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March 25, 2008 12:59 PM

Categories: General Robotics

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mick-146

Member
Joined: 03/16/2008

I was pondering... Why is it, that consumer robot manufactures concentrate all their eforts on building robots that emulate human or animal life forms?

With all the endless opportunities available to robot designers to make autonimous machines for the consumer that actually help us humans with every-day tasks, why do they strive to make robots more & more "human" like?

Human beings & animals have already been invented! Why try to improve on what millions of years of natural evolution has already perfected?

Your comments welcome. mick-146  

would the last human on earth, please switch on the robots before leaving. Thank You.

Discussion:    Add a Comment | Comments 1-12 of 12 | Latest Comment

MrScott Avatar
  Moderator
March 25, 2008 2:16 PM

Not all their efforts.  Irobot has several utility robots.

Roomba, Scooba, Dirt Dog, Vero, Loog, ConnectR

ScottE -- Member (always) & Moderator (when needed)

mick-146 Avatar
Member
March 25, 2008 2:39 PM

Ok MrScott - so we have floor and gutter cleaning bots!

How about robots that could walk your dog; scrape the ice off a car windscreen; bring you hot/chilled drinks; iron shirts or fetch the post from the box?

would the last human on earth, please switch on the robots before leaving. Thank You.

MrScott Avatar
  Moderator
March 25, 2008 2:48 PM

One task at a time, oh he of the malevolent cyber eye....

The impending release of Rovio with its NorthStar navigation may herald some home navigation that earlier bots could only ponder in their electric dreams. The specs sound good, but they'll have to show me it works before I commit to handing over my drink fetching to a bot.

Once a stable platform can find its way unerringly from anyplace in the house, to any other place in the house, then the development can begin.

"Rovio, feed the cat."

"Rovio, fetch me a beer."

 I think we'll need a bit more invention to get accurate navigation outside the home. The NorthStar system relies on visual signals displayed on the ceiling. That won't work so well outdoors where there's no ceiling, and the ambient light will drown out any IR signal.

Perhaps a Blue Tooth equivalent, that will allow my bot to trundle down the driveway, fetch the post and paper, and deliver it to the kitchen table. 

ScottE -- Member (always) & Moderator (when needed)

MrScott Avatar
  Moderator
March 25, 2008 3:09 PM

As a followup to my own post, repetitive tasks in a semi-controlled environment will be the first things to get some home automation. Gutter cleaning is an example.

I'd be willing to "mark" my mailbox at the curb with something the robot could home in on, if it meant it could fetch the paper and mail. I'd even be willing to put in a special mailbox that opened at the front and back, so that the robot wouldn't have to go into the street to open up the box for the mail. That would avoid all the issues with making sure the robot doesn't walk out in front of a car or bicycle coming along.

When I studied industrial automation as a grad student, the case studies for automating assembly tasks usually spec'ed at least as much money for the task specific tooling as for the robot. The right tooling, and materials handling, can greatly simplify a task. To do otherwise would be like telling you to work on a car's engine, and handing you hairbrush. 

What's that mean for consumer robotics? That means I expect that we'll have to adapt our home and yards to suit the robots. The idea of a double ended mailbox is one example. Rather than spend a lot of money preparing a robot to handle road access, it would be easier to provide a mailbox that avoids road access. Perhaps something that tilts, so that the mail can easily slide out into the robot's carry bin.

Similarly, I expect you wouldn't get the next generation of robots to identify a can of soda behind the milk in the refridgerator. Loading the soda can into a dispensor that always puts the next can at the same spot would make fetching a soda a much easier task. Maybe something with bar codes on the various dispensors, so that machine vision can quickly identify what dispensor is what. 

ScottE -- Member (always) & Moderator (when needed)

mick-146 Avatar
Member
March 25, 2008 4:04 PM

MrScott said: As a followup to my own post, repetitive tasks in a semi-controlled environment will be the first things to get some home automation. 

When I studied industrial automation as a grad student, the case studies for automating assembly tasks usually spec'ed at least as much money for the task specific tooling as for the robot. The right tooling, and materials handling, can greatly simplify a task. To do otherwise would be like telling you to work on a car's engine, and handing you hairbrush.... I expect that we'll have to adapt our home and yards to suit the robots. 

I expect you wouldn't get the next generation of robots to identify a can of soda behind the milk in the refridgerator. Loading the soda can into a dispensor that always puts the next can at the same spot would make fetching a soda a much easier task

 

would the last human on earth, please switch on the robots before leaving. Thank You.

mick-146 Avatar
Member
March 25, 2008 4:08 PM

Thanks MrScott- some very interesting points.

I look to these developments taking shape Smile

would the last human on earth, please switch on the robots before leaving. Thank You.

MrScott Avatar
  Moderator
March 27, 2008 12:24 PM

Here are some other fairly well defined household chores that I believe are within the grasp of today's automation technology.

