The Ultimate Appliance
IN 25 YEARS, mobile robots will be a fixture in our homes, say experts in the field. “Robotics are the coming industry of the next century,” says computer engineer Frances Lambert. “Having a robot will be like having a really good sound system now.”
In fact, convenience robots that can perform a variety of household tasks may start hitting the marketplace by the late 1990s, says Behnam Bavarian, assistant professor of electrical engineering at UC Irvine and director of its Robotics Research Lab.
He is confident that scientists and engineers will come up with the artificial neural networks that will supply the technology needed to build a robot that can mimic human actions. These neural networks will be fabricated from integrated-circuit technology. With them, robots will be able to wash dishes, cook and clean house cook, as well as to speak, synthesize and understand speech and be able to respond, Bavarian says.
With the proper technology in place, robots of the future will be teachable “like a 2-, 3- or 5-year-old kid,” he adds. “If they make a mistake, they learn and get better. You don’t program them to get better. They just get better.”
Robots, which might cost between $300 and $1,000 (in 1988 dollars), would come programmed to perform specified tasks, such as mopping floors, vacuuming or serving food. The new owner would only have to give the robot specific information, such as the house’s dimensions, the locations of household supplies and the family schedule. Although it could be instructed verbally, a robot could also be hooked up to a computer to process information. The owner of a new robot would simply buy a floppy disc with the program for washing dishes or, perhaps, cooking pasta, and then download it into the robot.
Because they will be programmed to start themselves, these household robots will probably be easier to take care of than most pets. They’ll know the time of day and their schedule and thus know when to rest, when to work and when to recharge themselves.
Bavarian says the robots could look like anything from R2D2 in “Star Wars,” to “any cylindrical thing with two arms and light sensors, which will help it to go around.” Manufactured from a light, strong material, such as aluminum, these machines could either move on a wheeled platform, walk on two legs or have multiple legs, like a spider, he says.
But robots aren’t being designed only for home use. Engineers are working on many different applications for them. For instance, they’re developing a robot that could be a companion to lonely or infirm senior citizens; a nurse robot that could talk and monitor a patient’s condition and, if necessary, call for medical assistance; a prison guard robot, and a robot horse that could perform heavy labor. Robots will also be used in space, says Bavarian; one project is developing fully autonomous robots for a Mars mission.
“The robot will be a reality in 25 years,” he says. “They’ll be the next technology item made for households after the PC.”
