New Delhi, March 10 -- "Do you know what really impresses me? I saw a robot pick up an egg!'' exclaimed Roger Smith, chairman of General Motors, in 1985. The American carmaker, which two decades earlier had been the first company to install a robotic arm, was then in the process of creating a "factory of the future" in Saginaw, Michigan. Smith envisaged a "lights-out" operation-no humans, only machines-that could help his company keep up with Japanese rivals. The result was shambolic. Witless robots couldn't tell car models apart, and were unable to put bumpers on or paint properly. Costs ran wildly over budget. GM eventually shut down the factory.

Automation has come a long way since then. Yet Smith's vision remains far ahead of reality...