Robots save us time and effort when they are dealing with our household activities. We need a couple of hours and a lot of energy to accomplish daily tasks at home. Meanwhile robots can help us to reduce time spent on daily routine and increase productivity. Or they completely handle our job.
Currently we cannot think of any humanoid robots that can cope with multiple household activities while having a human-like behavior and emotions. However, there are robots that clean, swipe, wash, etc. In this blog we are going to discuss such robots, specifically a vacuum cleaner, washing machine, dishwasher, and iron.
Vacuum Cleaner
A robotic vacuum cleaner is a floor cleaning technology that combines robotic drives with a programmable system. There are different versions of such robots. Some of these vacuum cleaners include manual remote control, while some of them are completely independent ones. Such machines can autonomously clean, mop, vacuum, etc. At the same time more advanced models utilize AI in order to better perform their tasks, identify objects, do mapping and clean accordingly.
The first robotic vacuum cleaner was issued by Electrolux in 1996. The machine had multiple defects by then such as not cleaning properly or colliding with subjects. However, most of the problems were solved later and today new Robovacs are much more sophisticated. Some of the robotic vacuum cleaners are Electrolux Trilobite, iRobot Roomba, Dyson 360Eye and others.
Washing Machine
The first patent for a washing
machine was introduced in 1691. At the beginning the technology was relatively simple, but for that time it was a milestone in the tech industry. In 1904 electric washing machines appeared in newspapers and in 20 years sales reached up to million units in the US. Time by time the machine was improved, new features were added, spin technology was created and updated, and the process became more and more automated.
Nowadays washing machines include functions such as washing, spinning, rinsing, and drying. They are one of the most popular household robots and can be found in most of the families in the US. At the same time, they provide opportunities for commercial use. Commercial laundry washers generally have more limited features than consumer washing machines and usually offer only 2-3 washing programs.
Dishwasher
Dishwashers are very helpful for commercial establishments such as restaurants and hotels. As those establishments need to wash a big number of dishes in a limited time, a dishwasher is a good possibility for owners to save time and effort. As for many disruptive technologies, first versions of dishwashers were also problematic - they were slow and not reliable. For later stages new features were added and one of the most important were soil sensors. Sensors of the dishwasher can detect how dirty the dishes are and a machine will perform the washing routine accordingly. Smart dishwashers define and use the exact time necessary for cleaning, allowing to save energy and water.
One very interesting fact about dishwashers is that they can be used for cooking food at lower temperatures.
Clothes Iron
This is quite a small and simple machine, yet a very important one. The technique of ironing is way older than we might think. First irons were used before the introduction of electricity. By that time irons were usually heated in a fire. For now, there are irons such as Effie, which does its job with just a click on a button.
As we see, all these machines can accomplish very specific tasks and few of them have been developed enough to start employing AI. At the same time most of them are complex machines rather than robots and they are not humanoids. The aim of Destiny Robotics is to create the very first humanoid robot for household use. Destiny will combine all these tasks and will be accessible and affordable for more and more people.
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