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Robots In The Home Twenty Years In The Future
By gkelly3134 (www.elance.com)
Commissioned by Robots Incorporated
I woke up on Thursday morning to the sounds of zX2 preparing breakfast in the kitchen. I can get used to this I think. In my previous life I was stuck in mid level housing like so many other mid-level workers. Then I had some modest success at Kyonist Electronics and along with a hefty raise in credits I got to move into the mid level housing units. I am still a ways away from the upper level housing, but it doesn't’t seem as far away as it once did. Along with the upgraded housing came all the little toys that make life just a little bit easier than it used to be. The zX2 is a perfect example.
The zX2 unit isn’t quite the fully functional robot that we see in the movies, but it’s close. Its domain is basically in the kitchen and it can perform enough simple tasks so that even a confirmed bachelor like me can feel at home. It stands about one and a half meters tall and has three arms for various functions. It has two light weight treads which allow it to move around and turn on a dime. The optics aren’t perfect though and it often takes up to a second to focus on the item it is looking for. Some people have downloaded personalities into their units, but since the artificial intelligence in the machine is fairly simple I chose not to. It can prepare simple meals as long as the ingredients are grouped together and once the menu for the week is programmed I can pretty much not worry about food for the week. It will also accept the food deliveries and in theory put everything away, but the reality is zX2 puts pretty much everything into the refrigerator and I sort it out later. Even with this small glitch my little robotic friend makes my life far easier.
The robotics industry has been booming since about 2015 when commercially available assistance robots hit the show rooms. At first, like with all electronics, robots were strictly for the super wealthy. A unit which simply cleaned floors went for several hundred credits. As the technology became more commonplace and the prices dropped robotic devices started to find their way into every facet of life. As a designer at Kyonist I had a small hand in the current state of the robotics boom. I was on the design team that developed the StarFireII chip. Basically his chip is the “brain” of most advanced electronic devices. Without getting too technical it is what allowed robots to make the leap from having the intelligence of a five year old to having the intelligence combined with the capacity to learn of an average fifteen year old. Our team allowed robotics to skip four to five generations of development and helped bring things like the zX2 to fruition. Now every middle class family in America can have a robot of their very own. The difference between this generation and the designs of the early 2000's is like the difference between a horse and buggy and the new Porsche Fluidity.
I roll out of bed and take a quick look at the zX2 on the monitor above my dresser. It seems to have things well in hand so I head to the shower. Getting ready for work is another thing that people of the middle class take for granted. The only place in my home that is free of electronics is now my shower. I always feel a bit of relief as I slide into the shower because I know it is pretty much the only time of the day that I am not going to be watched, helped, or recorded. Before moving into my smart home I had to get the razor, shave, brush my teeth, and comb my hair by hand. Now I simply put on the HelM1215 and relax. The aptly named Helmut looks exactly like a full faced street cycle helmet.
The interior of the visor is a view screen which shows the morning news, weather, and traffic. The microbots extend over my face and give me the perfect shave. Each HelMut-1215 is perfectly calibrated to give the perfect individualize shave. The mouth piece extends and more than three thousand bristles brush my teeth. The top of the helmet can style my hair, but I turned that option off after I went to work looking like I had brushed my hair with a porcupine one morning.
The FaShun-Mate has been busy picking out my suit for me while I was in the shower. This particular robot is the most useful thing a bachelor can own. Monday through Saturday it knows I am going to work so it picks out appropriate clothing for me after it syncs with my calendar. If I have a business meeting an appropriate suit is laid out, if I'm in the lab then it chooses clothes for that. It also has a link to the local weather service so it can choose a coat, sweater, rain gear, or lightweight materials. Today I have a meeting with the head of advertising so a nice charcoal suit is laid out with a matching shirt and tie. After getting dressed I head down to breakfast.
