V.W.H. Campbell Jr., Post-Gazette Kerien Fitzpatrick, founder and chief technology officer of HyperActive Technologies, at the multiple screens of "HyperActive Bob." The screens keep a running tally of food available and provide information about serving time.

Kerien Fitzpatrick may be a die-hard roboticist, but he isn't too steeped in the technology to let a good business opportunity pass him by.

The former Carnegie Mellon University researcher co-founded North Side-based HyperActive Technologies in 2001 to put the "fast" back into fast food.

"HyperActive Bob" -- which looks more like a control center than a stereotypical robot -- is designed to help chains "deliver food as fast as they want to," said Mr. Fitzpatrick, who'll join about 700 fellow robot enthusiasts at the RoboBusiness Conference and Exposition that kicks off Tuesday at the Sheraton Station Square.

The 3-year-old annual business development conference gathers investors, entrepreneurs and scientists to size up and show off the latest in robotics.

Catering to the fast-food masses with "HyperActive Bob" is a decidedly commercial application for robotics, whose roots are steeped in the military. But industry watchers expect an increasingly consumer, mass-market-focused future.

That was always HyperActive's mission, according to Mr. Fitzpatrick. "I was always more interested in having something that left the university and got used."

Using a small mounted camera on the restaurant's roof, "Bob" spots vehicles entering the parking lot. It then considers how much food is already prepared and how many employees are needed before telling the kitchen when and what to throw on the grill or put in the fryer. "Bob" also sizes up the vehicles -- a big SUV could mean more food to prepare, a run-of-the-mill sedan likely would mean less.

More than half of the work involved in creating "Bob" was in making it user-friendly, Mr. Fitzpatrick said. The roughly $5,000 computer system comes equipped with touch-screens and easy-to-follow instructions.

"HyperActive Bob" has been tested in a number of national fast-food restaurants, including McDonald's and Burger King. The company recently landed its first big customer, Zaxby's, a franchise chain with more than 300 outlets in the South.

What makes "Bob" a robot is that it's smart enough to analyze its environment, make a decision and then act.

It's what separates the robots from mere machines and ensures that these complex and expensive systems will someday be as commonplace as a desktop computer, according to William Thomasmeyer, president of the National Center for Defense Robotics, a subsidiary of the North Side-based Technology Collaborative, an economic development group.

Despite proclamations more than half a century ago, with the exception of Boston-area based iRobot's "Roomba" vacuum, robots have yet to perform such everyday tasks as house cleaning and lawn mowing.

That's because there's still a disconnect between transforming largely government-funded robotics research into consumer-friendly products, according to Dan Kara, the RoboBusiness conference chairman. He's also president of trade show and publication company Robotics Trends Inc., based in Northborough, Mass. In the United States, robots still are largely the territory of the military, which has spent billions fueling projects aimed at taking soldiers out of harm's way with unmanned machines that are both smart and agile.

Plus, Mr. Kara added, like any other emerging technology, robotics remains too complicated, costly and futuristic -- at least until a breakthrough eventually brings commercial success.

That's what Mr. Fitzpatrick hopes "HyperActive Bob" will deliver for the industry and for the city dubbed "Roboburgh" by the Wall Street Journal in 1999.

Pittsburgh has the ingredients to sprout a vibrant robotics cluster, Mr. Kara said. The city was the "next logical choice" for the upcoming conference because of its researchers, technology and growing crop of 60-plus robotics companies and a business community eager to invest.

Another sign of Pittsburgh's potential, added Mr. Thomasmeyer, is that several local firms already are venturing from government-funded projects into the commercial marketplace. Local robotics firms are split about 50-50 between military and commercial customers, he said.

Other Pittsburgh-based robotics companies pursuing the commercial market include RedZone Robotics, Automatika and Nomad Networks.

RedZone has developed a robot that can clean and repair cities' water and sewage pipes, while Nomad Networks is fine-tuning a wireless security system that spots intruders.

Mr. Thomasmeyer said he expects robotics' commercial momentum to build over the next decade, producing more companies and products.

"It's a nascent marketplace. But on the verge of spectacular growth," Mr. Kara said.