Post date: Mar 10, 2014 7:20:45 PM
Reuters Business Report - Upstaged by a robot - a gimmick or the way of the world from now on?
The humanoid opened the Cebit tech fair in the German city of Hanover.
The double act was mimicked by the German Chancellor and her UK counterpart.The two countries have joined forces to give both countries a competitive edge.
GERMAN CHANCELLOR, ANGELA MERKEL,
"It is very important we not only think nationally but that we assert ourselves on an European level. The digital domestic market is our future and is the potential for growth for information and communication technology companies."
The theme of this year's show is "Datability" - the ability to use large volumes of data in a sustainable and responsible way.
120 UK-based firms are among the 3400 taking part - Cameron sees technology as a key to the economy.
BRITISH PRIME MINISTER, DAVID CAMERON,
"We must make sure we are teaching our children to code at school, we must encourage entrepreneurship, we must encourage start-up businesses, we must make it easier for technology companies to find finance."
The fair's 5% bigger than it was last year and 70 countries are represented.
Many of the mobile devices on display have one key selling point - privacy.
Since the Edward Snowden snooping revelations the market for mobile security management products has grown dramatically.
It was worth $560 million in 2013 - it's expected to top a $1 billion by 2015.