Nearly 200 companies recently gathered in Tokyo to showcase the latest in robotic technology. The event triggered a debate on the future of human workers. Some developers said machines could solve labor shortages in Japan's rapidly aging society. In one corner, an ambi-dextrous robot caught people's eyes by neatly folding a t-shirt in about two minutes. Organisers expect demand for service industry robots to increase nine-fold by the year 2030 with a market of more than eight-billion US dollars.