Will robotics be the next big growth industry for the United States?

Recently, tech and business luminary Peter Thiel publicly lamented the lack of innovation in Silicon Valley:

“We need to ask ourselves more: How are we actually doing things to make the country and the world a better place in the next few decades?” he said.

Thiel urged entrepreneurs to solve hard technology problems by embracing science fiction goals from the heyday of the original “Star Trek” series, such as permanent lunar bases.

“We need to spend a lot more time focusing on breakthrough technologies that take our civilization to the next level,” Thiel said.

One of those technologies will undoubtedly be robotics. Countries around the world are devoting significant resources to robotics research and development, but nowhere on Earth is this commitment as evident as it is in Japan, which is experiencing a rapidly aging population and low birth rates.

Not only will robots help care for the elderly in that country, but will also serve to stave off the inevitable labor shortage and help Japan maintain its position as a world leader in manufacturing.

While Japan is pursuing robotics development with the zeal of desperation, the United States is also home to world-leading robotics companies and innovative start-ups clamoring to get a piece of what will be a $100 billion pie in the next two decades.

Robotics development in the States may spur economic recovery in suffering "Rust Belt" areas like Michigan, which possess  existing infrastructure, engineering talent and skilled labor that could be applied to building and servicing robots for a world that will be increasingly relying on machines to compete economically. This growth will be driven by countries such as China, Brazil, India, Russia and the Middle East, which will soon be new and large "markets for automation."

World leaders in robotics will also find themselves poised to take advantage of emerging technologies. Much like the advent and popularization of personal computers, robotics will drive new developments and innovation in other areas, including defense, health care and nanotechnology.

Eric Tatro blogs at HumanPlus in to chronicle the development of technologies that promise to transform the way humans live, work and interact with each other, including nanotechnology, biotechnology, life extension, bionics, and artificial intelligence.