This week Pennsylvania Congressman Mike Doyle and Tennessee Congressman Zach Wamp announced the creation of a Congressional caucus on Robotics, which will have an official kick-off this Sept. In a brief press release, Doyle and Wamp note that "Microsoft Corporation chairman Bill Gates has stated his belief that the robotics industry is developing in much the same way that the computer business did 30 years ago." Where the stunning commercial success of iRobot Roomba and the explosion of industrial and military robots in the last decade failed, Gate's comments were apparently enough to spark new congressional interest in robots of all stripes.

The good news is that, in addition to promoting robotics awareness, dealing with robot-policy issues and educating other members of congress on all things robotics (first, they might want to learn about computers and the Internet-thingy), the caucus will focus on "Ensuring that our nation remains globally competitive as the robotics industry rapidly expands and begins to exert a profound effect on the way our citizens live their lives." Sounds great. Now let's see if the caucus can avoid spending all its time debating robot ethics.