Future Watch: Consumer Robots
Author: Rick Phelan
Published: 07.19.13
Many students have enjoyed the Sonoma County Robotics Challenge over its 12-year history. Participants recognize that robots will be a part of a “someday” future that science fiction movies and television have popularized. Characters such as Robby the Robot, Astroboy, R2-D2, C-3PO, and Wall-E have fueled the imaginations of students and teachers alike. Looking at the near future, some of the “robot” features we thought were fantasy are now very real, or will be soon. Some examples:
Computer software can now make recommendations about what we will like. Amazon, Netflix, Pandora, and iTunes monitor our reading, movie viewing, and music listening histories. Company algorithms analyze data and make suggestions about the music, books, and movies we might enjoy in the future.
Geographical Positioning Systems (GPS) speak to us and help navigate unfamiliar cities. Travelers commonly use GPS devices to track locations and receive turn-by-turn directions. Google has announced a new app called Google Now that is available for Androids and iPhones. This application will “watch” your schedule, track your position, and tell you when to leave for your next meeting, which it knows is 20 minutes away.
Personalized robot valets listen and respond to spoken requests. The iPhone’s Siri feature allows users to ask questions and give commands that Siri responds to by sharing audible directions, taking notes, looking up information, or reading to us. Google’s new Glass has similar features. Glass responds to verbal requests by visually sharing text and/or images on eyeglass lenses.
Automobiles park themselves and operate without human drivers. Some new car models have parallel parking features that, when activated, will measure spaces and steer the car into a parking space hands-free. Research engineers at Google have created a fleet of seven robo-cars. These cars have combinations of GPS technologies, sensors, and computer algorithms. Google’s robo-cars have successfully navigated streets and moved from point A to B without human intervention. Last year, California and Nevada passed laws legalizing the use of robotic cars for research purposes.
Robots perform domestic services freeing us up make better use of time. A number of “robots” are available to perform common home maintenance activities. Roomba vacuums carpets and floors, Scooba washes floors, and Mirra cleans your pool. SCOE’s Lego Education representative, David Calkins, has built a home robot that makes mixed beverages and entertains guests at his home in Mill Valley.
Robots help us manage large collections of information. SSU’s Library has two different book collections. One collection is very traditional and contains books frequently circulated. Patrons move among the library stacks to find what they need. The other collection, SSU’s largest, is managed by computers and contained in spaces that are largely unseen by patrons. This collection is managed by a robotic system known as the Automated Retrieval System. The retrieval system provides quick access to a three-story, computer-managed storage system with a capacity for 750,000 additional items located within the library building.
Robots provide us with companionship and coaching. MIT Engineer Cynthia Breazeal has designed a home robot that offers diet and exercise coaching. Of three groups in a study, those interacting with Breazeal’s robots stuck to their diets the longer than the group using traditional journals and the group using a computer program. Breazeal sees a future where grandmothers can hook into a computer and control a “grandma bot” that will play with their grandchildren in another city.
Robots will have larger roles in our day-to-day activities as we look forward into the 21st century. Students can learn about robots and find interesting applications of mathematics and science through a number of student programs in Sonoma County, including Odyssey of the Mind, Science Fair, Mini Maker Faire, and Sonoma County Robotics Challenge.
Blog: Technology for Learners
