Not that long ago, seeing a robot in a factory felt like an event. Not because it was doing something particularly clever or complex, but simply because it was there. Standing. Moving with a certain dignity. Surrounded by cables and limitations. People looked at it with a mix of admiration and mild unease. It did not matter whether it was inspecting quality with the seriousness of a ticket inspector on a tram, moving sausages into a box, or welding something that was always meant to be welded. The mere presence of a robot was enough to call it innovation.

Today, that effect is gone. A robot on the factory floor no longer turns heads. It has become obvious. It is like a bread roll in a neighborhood shop. You walk in, you pick one up, you put it in your basket. You do not wonder who baked it or why it ended up there in the first place. Robots have become part of the industrial scenery. Something whose absence would be more noticeable than its presence. An integral part of the factory, and nothing suggests this will change.

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Next to these “ordinary” industrial robots, if such a word can be used at all, we keep adding new layers. Autonomous mobile robots that know where to go, even when a human would hesitate for a second. Cobots working side by side with operators, even if that shared arm is sometimes more symbolic than real. And somewhere on the horizon, humanoid robots appear. Announced as an answer to a gap that no one has fully defined yet, but everyone seems to sense.

Outside the factory, things look very different. There, a robot can still stop people in their tracks. Spark curiosity. Make phones appear in hands. Every such robot becomes a small spectacle. A robot making hot dogs. A robot pouring coffee from a machine. A robot handing products from shelves in a self service shop, which suddenly stops being fully self service. People watch. Comment. Check if it makes a mistake. And secretly hope that it does, because then there will be something to talk about.

I have seen these scenes myself, and the same feeling always comes back. This is no longer just technology. It is an attraction. Something between a demonstration and a curiosity. And it was in this context that I was recently invited to take part in a project where robots were to become an integral part of a planetarium. Not an add on. Not a gadget. An exhibit. A piece of the story. I was asked to propose three applications. They had to be fun, educational, interactive and, as always, fit into a modest budget. That last requirement is a kind of magic feature. It appears in every project, regardless of scale.

That invitation pushed me toward a reflection. Not long ago, robots were reserved for the few. For factories. For engineers. For people who knew how to approach them and where not to put their hands. Today, almost anyone can see a robot up close. Understand that it is not a black box or a magical being. Just a very consistent machine. And I will admit, there is something in me that reacts like a child who does not want to share his favorite toy. Because if everyone can have a robot, what is left to feel special about.

Of course, I am joking. Almost.

Robots are a common good. The factory was a perfect training ground for them. A controlled, predictable, repeatable environment. That is where they learned the world. That is where we pushed them to a point where they stopped being a threat and started becoming partners in work. And only now are they ready to step outside the factory walls.

Why now. The answer is simple and not spectacular at all. Safety. Over the years, we have learned how to work with robots without being afraid of them. We have reached a point where they can operate in environments far less predictable than a factory. Among people. Children. Random movements. Unexpected situations.

And that is good news. Truly good news. Let it carry on.

Cheers, Jacek!