Will robots change our lives in the future? It's a funny question to ask when they're changing our lives now in so many ways and they have been for years. From the first time you saw a toaster pop up by itself, we've casually accepted that machines can be trusted to do things for us.
They record our shows, cook our food, play our music, and even run our cars. We just don't see it because these "robots" don't have a face we can talk to or a butt we can kick.
Technically robots are automatic motorised tools, but they're generally known as clunky humanoid foils that have bumbled about popular media for almost a century - mechanised characters of humour, or menace without status, rendering their violent removal a minor plot without guilt.
Boom, there goes another one. The hero saves the day.
Sad actually. Mobile robots have gotten a bad rap from a lot of prejudicial movies and video games, and not the least from the unfulfilled promises of the 20th century. What's taking these scientists so long? If robots are coming, then why can't I just buy one to do my work while I watch TV?
Well, if you do watch TV, you'll "know" that's a recipe for disaster (which ain't true, but whatever...), which is why, after a lifetime building robots the old "serious" way, I decided to introduce something new to the mix: funny robots with personality flaws.
Since 2004 we've sold millions worldwide which has certainly changed some peoples lives and attitudes (mainly kids), and not one of which has ever threatened a single 007 agent. All part of my plan to get robots out of negative fiction and into entertaining reality, where yearly I foist my new devices on an unsuspecting populace.
But it's not world domination I'm after. I know four things robots can do right now that will change our lives for the future, and all in a good way. The first is entertainment (done that), the second is grunt work in dangerous places (coming up), third is elderly care, and last but not least is telepresence shopping, tourism, and assistance.
Imagine sitting at your computer and controlling a video game character through a mall or market, except it's not a game, it's a robot shopping for you in Tokyo while you sit comfortably in London. With a live video and audio feed so you could haggle, you drive a legged humanoid robot about your size so you get a good sense of what would fit, and afterwards you go for a walk to see what the countryside has to offer.
In a future where the cost and inconvenience of travel will likely rise, why not rent-a-rob for an hour just to make sure that resort is up to standard? Or to check in on your mum? Or to help out at a disaster site? Or just get outside in anonymity?
Right now all modern technology is designed to bring the world to you; phone, radio, television, internet, but if trends continue, robots will soon bring you to the world, everywhere, and at the speed of thought. A mind and a hand where it's needed while you sit safely at home and run the show.
It's a future goal -- something we know we can do if we can urge the market towards it, but it's one I like, and might even be able to do something about.
If it works, robots won't just change our lives in the future, they'll expand them. Not just for fun, but for necessity. We've taken the first steps into welcoming them into our homes, we just have to wait a bit to proctor them into making us more human.
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