TW: Folks have been hailing the dawn of the robot era for decades. We are still waiting mostly. But they do exist, we saw our friends use one with the pool recently to clean the pool bottom, pretty nifty although the bot cannot skim the surface debris. Slowly but surely the bots are entering everyday life and again like other technologies at some point a tipping point will be reached and their use will soar. Then a couple of decades from now kids will ponder how their predecessors functioned without them (of course folks have been making this prediction for about forty years).
From Economist:
"...Floor-cleaning machines capable of responding to their environment were among the first commercially available domestic products worthy of being called robots. The best known is the Roomba, made by iRobot, an American company which has sold more than 3m of the frisbee-sized vacuuming robots. The latest model, the fifth incarnation of the Roomba, has more sensors and cleverer software than its predecessors. Press the “Clean” button and the robot glides out of its docking station and sets off across the floor.
Domestic robots are supposed to free up time so that you can do other things, but watching how the Roomba deals with obstacles is strangely compelling. It is capable of sensing its surroundings, and does not simply try to adhere to a pre-planned route, so it is not upset if furniture is moved, or if it is picked up and taken to clean another room. Its infra-red sensors enable it to slow down before nudging up to an obstacle—such as a dozy cat—changing direction and setting off again.
It steadily works its way around the room, figuring out how to get out from under the television stand or untangle itself from a stray Game Boy recharging lead. Watch it for long enough, and you can sometimes predict its next move. The machine has a “dirt sensor” and flashes a blue light when it finds things to clean up. Only when it detects no more dirt does it stop going over the same area and, eventually, conclude that the whole room is clean. It then trundles back to dock at its recharging station. On the whole it does a good job.
So the first observation of life with a domestic robot is that you will keep watching it before you trust it completely. Perhaps that is not surprising: after all, when automatic washing-machines first appeared people used to draw up a chair and sit and watch them complete their wash, rinse and spin cycles...
...Sweden’s Husqvarna recently launched a new version of its Automower lawnmowing robot. Before it can be used, a wire must be stapled around the perimeter of the lawn to define the area to be cut. The Automower does not collect grass, but chops it up finely and leaves it behind as a mulch. If toys and other obstacles are not cleared from the lawn before it starts work, the robot will steer around them, leaving uncut areas. The latest version can even top up its batteries with solar power, or send its owner a text message if it gets into trouble trying to climb a mole-hill.
But there is still only a limited range of domestic robots. Machines that mop the floor, clean a swimming pool and clear muck from guttering are made by iRobot. Several surveillance robots are also on offer. The Rovio, made by WowWee of Hong Kong, is a Wi-Fi-enabled webcam, mounted on an extending arm, which rides along on a nimble set of wheels. It can be remotely operated over the internet via a laptop or mobile phone. The idea is that Rovio can patrol the home when its owner is away, either automatically or under manual control. Two-way communication allows the operator to see and talk via the machine. So you could, for instance, shout at the dog if it is sleeping on your best sofa..."
http://www.economist.com/printedition/displaystory.cfm?story_id=13725803
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