Pakistan's robotics debate is still too often framed as a choice between fascination and fear. On one side are videos of humanoids, quadrupeds and service robots walking, talking, cleaning, delivering and inspecting. On the other side is the worry that machines will simply replace workers in a country already struggling to create enough jobs. Both reactions miss the real question. Pakistan does not need to ask whether robots will arrive. They are already arriving. The better question is whether we will build the institutions, labs and skills that can turn imported machines into local capability.

A robot is not like a normal appliance. A hotel cannot buy a service robot just because it looks impressive in a foreign showroom. A factory owner cannot approve an inspection robot solely after watching a promotional video. A university cannot build a serious robotics programme by purchasing a single machine and leaving it in a lab. The buyer needs proof: what task will the robot perform, in what environment, with what safety limits, at what cost, with what payback period, and with what local support after the sale?

This is where Pakistan's robotics market is weakest. The missing layer is not only supply. The missing layer is commercialisation infrastructure. We need robotics-experience labs where customers can see machines working in simulated local conditions: a hotel lobby, a mall aisle, a warehouse lane, a security route, a classroom, a hospital corridor, or an energy site. We need engineers trained by manufacturers. We need local customisation. We need maintenance teams, spare parts planning, remote monitoring........

© The Friday Times