Robots in Harvard's Future

Usually a paragon of sound investment practices and prudent money management, Harvard recently followed the Star Wars fad and put $200,000 into one of the country's first robot corporations.

But that move did not signal a departure from the University's effective investment policy, Walter M. Cabot '55, president of Harvard Management Company, said this week. "We expect to make a lot of money in it," he explained.

The real significance of the investment is that it was Harvard's first foray into the world of independent "venture capitalism"--the process of buying into high-risk, high-reward business. The University became interested in these investments--which now make up 1 per cent of the total--about two years ago, but it always purchased them through limited partnership with other investors.

He added that the University chose to be an original investor in Automatix, the only robot systems company in the United States, because "the robotics industry is just in its infancy and we think it has a very major application in increasing productivity."

And Cabot praised the president of the Burlington, Mass.-based company, Philippe Villers--also Class of '55--for "putting together a fine team."

Villers said this week that although Automatix had enough original investors, he was "delighted" to let his alma mater in on the deal. "We expect Automatix to grow from zero to $50 million in a year," Villers said.

He noted that although people tend to think of robots as anthropomorphic, they actually have no legs, no head, only one arm, and occasionally an eye.

Citing high productivity figures from Japan and West Germany, where robot use is more widespread, Villers said only 3000 robots are in use in the U.S. today--mostly in manufacturing--but he added that the number would double in the next two years.

"Human beings weren't built for repeating the same motion every 40 seconds for eight hours a day," he said, adding, "Where people were used for robots, now robots are being used as robots."