Over the past few years, I’ve taken a strong interest in robotics.

This is mostly because big money has been flowing into the industry over the past few years. As you can from the graph below, nearly $600 million has been invested into private robotics companies last year.

That’s up over 230% from two years ago.

Some of the world’s largest companies are also investing billions on making robots part of their everyday operations. A few names include Google (now called Alphabet), Microsoft, IBM, General Motors, Amazon, Northrop Grumman, Intuitive Surgical and General Electric.

Despite the huge amount of cash pouring into this industry, the robotics trend is still in its infancy. And buying the right stocks this early in the game could result in massive returns for investors.

Let me explain…

In 2000, the robotics industry reached an inflection point. That was right after the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) approved the da Vinci Surgical System made by Intuitive Surgical (ISRG).

The da Vinci is a robotic surgical system that allows surgeons to operate through small incisions. It’s already been used to operate on more than 3 million patients.

And today’s technology is so advanced that a doctor in Europe can remotely use the da Vinci to operate on someone who is thousands of miles away!

There are also surgical robots that can help replace lost limbs or ones designed to help stroke patients learn to walk again.

There are delivery robots that can bring meds to patients … and even “home” robots that can help take care of the elderly.

Healthcare is a small piece of a huge overall market for robotics. For example, about 75% of the automotive industry is using some form of robotics technology (automation)…

About 60% of the electronics industry is automated…

And about 20% of the food & beverage, chemicals & plastics, wood & paper, and apparels & textile markets are now automated.

Robots are also being used being used in the military (drones) … for space exploration … to drive cars … for underwater exploration … to harvest crops … fix oil spills … and to actually fight crime.

In Japan, the first hotel operated by robots opened less than a year ago…

Fast food giant McDonald’s plans to open 25,000 robot-run restaurants over the next few years…

And China plans to add 250,000 robots to its industrial sector over the next few years…

In short, the robotics revolution is not coming… it’s already here!

From my experience investing in some of the biggest technological trends … fortunes are made by following the “smart money.”  That includes money from venture capitalists, private equity and hedge fund managers.

And for investors, we are still in the early innings of a sector investment firm Goldman Sachs says could save companies $500 billion by 2020. To put this in perspective, the market to treat cancer patients is only $100 billion.

Large-cap players including Google (GOOG), Amazon (AMZN) and Microsoft (MSFT) will be beneficiaries. However, robotics will only represent a small piece of the overall revenue pie for these industry leading companies.

A better way to play the robotics megatrend is to buy smaller names. Several companies that I’m researching include: ReWalk Robotics (RWLK), Mazor Robotics (MZOR), Ekso Bionics (EKSO)and Accuray (ARAY).

These small-cap names carry a higher degree of risk compared to the large-cap robotics names I listed earlier. That means they could easily fall by 25% of more if their technologies are not widely adopted.

However, these companies could easily triple or quadruple their sales within the next few years. They are also more-likely to be acquired since their market-caps are still relatively small and they are growing much faster than most large-cap players in the industry.

Keep in mind … this is only a watch list.

I am still researching these names (and many others in the robotics field). And I’m sure there are a few that have the potential to become dominant players in this $500 billion industry.

If I’m right, this could result in life-changing returns for subscribers willing to invest in the robotics megatrend.