The zX2 is just placing the utensils next to the pancakes it has made and they look good as always, but if the truth be told even though the food is always technically correct it simply isn't as tasty as food that's made by actual humans. On the other hand the convenience usually outweighs any slight loss of taste. After a quick breakfast the zX2 begins cleaning the table and washing the dishes. After breakfast I am ready to leave and I take my key card and briefcase off of the table.
I'm heading to the door as I hear both the vacuum and floor cleaning bots begin their day. These robots are a far cry from their predecessors which were able to clean or vacuum a floor, but could be easily confused due to unusual room configurations or objects left in their way. These newer models communicate with each other over the Housenet network and one will inform the other where it has left off and the other should begin. When they are done with their respective cleaning jobs they return to their docking bases in order to charge. While docked the rest of the Housenet can tap into their computing power which increases the speed and efficiency of the houses main computer network. Life is certainly easier with all the robotics I now have, but I am left with the disconcerting thought that the robots will soon realize that their only function in life is to work for me. If the artificial intelligence makes the next leap to self actualization I may come home someday and find myself locked out of my home.
I walk into the garage still considering the frightening thought of a robot revolution in my home and see that Housenet has alerted the transport I was en route. Since everything in the house is linked through Housenet the transport turns on and adjusts the temperature to my liking as soon as I walk out the front door. I climb in and the automatic restraint system clicks in over my chest. Auto accident fatalities are almost non-existent since the automatic safety restraint system of 2018 was enacted. The garage door opens and the car backs out as I glance up to the view screen that is transposed over the windshield. When I got my first car that was autonav equipped I resisted letting the computer drive, but over the last few years I’ve gotten used to it to the point that I would much rather scroll through the newspaper on the view screen than look at the traffic around me. The robotic voice informs me that I am thirteen minutes from my destination. Thirteen more minutes before being stuck in meetings all morning. One thing that robots will never understand is that sometimes there is such a thing as too much information.
I glance out the window and see the local learning center which would have been called a high school when I was a kid. I remember dreading some teachers. The Educon robot has pretty much eliminated that. Each class has an Educon unit in it that uses the latest methods to teach the kids. Test scores are up across the board. The human teachers have mostly been relegated to classroom monitors. They are there to enforce discipline and answer any questions that confuse the Educon unit. The questions the Educon units have the most trouble answering are those about morality. The one class Educon units are not used in very often is Philosophy. It’s funny if you think about it. We can program a robot with enough knowledge to teach a generation of children, but can’t give the Educon enough information to solve even the simplest moral dilemmas. I find this thought slightly comforting as the transport turns left and prepares to dock at a charging station in front of my job. Another perk of the success of my team is my transport now has a charging station in the row closest to the door.
I leave the transport to do whatever it does all day while I’m at work and scan my way into the building. The biometric sensors at the door are sensitive enough to detect my distinct biometrics within one second of me walking through the sensor array. The automatic walkway speeds up as it brings me to my office and slows enough for me to step off as we approach the entryway. I sit at my desk and call up my messaging screen. Most are work related, but I do see an interesting one from my friend Allen. Allen has tickets to see RoboBattle XII tonight.
After boxing was banned in 2023 promoters immediately turned to robots in order to fill the void. The entertainment value alone of watching a $300,000 credit robot destroy another is enough for even the most ardent ex-boxing fan. The technology in these robots is truly astounding. The robots used in these battles are extremely lifelike and can mimic the movement of the greatest fighters of all time. Unfortunately just like the pancakes my zX2 makes the robot fighters lack the imagination of the truly great fighters. Robots have truly come a long way and some would argue that a properly designed robot is a perfectly acceptable replacement for a human in most instances. As a designer of AI you would probably expect me to agree. You’d be wrong however. Robots are amazing tools that enhance our everyday life, but they cannot replace the imagination, determination, and artistry, of humanity. So even though I am going to shell out a fortune to see RoboBattle XII tonight in the back of my mind I’ll still remember the footage of Ali in his prime. The most sophisticated robot in the world couldn’t duplicate him. Yet.
See www.robotsincorporated.co.uk for your robot needs
