Domestic Robots
A domestic robot is a robot used for household chores. Thus far, there are only a few limited models, though science fiction writers and other speculators have suggested that they could become more common in the future. For example, in 2006, Bill Gates wrote an article for Scientific American titled "A Robot in Every Home", supporting this idea.
Many domestic robots are used for basic household chores, such as the Electrolux Trilobite, Roomba and the SLAM based Neato Robotics vacuum cleaner robot. Others are educational or entertainment robots, such as the HERO line of the 1980s or the AIBO. While most domestic robots are simplistic, some are connected to WiFi home networks or smart environments and are autonomous to a high degree. There were an estimated 3,540,000 service robots in use in 2006, compared with an estimated 950,000 industrial robots.
Read more about Domestic Robots: Domestic Robots No Longer in Production, Domestic Robots in Popular Culture
Famous quotes containing the words domestic and/or robots:
“I have no hesitation in saying that although the American woman never leaves her domestic sphere and is in some respects very dependent within it, nowhere does she enjoy a higher station. And ... if anyone asks me what I think the chief cause of the extraordinary prosperity and growing power of this nation, I should answer that it is due to the superiority of their women.”
—Alexis de Tocqueville (1805–1859)
“The danger of the past was that men became slaves. The danger of the future is that men may become robots. True enough, robots do not rebel. But given man’s nature, robots cannot live and remain sane, they become “Golems,” they will destroy their world and themselves because they cannot stand any longer the boredom of a meaningless life.”
—Erich Fromm (1900–1980)