would eventually find its way to the private sector and be commercialized. In Japan, much public funding is tied to private sector commercialization efforts and companies have devoted more R&D spending than their American counterparts. For example, Japan is the global leader in public and private sector investment in nanotechnology, leads in the commercialization of robotics and the Japanese automobile industry leads the world in the manufacture and sales of hybrid next generation automobiles which utilize fuel cells. This presentation would review public sector global funding initiatives, recent trends in private sector investments and venture company activity in regard to micro/nanotechnology, robotics and energy