Domestic robot

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A robot carrying drinks at the Ubiquitous Dream exhibition in Seoul, Korea, in 2005 Seoul-Ubiquitous Dream 11.jpg
A robot carrying drinks at the Ubiquitous Dream exhibition in Seoul, Korea, in 2005

A domestic robot is a type of service robot, an autonomous robot that is primarily used for household chores, but may also be used for education, entertainment or therapy. While most domestic robots are simplistic, some are connected to Wi-Fi home networks or smart environments and are autonomous to a high degree. There were an estimated 16.3 million service robots in 2018. [1]

Contents

History

People began to design robots for processing materials and construct products, especially during the Industrial Revolution in the period about 1760 to around 1840. This historical event marked a major turning point in history since people's living standard was greatly improved during that period. However, these robots cannot be considered as domestic robots. After the industrial robots were improved rapidly for over a hundred years since the Industrial Revolution, people started to consider the use of robots at home. [2]

One of the earliest domestic robots is called "HERO", which was sold during the 1980s. "Of all the educational and personal robots created during the 1980s the Heathkit HERO robots were by far the most successful and most popular." [3] There were four types of HERO robots created by Heathkit. The first model is called HERO 1. This model was used for educational purpose, and in order to fit the customer's demand, the second model, which was called HERO JR was generated for personal use. The last two generations are called HERO 2000 and the Arm Trainer. HERO 1, as an educational machine, had very good sensibility. It could gather information accurately and analyze this data. An improved generation of HERO 1 in educational purpose was HERO 2000 which "featured advanced programmability" and another generation, the Arm Trainer was for an industrial purpose and it was able to control the operation of full-scale industrial robots. However, the most important improvement of HERO 1 for the domestic robot is HERO JR. HERO JR was the first affordable, personal robot with a dynamic personality. People could use it to play songs, games, wake people up in the morning, notify important events, and even guard the home. As a private robot, people do not need program skills to operate the robot and if they want to re-program the robot, people can do it simply "with a home computer and optional RS-232 Accessory and BASIC Cartridge". [3]

Another prototype of the domestic robot was called "Topo", which was designed by Androbot Inc. and released in 1983. Its programming language allowed it to do geometric movements and perform tasks. However, it did not have a sensor so it could not receive the order and responded to the order correctly and thus it could not be considered as a real robot. To solve this problem, the second and third generation contained an infrared transmitter and could be controlled by a remote pad. For the last generation, Topo4 was featured by a text-to-speech processor. Although Topo4 was made, but it never went into production.

With these two prototypes of the domestic robot, the domestic robots became more and more accessible and affordable. By 2006 there were "3,540,000 service robots in use". [4]

Indoor robots

First generation Roomba vacuums the carpets in a domestic environment. Roomba original.jpg
First generation Roomba vacuums the carpets in a domestic environment.

This type of domestic robot does chores around and inside homes. Different kinds include:

Security robots such as Knightscope have a night-vision-capable wide-angle camera that detects movements and intruders. It can patrol places and shoot video of suspicious activities, too, and send alerts via email or text message; the stored history of past alerts and videos are accessible via the Web. The robot can also be configured to go into action at any time of the day. [7]

Atlas is a robot built to perform in house task such as sweeping, opening doors, climbing stairs, etc. [8] Samsung has been presenting robot butler designs such as Handy and Care. [9]

Outdoor robots

A robotic lawn mower 650 22 loopoS B10 2019 01.jpg
A robotic lawn mower

A robotic lawn mower is a lawn mower that is able to mow a lawn by itself after being programmed. Once programmed, this invention repeats the operation by itself according to its programming. Robotic lawn mowers come with a power unit which may be an electric motor or internal combustion engine. This provides power to the robot and allows it to move itself and its cutting blades. There is also a control unit which helps the mower move. This unit also contains a memory unit which records and memorizes its operation programming. Its memorized route includes the length of travel in a given direction and turns angles. This allows the same lawn to be mowed repeatedly without having to reprogram. The steering unit acquires an operation signal and propels the lead wheel, which leads the mower, go guide along the programmed route.

Some models can mow complicated and uneven lawns that are up to three-quarters of an acre in size. Others can mow a lawn as large as 40,000 square feet (3,700 m2), can handle a hill inclined up to 27 degrees. [7]

There are also automated pool cleaners that clean and maintain swimming pools autonomously by scrubbing in-ground pools from the floor to the waterline in 3 hours, cleaning and circulating more than 70 US gallons (260 L) of water per minute, and removing debris as small as 2  μm in size. [7]

Gutter-cleaning robots such as Looj use brushes and rubber blades to remove debris from rain gutters; users operate the device using a remote. [10]

Window cleaning robots are most commonly used to clean outdoor windows, more specifically house windows. However, it may be used on other types of windows, such as ones on tall buildings and structures. This robot contains a movement system which allows the robot to navigate itself across the window surface in a defined direction. It also has a powered agitator located by the cleaning pad. When activated, the agitator gets rid of debris and dirt from the window surface. The cleaning pad directly interacts with the window surface and is directly responsible for removing the dirt by filling itself with specialized window cleaning fluid.

A window-washing robot commonly uses two magnetic modules to navigate windows as it sprays the cleaning solution onto microfiber pads to wash them. It covers about 1,601 square feet (148.7 m2) per charge. [11]

Toys

Robotic toys, such as the well known Furby, have been popular since 1998. There are also small humanoid remote-controlled robots as well as electronic pets, such as robotic dogs. They have also been used by many universities in competitions such as the RoboCup.

Social robots

Social robots take on the function of social communication. Domestic humanoid robots are used by elderly and immobilized residents to keep them company.

Home-telepresence robots can move around in a remote location and let one communicate with people there via its camera, speaker, and microphone.

Network robots link ubiquitous networks with robots, contributing to the creation of new lifestyles and solutions to address a variety of social problems including the aging of population and nursing care. [12]

Robots built for therapy have been in production for quite some time now. Some of these uses can be for autism or physical therapy.

In the Star Wars film series, robots of all shapes and sizes can be found assisting the humans with several tasks. C-3PO is a robot designed to assist humans in translation, and etiquette. [13]

Isaac Asimov's I, Robot and the 2004 film of the same name, featured domestic robots as a common feature, in daily routines and family lives.

Many cartoons feature robot maids, notably Rosie the Robot from The Jetsons . Maid Robots are especially prominent in anime (in Japanese, they are called Meido Robo, Meido Roboto or meido robot), and their artificial intelligence ranges from rudimentary to fully sentient and emotional, while their appearance ranges from obviously mechanical to human-like.

The 2009 adaptation of Astro Boy , based on creator Osamu Tezuka's Japanese anime Tetsuwan Atomu, showcases robots with various domestic functions. Orrin, with resemblance to the comedic, gold, humanoid companion C-3PO, plays Dr. Tenma's domestic robot performing various tasks such as housekeeping and tutoring to Dr. Tenma's son, Toby. [14]

A vignette, shown at the end of the final episode of Syfy's failed 2010 Battlestar Galactica prequel TV series Caprica , features early models of Cylons serving as domestic and industrial robotic assistants for the human inhabitants of the Twelve Colonies of Kobol, some five years prior to the revolt that precipitated the First Cylon War.

