[comstock]

Honestly, I'd rather hear evidence supporting the argument that any of these companies could be called "the future of automation".

Anything I say, will by its nature be anecdotal. But do you have anything to support the assertion that they're actually doing amazing things?

[neptunespear]

I never said that Preferred/Mujin/LeapMind would be the future of automation. I just said that in my uneducated opinion, having followed these companies for some time now, I feel like they may be better equipped to handle "new economy" automation--shift from hardware to software, shift from closed-off proprietary standards to open collaboration. Aka the anathema of Sony, Sharp, Fujitsu, KDDI, etc.

[comstock]

Can you show any evidence that they are better equipped? Other than just their vague mission statements or general attitude?

I also prefer open standards, I think they're generally "a good thing". However big companies (like Sony) always seem to prefer closed standards... I guess it promotes lock-in.

It would be nice to have something backing up these statements though.

Personally, while I don't much like there working style. I still see companies like Sony providing a lot of fundamental value in, for example, imaging sensors.