  • Moving the laundry from the front loading washer to the front loading dryer.
  • Refilling the console humidifier when it runs dry
  • Watering the plants on a schedule
  • Feeding the fish in the aquarium on a schedule
  • Feeding the cat or dog
  • Closing the curtains when it gets dark
  • Opening the curtains when it gets light
  • Turning off, moving, and turning on the lawn sprinkler

Something like NorthStar, that allows a robot to find its way to predefined locations within a building, greatly simplifies a task like "feed the fish".

Some of these actions could be marketed as giving your home that lived in look while you're away.

ScottE -- Member (always) & Moderator (when needed)

swebb51 Avatar
Member
March 27, 2008 3:19 PM

Hehe!  Gotta add my penny's worth.

  • Moving the laundry from the front loading washer to the front loading dryer. (Done, its called a washe/dryer!)
  • Refilling the console humidifier when it runs dry (Not needed in the UK, we need DE humidifiers!)
  • Watering the plants on a schedule (This would be a really cool idea, Gets me thinking, what would be ideal is to design a device where you tell it the required moisture level and then it adds water as and when required. You would still need to fill the device tho... unless you plumb it in)
  • Feeding the fish in the aquarium on a schedule (surely they have automatic fish feeders... Although a robotic tank cleaner would be nice)
  • Feeding the cat or dog (Done)
  • Closing the curtains when it gets dark (Done)
  • Opening the curtains when it gets light (And done)
  • Turning off, moving, and turning on the lawn sprinkler (Thats another good idea!)
MrScott Avatar
  Moderator
March 27, 2008 4:02 PM

I never said that these things aren't already available via some other mechanism.

A light sensor on a motor to control the blinds is a lot less complicated than teaching a robot to do the job.

A low flow plumbing hookup to the humidifier to refill it as needed (think ice maker in refridgerator type setup) is a lot less complicated than having a robot carry water to the humidifier. 

By the time you do a cost analysis of general automation, you usually find that you can buy a lot of dedicated systems that get the job done for less.  That's the way it works for industry, too. By the time an assembly task is optimized for potential robot execution, you find out that you've simplified it enough that some simple tooling updates provides most of the benefit for a fraction of the cost.

Who would buy a robot for $1000 to open their garage door, when a dedicated garage door opener costs $150?

Who?

One of us, probably. We're nuts. 

ScottE -- Member (always) & Moderator (when needed)

swebb51 Avatar
Member
March 27, 2008 4:14 PM

Only if it came in kit form!

mick-146 Avatar
Member
March 28, 2008 7:26 AM

I've been thinking about this subject after reading the suggestions posted. Most home automation tasks already have their own dedicated solution (auto room lighting/curtains, pet feeding, temperature & air quality, plant watering, secutity systems ecc,ecc.).

It's becoming clear that the role of domestic robots will fall into two categories;

  1. Moving an object from point 'A' to point 'B'
  2. Performing heavy "manual labour" tasks, ie: digging over the vegetable plot, scrubbing flloors, cleaning windows, shovelling snow to clear a path ecc.

As MrScott has already said, we would need to adapt our houses to fit-in with the robot and not try to build robots to manipulate/operate domestic appliances already in our homes.

For example; it would be very complicated and therefore not financially viable to try to make a robot that could fill/empty a dishwasher... Image the object handling dexterity and visual perception that would be required... Instead, we need to design new appliances, such as dishwashers and refrigirators that are robot friendly, not human friendly. Does this make sense?

Dealing with the point of "moving objects from A to B",  the two factors involved here would be firstly to replace appliances to ones which are "robot friendly", as I have already mentioned above and secondly, equipping robots with advanced spacial awareness/obstacle avoidance systems, in conjuction with suitable traction systems that would enable the robot to deal with changes in floor surfaces/heights and stair climbing ecc.

With these adaptations to both our homes and robots, it really will be possible to instruct your robot to "wash the dishes" and " fetch me a beer & two soda's" scenario.

In order to realise this domestic bliss though, cooporation between the home-appliance & robot manufaturer's would be required, not to mention of course, the willingness of consumer and home-owners to adapt their homes and invest in these new technologies.

would the last human on earth, please switch on the robots before leaving. Thank You.

MrScott Avatar
  Moderator
March 28, 2008 8:20 AM

Car washing is another "chore" I'd gladly relegate to my bot buddy.

It's also a fairly well defined task in a limited area. 

  • wet down panel
  • wipe down panel
  • rinse panel
  • move to next panel
Use of a spray wand with soap/rinse settings would simplify it greatly. 

This would probably be considered hazardous duty for the typical amature bot. There's bound to be mishaps with the water and soap.

ScottE -- Member (always) & Moderator (when needed)

Discussion:    Add a Comment | Back to Top | Comments 1-12 of 12 | Latest Comment

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