In the 2008 film Wall-E , humans use sentient robots as trash compactors to clean up the mess they left behind on Earth. Wall-E is a small bulldozer-like robot who has claws for hands and spends all his time collecting and compressing garbage into cubes. Another robot named Eve is small, sleek, and can fly. [15]

The 2012 movie Robot & Frank featured a domestic robot, the story of the movie centered on an elderly man and his relationship with a caretaker robot.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robot</span> Machine capable of carrying out a complex series of actions automatically

A robot is a machine—especially one programmable by a computer—capable of carrying out a complex series of actions automatically. A robot can be guided by an external control device, or the control may be embedded within. Robots may be constructed to evoke human form, but most robots are task-performing machines, designed with an emphasis on stark functionality, rather than expressive aesthetics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lawn mower</span> Grass cutting device

A lawn mower is a device utilizing one or more revolving blades to cut a grass surface to an even height. The height of the cut grass may be fixed by the design of the mower but generally is adjustable by the operator, typically by a single master lever or by a mechanism on each of the machine's wheels. The blades may be powered by manual force, with wheels mechanically connected to the cutting blades so that the blades spin when the mower is pushed forward, or the machine may have a battery-powered or plug-in electric motor. The most common self-contained power source for lawn mowers is a small internal combustion engine. Smaller mowers often lack any form of self-propulsion, requiring human power to move over a surface; "walk-behind" mowers are self-propelled, requiring a human only to walk behind and guide them. Larger lawn mowers are usually either self-propelled "walk-behind" types or, more often, are "ride-on" mowers that the operator can sit on and control. A robotic lawn mower is designed to operate either entirely on its own or less commonly by an operator on a remote control.

iRobot American technology company that produces consumer robots

iRobot Corporation is an American technology company that designs and builds consumer robots. It was founded in 1990 by three members of MIT's Artificial Intelligence Lab, who designed robots for space exploration and military defense. The company's products include a range of autonomous home vacuum cleaners (Roomba), floor moppers, and other autonomous cleaning devices.

Robomow Manufacturer of robotic lawn mowers

Robomow is a manufacturer of robotic lawn mowers. Founded in Even Yehuda, Israel in 1995 by Udi Peless and Shai Abramson, the company provides robotic lawnmowers to the United States and Europe, with prices ranging from hundreds to thousands of dollars/Euros. Robomow mowers are rechargeable. Robomow also comes with its own mobile application for remote and interactive control. The company has been mentioned in several magazines including: Design News, Business Wire, Washington Home and Garden and Vanity Fair. In May 2017, MTD Products Inc announced their intent to purchase Friendly Robotics. In July 2017, MTD Products announced the completion of the purchase of Robomow.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Service robot</span>

Service robots assist human beings, typically by performing a job that is dirty, dull, distant, dangerous or repetitive. They typically are autonomous and/or operated by a built-in control system, with manual override options. The term "service robot" does not have a strict technical definition. The International Organization for Standardization defines a “service robot” as a robot “that performs useful tasks for humans or equipment excluding industrial automation applications”.

KUKA is a German manufacturer of industrial robots and factory automation systems. In 2016, the company was acquired by Chinese appliance manufacturer Midea Group.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robotic lawn mower</span> Type of autonomous robot

A robotic lawn mower is an autonomous robot used to cut lawn grass. A typical robotic lawn mower requires the user to set up a border wire around the lawn that defines the area to be mowed. The robot uses this wire to locate the boundary of the area to be trimmed and in some cases to locate a recharging dock. Robotic mowers are capable of maintaining up to 30,000 m2 (320,000 sq ft) of grass.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Japanese robotics</span>

In Japan, popular robots include humanoid entertainment robots, androids, animal robots, social robots, guard robots, and many more. Each type has a variety of characteristics.

HERO is a series of several educational robots sold by Heathkit during the 1980s. The Heath Company began the HERO 1 project in October 1979, with the first release in 1982. Models include the HERO 1, HERO Jr., and HERO 2000. Heathkit supported the HERO robot line until 1995. All three were produced as kits, or for more money, prebuilt by Heathkit. The 1980s models are considered collectors items, due to their rarity. For the most part, they cannot perform practical tasks, but are more geared toward entertainment and education above all.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Personal robot</span>

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The Looj was a rain gutter (eavestrough) cleaning domestic robot made and sold by iRobot.

