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?"

Comments

Not new.

[Anonymous Coward]

There are robots to help you do the dishes

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

Re:Not new.

[dintech]

"unionized sanitation specialists"

Don't talk about my wife like that.

Re:Not new.

[Anonymous Coward]

they already did.. it's called feminism.

My first post robot

[AliasMarlowe]

appears to be malfunctioning...

Just like virtual reality and home automation

[Anrego]

I think this is one of those things that sounds a lot cooler and more practical than it is in actual implementation.

I'd rather a dishwasher wash my dishes then some humanoid robot.. for the plain fact that a purpose built machine is going to be a lot better at it.

I think there's lots of room for automated or semi-automated machines which I guess you could call robots.. but a "robotic butler" I don't see happening.

Personally I'm waiting for an automated lawn mower that doesn't suck!

Re:Just like virtual reality and home automation

[takowl]

Personally I'm waiting for an automated lawn mower that doesn't suck!

You're doing it wrong. It's not a lawnmower, it's a vacuum cleaner.

Re:Just like virtual reality and home automation

[roman_mir]

I am waiting for a robot maid to put dishes into a dishwasher, to clean up surfaces, take out garbage and to be able to sort the recyclables out, to put clothes into a washer, move the from washer to dryer, to iron what has to be ironed, to fold the stuff and put it onto the right shelves, to vacuum clean and to wash floors, to shine shoes and to be able to cook, to go to stores, and pick up what's needed, to walk the dog and to satisfy me sexually.

What I am going to get:

a silly looking thing, that'll put the garbage in the dishwasher, recycle the washer, take out the surfaces, move the right shelves into the dryer, then take them out, iron and fold them, vacuum clean the fridge, place the dirty clothes into it, shine the dog, then cook it, and drive the car through a store.

But you know what? As long as it satisfies me sexually I don't really mind that much.

Re:Just like virtual reality and home automation

[somersault]

Then when it's been superseded by newer models, it can run for governor of California

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

[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.

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:Off switch?

[somersault]

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.

Something tells me you're not a big cat person.

Eve no Jikan/Time of Eve

[B1ackbeard]

For those into Japanese animation, check out this short series set in the near future Japan where household androids are commonplace starting to become self aware. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_of_Eve

The State of Household Robots

[M8e]

So the (household) robots already got their own state? I don't like the look of this...

I, for one

[JustOK]

I, for one, welcome our new robotic underlords.

the downside

[halber_mensch]

I had a roomba, and I was on top of the world. I had a robotic servant dutifully cleaning my floors so I didn't have to. Then my dog shit on the floor, and the roomba dutifully 'cleaned' the floor, smearing the shit all over the house and crudding up its brushes, gears, and wheels. I don't have a roomba anymore.