9 Surprising Places Robots Will Soon Turn Up

Robots working in factories, on the battle field, in hostage situations and in many other places are commonplace today.

(Image credit: Courtesy Savioke)

Robots working in factories, on the battle field, in hostage situations and in many other places are commonplace today. (See all the robots Kiplinger has introduced you to in years past—in 6 Fields Where Robots Are Taking Charge and 8 Robots That Will Change Your Life.)

But it may surprise you to learn about the rapid development of humanoid robots and other intelligent machines that will soon pop up in places you might not expect—from the hair salon and corner bar to the dairy farms that produce your milk.

Such robots may not quite rise to the level of “synths,” the fictional human-looking robotic servants starring in the summer science-fiction series Humans, but they’re amazingly handy and may eventually be as ubiquitous in our lives as smartphones.

Check out these nine robotic assistants (most fresh on the market, some still in development) designed to make our lives easier and make businesses more efficient in a number of surprising ways.

Matthew Housiaux
Reporter, The Kiplinger Letter
Housiaux covers the White House and state and local government for The Kiplinger Letter. Before joining Kiplinger in June 2016, he lived in Sioux Falls, SD, where he was the forum editor of Augustana University's student newspaper, the Mirror. He also contributed stories to the Borgen Project, a Seattle-based nonprofit focused on raising awareness of global poverty. He earned a B.A. in history and journalism from Augustana University.