1. Boom in robot investment 1. statistics 2. prices 3. task area 4. consequence

2. 1. statistics - in 2003 there were nearly 900000 robots in use worldwide - between 1998 and 1999 the world market for industrial robots increased by 15 per cent. - robots are mostly used in the USA and in the EU - in Japan and Korea there has only been an increase of 5 per cent

3. 2. prices - Prices for robots are plummeting - in 1999 the price for a robot was one fifth of the cost of a counterpart robot in 1990

4. 3. Task areas - Automobile Industry - Pharmaceutical Industry - Food Industry - Toy Industry

5. 4. consequence - Changes in job situation - Higher Production - Shift of the market - Change in everyday life List of References