6. Looking to the future

In the years to come, we can expect to see a widespread popularization of customized instrumentation, thanks to a reduction in the cost and format of cards. It is possible that this concept could be extended to powerful machines, while maintaining upward product compatibility to offer users a genuine range of personal instruments.

New link systems between the computer and the manipulator could be the subject of new interface designs:

• voice synthesis on the computer could be a means of attracting attention or freeing up systematic reading on a screen, or even guiding an operator through a process;

• the touch screen could make it possible to remove the keyboard from the computer in an environment where it is more a source of errors than a necessity.

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