Riding the robotics wave

Spending in the ROV market could climb to near $10 billion over the five years leading up to 2017, as the oil and gas industry puts more heavy duty units to work in drilling support, construction, and repair and maintenance, according to energy consulting company Douglas-Westwood. It is safe to say that most of those ROVs will be equipped with manipulator arms from California-based Schilling Robotics, now a division of FMC Technologies.