The past 12 months have been outstanding for our industry, what with market researchers putting forth multibillion dollar forecasts for growth, large companies such as Toyota entering the market in a serious way, and the White House recognizing robotics as an industry key to the nation’s economic competitiveness.

Many trends emerged during the year, of course. And a quick browse through the content on our Web site should serve as a reminder that this is an industry at a critical tipping point. Years from now, when robots are doing everything from stocking grocery shelves to plowing farmers’ fields, we may well look back on 2011 as the year when robots captured our collective imaginations and sparked a growth surge to rival every other technological revolution in history.

Here are our picks for some of the top trends of the past year: