The State of Household Robots

paulelaguna writes "The dream of owning a household robot is starting to become reality, particularly for people in Japan. There are robots to help you do the dishes, move furniture, and even robotic wheelchairs to help you get around. Really, the only question that remains for us is when do we move?"

Not new.

[Anonymous Coward]

There are robots to help you do the dishes

We have those here too. They're called 'dishwashers'.

I have a household robot

[Nursie]

I guess "Roomba" is no longer exciting though, right?

Re:Just like virtual reality and home automation

[Anonymous Coward]

Um... my dishwasher doesn't gather dishes from the dinner table (i.e. floor by the couch), or even the sink, and it doesn't stack them in a cupboard as they're done. Sure, the washing proper is better left to the dedicated machine, but once you've got a bot that can manage the logistics, washing them itself is trivial and hella cool (to watch, the first few times), so that's what'll sell now. In 10 years, they'll be degimmicked to actually make sense.

Off switch?

[captainpanic]

I shall write the paranoid post.
Since the robots are not going to take over the world anyway, I assume that they come with an off switch (one of those old-fashioned ones that really mean "off", and not "stand-by")?

I am not sure I would like a machine in my house that can take (semi-)independent decisions without the option to switch it off completely.

Re:Just like virtual reality and home automation

[TheRaven64]

Special-purpose machines are always better. The problem is that you need a lot of them. That's why you're posting on Slashdot using a general-purpose computing machine, rather than a dedicated slashdot-posting machine. This history of technology progresses in cycles, where you begin with specialised machines, then you develop general-purpose ones that aren't as good. Eventually the general-purpose machines become good enough and the specialised ones are relegated to smaller and smaller niches until they disappear completely.

Humanoid is a pretty poor shape for a robot, but it does have one advantage - it can use the same tools that we use. Your house is (almost certainly, given that this is Slashdot) designed for humanoids and contains a lot of specialised machines that are designed to be used by humanoids. A humanoid robot can use all of these without requiring specialised robot-usable versions.

Re:Just like virtual reality and home automation

[somersault]

I save a lot of time because I never need to take or remove anything from cupboards or drawers, or load/unload a dishwasher. By the time I come back to the kitchen to eat my next meal my dishes have dried from their previous washing.

I really doubt I'd be saving any water by using a dishwasher (it only takes 10 or so seconds to rinse dishes, 20 if I've been cooking - so much easier to clean pots and pans while they're still warm), plus I'd be spending more on soap and electricity. IMO washing-up liquid isn't needed if I've just been having something relatively non-messy like toast and a glass of water (which is my breakfast every day), I only use it for evening meals or if I've had a glass of milk say.

I'd get a dishwasher if I had a family of course, but since it's just me I think my system makes plenty of sense.

Re:Just like virtual reality and home automation

[RicktheBrick]

I want better AI software. I want a speaker, microphone, and a camera in every room of my house. I want a natural language interface with the computer. I want to be able to tell the computer when I am leaving the house and when to expect me back. I want the computer to know when any of my appliances are working and what noise to expect from them. I want the computer to know when an unexpected noise occurs and to figure out what it is and take action if it can or to call for help if it can not correct the problem. In the kitchen I want to be able to tell the computer I am using the last of any food I am using for my meal and have the computer generate a shopping list for me. I want to tell the computer when I put something on the stove or oven and have it remind me when I should look at it again. I want it to tell me when the washing machine, dryer, and dishwasher have finished their work so I can unload them. When I leave the house I want the computer to be able to save me energy by communicating with all my now unneeded devices. For instance all my clocks would be shut off and would be restarted with the correct time only when I am in the room they are in. I want the computer to communicate with every device that runs with electricity, water, or gas. There are still a lot of labor saving actions(by saving me money) that the computer can accomplish just be being able to communicate with those devices and by determining when they are needed.

Robots are the best and worst tool possible

[Baron_Yam]

I'm pretty sure an android is the best possible all-purpose automation tool, because it can use everything that's already designed for humans.

However, I'm also pretty sure that an android would be the worst possible all-purpose automation tool, since the near-human level AI required would also make it a perfect social replacement for everyone on the planet. Why would I want to deal with everyone else when I can have someone who is the perfect slave?