Robots could mean real business when they get arms and hands that mimic the dexterity and sensitivity of humans, said Tandy Trower, general manager of Microsoft’s robotics group.

The hardware needed for that may be available in five years, but the real challenge will be in programming the robot, Trower said. Software that allows robots to figure out surface textures and identify objects will require many lines of complex code that takes a long time to write, he said.