So let's say that in 2050 all cars and trucks -- along with lawn mowers, leaf blowers, air compressors, etc. -- are based on electric motors descended from the current Tesla. So much so that internal combustion engines are completely obsolete.
That does not imply that developing internal combustion engines was a waste of time -- they have been useful for decades for a variety of purposes. Even if they're never used again in the history of mankind, the uses they've already had are enough.
The current state of robotics has allowed some of great things to be built. Industrial automation, mine sweeping robots, goofy little vacuum cleaners, solenoid-driven irrigation systems, etc. So even if it's all ultimately a technological dead end, it's still been justified.
In any case, I don't share any of your certainty about the direction of future robotics. With the increase in accessibility over the last decade of microcontrollers, sensors, and effectors, and the corresponding increasing in accessibility of enabling technologies like 3D printing and CNC, I think it's entirely possible that we're about to see an explosion in the availability of products with embedded robotics in common day-to-day items -- things that start as hobbyist projects built by hackers but quickly become commercialized into consumer products. This may not be what you mean by "robots" but it is an obvious, useful application for the technologies in robotics nonetheless.
That does not imply that developing internal combustion engines was a waste of time -- they have been useful for decades for a variety of purposes. Even if they're never used again in the history of mankind, the uses they've already had are enough.
The current state of robotics has allowed some of great things to be built. Industrial automation, mine sweeping robots, goofy little vacuum cleaners, solenoid-driven irrigation systems, etc. So even if it's all ultimately a technological dead end, it's still been justified.
In any case, I don't share any of your certainty about the direction of future robotics. With the increase in accessibility over the last decade of microcontrollers, sensors, and effectors, and the corresponding increasing in accessibility of enabling technologies like 3D printing and CNC, I think it's entirely possible that we're about to see an explosion in the availability of products with embedded robotics in common day-to-day items -- things that start as hobbyist projects built by hackers but quickly become commercialized into consumer products. This may not be what you mean by "robots" but it is an obvious, useful application for the technologies in robotics nonetheless.