Domestic robots can vary widely in their capabilities and tasks. Sensors include: cliff or stair sensors, motion sensors, ultrasonic object sensors, dirt sensors, IR sensors, and more. Intelligence varies also. Some have none while others can map out their environment and maneuver using complex algorithms.

The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to robotics:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Index of home automation articles</span>

This is a list of home automation topics on Wikipedia. Home automation is the residential extension of building automation. It is automation of the home, housework or household activity. Home automation may include centralized control of lighting, HVAC, appliances, security locks of gates and doors and other systems, to provide improved convenience, comfort, energy efficiency and security.

Cloud robotics is a field of robotics that attempts to invoke cloud technologies such as cloud computing, cloud storage, and other Internet technologies centered on the benefits of converged infrastructure and shared services for robotics. When connected to the cloud, robots can benefit from the powerful computation, storage, and communication resources of modern data center in the cloud, which can process and share information from various robots or agent. Humans can also delegate tasks to robots remotely through networks. Cloud computing technologies enable robot systems to be endowed with powerful capability whilst reducing costs through cloud technologies. Thus, it is possible to build lightweight, low-cost, smarter robots with an intelligent "brain" in the cloud. The "brain" consists of data center, knowledge base, task planners, deep learning, information processing, environment models, communication support, etc.

Advanced Lawnmower Simulator is a video game for the ZX Spectrum published as an April Fools' Day joke by Your Sinclair magazine in 1988. The player is tasked with mowing yards with a lawn mower in exchange for rewards. The magazine claimed the game was developed and published by "Gardensoft" and also published a joke review lauding it and released the game on a cover tape. It was not officially labeled as a prank until August 1990. The concept has inspired other games with similar titles.

EEVE is a Belgian company that develops and produces personal robots.

References

  1. ↑ "Executive Summary" (PDF). International Federation of Robotics. 2019. Retrieved 2020-02-11.
  2. ↑ "25 Great Moments In Robotics History". Forbes . August 17, 2006. Retrieved 2019-04-15.
  3. 1 2 "HERO Robots".
  4. ↑ "Home is Where the Robot is: Vacuum Cleaners, Security Guards, and Old-Age Companions". The New Atlantis (1): 136–138. 2003. JSTOR   43152865.
  5. ↑ "Twelve robots that have invaded American homes". Boston.com. Archived from the original on 11 January 2015. the German conglomerate Siemens introduced a robot designed to iron shirts using hot air.
  6. ↑ Robotic Kitchen - High Tech Cooking Robot Chef
  7. 1 2 3 DesMarais, Christina (2013-04-16). "Domestic Robots: High-Tech House Helpers". PCWorld . Retrieved 2013-03-28.
  8. ↑ Reynolds, Emily (2016-02-22). "The household robots who will do your chores". Wired UK.
  9. ↑ Tibken, Shara (2021-01-11). "Samsung's Bot Handy is kind of like a first generation robot butler". CNET. Retrieved 2021-04-17.
  10. ↑ "Twelve robots that have invaded American homes". Boston.com. Archived from the original on 17 January 2015. The Looj, also by iRobot, addresses one of the most tedious aspects of owning a house: cleaning its gutters. Users operate the device using a remote.
  11. ↑ Aamoth, Doug (August 16, 2013). "Winbot Window-Washing Robot: Like Roomba, but for Glass Windows". Time .
  12. ↑ Network Robot Forum Archived October 24, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
  13. ↑ Salmon, Paul (December 2017). "What the Robots of Star Wars tell us about Automation". Phys.org.[ permanent dead link ]
  14. ↑ "Tetsuwan Atomu [Mighty Atom] - The Japanese Collections at the Library of Congress: Past, Present, and Future (September 20–October 16, 2010)". www.loc.gov. Retrieved 2018-09-05.
  15. ↑ Ebert, Roger (June 26, 2008). "Droid story (Wall-E movie review)". Rogerebert.
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