Hans Moravec, founder of Seegrid, a leading provider of vision-guided mobile robots for the material handling industry, predicts that by 2050 robot “brains” based on computers that execute 100 trillion instructions per second will start rivaling human intelligence.

Moravec’s prediction comes in an article titled “Rise of the Robot,” where he describes how his company, Seegrid, is first to introduce true autonomous mobile robots in the material handling industry, providing low-cost step-change automation in manufacturing, warehouse, and distribution environments.

Despite the advances, though, robots seem to face a glass ceiling on the employment market. “It amazes me that commercial mobile robots have found few jobs in manufacturing and warehouse facilities,” said Moravec. Personally, I’m not too surprised given the fear that many people have of robots.

But their employment picture could change thanks to Navis, a Zebra Technologies company and the world’s first company to automate marine terminal operating systems. On Apr 20-23, it celebrated 20 years of innovation at Navis World 2008, the company’s seventh biennial user conference, held this year at the historic Palace Hotel in San Francisco.

Navis World 2008 featured an agenda with four interrelated tracks: Marine Terminal Operations & Technologies, Marine Terminal Automation, Distribution and Manufacturing Solutions, and Integration, Visibility and Security.

Panel discussions brought together leaders from the intermodal and crane automation communities to examine best practices for managing growth and integration with the marine terminals.

Elsewhere, robots are held in better esteem. Japan, of course, has had a positive attitude toward robots for a long time. As a matter of fact, Japan’s love affair with robots could be said to be more than 300 years old.

Wooden wind-up dolls known as “karakuri” appeared as early as the 17th century. Especially famous is a kimono-clad tea-serving machine considered one of the world’s first “robots.” It carried a bowl of tea on a tray from the host to the guest, waited patiently until the guest replaced the bowl, and then returned to the host.

“In Japan, where robots are the good guys in anime or comic books, people just don’t feel as threatened by robots as they do in the United States or Europe,” said Brian Carlisle, president of Auburn, CA-based Precise Automation and former head of the US Robotic Industries Association.

“The Japanese accept robots, and robotics technology has the potential to enter many new kinds of applications,” Carlisle said. “Naturally, the possibilities are larger here.”

Somehow I feel that there is a robot in my future, How about yours? 