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Study Says 4.1M Domestic Robots In Use By 2007

Posted by samzenpus on from the let-the-machine-do-it dept.

jangobongo writes "The U.N.'s annual World Robotics Survey for 2004 predicts that there will be a seven-fold surge in household robots by the end of 2007. Robots that mow your lawn, vacuum, wash windows, clean swimming pools, as well as entertainment robots such as Aibo are all vying to take a place in our homes and ease our workload. The study says that Japan is the leader in consumer robotics, with Europe and North America quickly catching up."

3 of 218 comments (clear)

  1. Very prescient by esconsult1 · · Score: 3, Informative
    I was reading Marshall Brain's essays on the subject yesterday when I caught a gander at the news story.

    Check out the series of essays on:

    • Manna software that "runs" service oriented businesses, therefore driving down wages
    • Robotic Nation about how robots are slowly taking over "routine" type jobs.

    I'm sure this was covered in Slashdot sometime before, but Marshall's essays are eerie when juxtaposed with this article.

    --

    Newsfollow.com

  2. Re:Yup by danila · · Score: 3, Informative

    Actually robovacs develop very quickly. It is true that the first versions were basically suck-and-bump, but newer models often have rudimentary navigation based on infrared sensors (they do build a mental map of the room) and most newer robots (including Aibos) can locate the charger (the most important feature for their autonomy). The newest Roomba can "see" dirt underneath and understand in which areas it needs to suck most, so to speak.

    --
    Future Wiki -- If you don't think about the future, you cannot have one.
  3. Re:Let me be the first to say... by Stealth+Potato · · Score: 3, Informative
    Therefore if you had sin(x)/x as x -> 0 * billion it would equal a billion.

    Um, no it wouldn't. Zero times one billion is still zero. Furthermore, sin(0)/0 does not equal 1, it is undefined. The limit of sin(x)/x as x goes to zero is 1, but that doesn't change the fact that you can't divide by zero. Now, if you take the value of that limit and multiply by 1 billion, the result will be 1 billion, because 1 times 1 billion equals 1 billion. Like this: (lim(sin(x)/x,x,0)*10^9 = 10^9, because the first part (the limit) is equal to one. What you are indicating is the multiplication of the zero, the limiting value for x. Zero times a billion is zero, so you're taking the limit as x approaches zero, which is, surprise surprise, 1.