Robot as appliance?Devices in the home that can be programmed by the owner and can measure and respond to changes in temperature, humidity, light and other conditions can be considered very simple robots. They aren't usually mobile and have all the personality of a "black box" for the most part, but we have used and counted upon thermostats, light-sensing controls and other simple devices for years.Robotic servantsRobot as servant is a concept that has fascinated people since ancient times, but usually as a cautionary tale. Consider the legend of the sorcerer's apprentice as an example of a fabricated robotic servant (a water hauling broom, animated by magic, in this case) gone horribly wrong. Modern robotic servants are still largely constructs of science fiction, but devices like the iRobot Roomba vacuum cleaner are starting to lend some validity to the concept. A similar robot to mow the lawn is also available from Husqvarna. |
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Robots to welcome you home, bring you a cold drink and the newspaper, fix dinner, walk the dog (maybe the dog is also a robot!), mow the grass, etc., etc. are still yet to appear as practical, affordable products, but some of these functions can be performed by dedicated devices.
Robot guardians
The original robot guardian was Talos, the mythical magically animated brass creature that patrolled the island of Crete three times daily to ward of pirates, bandits and other invaders. Practical guardians of today are either relatively dumb systems, such as burglar alarms or security lights, mobile sensor platforms, remotely operated devices controlled by humans, or a combination of both. A truly effective robot guardian will have to be able to make complex decisions and will require a high degree of artificial intelligence. Literature abounds with cautionary tales of robotic security systems producing unexpected results, usually with disastrous or expensive consequences. Isaac Asimov's detective robot novels show the positive side of the coin, depicting the robot as an ethical guardian.
Welcome to your intelligent homeA robotic house? Tying currently independent systems to computer control is getting increased attention from home builders. Future homes may integrate energy usage, environmental control, communications, entertainment, food storage and preparation, cleaning, watering, security and other functions into an internal computer network. The house may be able to detect your presence in a room and turn on lights only in areas where people are present. You may be able to speak to your home and it may be able to reply, at least regarding a limited range of subjects.A question to consider: How much are such features worth to you? If you had to choose, which are most important to you? Welcome to your intelligent officeWe are further along the road to a robotic office than a robotic home. A robot system to deliver the office mail appeared in the 1980s. A battery operated vehicle tracked signals from a wire embedded in the floor to follow a preset route, stopping at preset stations to allow humans to remove incoming and place outgoing mail. Successor systems can use sensors and networks to perform security and inspection functions.Office computer systems have gradually become more robot-like. Considered as a system, they are capable of accepting spoken input, converting it to a document, and storing, printing and distributing the information automatically. Accuracy and usability remain significant issues. Can a robotic office replace paper documents with all-electronic communication? So far, the opposite seems to be happening. The ease of generating data seems to also create a desire to store it permanently in human readable form, and modern printers, inexpensive and fast, make that convenient. Office robots capable of handling routine communications may be the next major step: an intelligent, adaptive voice-mail system could ultimately offer callers a response similar to that provided by a human phone receptionist. Such a system would have to have considerable intelligence and be able to interpret and respond to various idioms and accents used by callers. In the meantime, push 1 for .... |
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last updated: May 1, 2006 Original content: Copyright © 2000 - 2006 Museum of American Heritage Trademarks are the property of their owners |