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Personal home robots need to be useful and helpful to all ages
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Personal home robots that can socialize with people are starting to roll out of the laboratory and into our living rooms and kitchens. But are humans ready to invite them into their lives?
It鈥檚 taken decades of research to build robots even a fraction as sophisticated as those featured in popular science fiction. They don鈥檛 much resemble their fictional predecessors; they mostly don鈥檛 walk, only sometimes roll and often lack limbs. And they鈥檙e nowhere close to matching the language, social skills and physical dexterity of people.
Worse, they鈥檙e so far losing out to immobile smart speakers made by Amazon, Apple and Google, which cost a fraction of what early social robots do, and which are powered by artificial-intelligence systems that leave many robots鈥 limited abilities in the dust.
That hasn鈥檛 stopped ambitious robot-makers from launching life-like robots into the market 鈥 albeit with mixed results so far.
Two pioneers in a new vanguard of cute, sociable robots 鈥 Jibo, a curvy talking speaker, and Kuri, a cartoonish wheeled 鈥渘anny鈥 鈥 have been early casualties. The makers of Vector, a less expensive home robot that was unveiled last Wednesday, hope theirs will be a bigger hit.
Still others, including a rumored Amazon project and robots designed to provide companionship for senior citizens, remain in the development phase.
鈥淚 think we鈥檙e going to start seeing some come to market this year,鈥 said Vic Singh, a founding general partner of Eniac Ventures, which has invested in several robotics startups. But they鈥檒l be limited to very specific uses, he warned.
Hopes for social robots keep outpacing reality. Late last year, the squat, almost featureless Jibo graced the cover of Time Magazine鈥檚 鈥渂est inventions鈥 edition. Its creator, MIT robotics researcher Cynthia Breazeal, told The Associated Press at the time that 鈥渢here鈥檚 going to be a time when everybody will just take the personal robot for granted.鈥
That time has not yet arrived.
Jibo, a foot-high, vaguely conical device topped by a wide hemispherical 鈥渉ead,鈥 stays where you put it, typically on a countertop. But it can swivel its flat, round screen 鈥渇ace鈥 to meet your gaze; tells joke and plays music; and can shimmy convincingly if you ask it to dance. It was pitched as 鈥渢he world鈥檚 first social robot for the home.鈥
At almost US$900, though, Jibo didn鈥檛 win anywhere near enough friends. It鈥檚 still for sale online, but its parent company reportedly laid off much of its workforce in June and didn鈥檛 reply to requests for comment.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a really cool device, but it didn鈥檛 offer a ton of utility,鈥 Singh said.
In late July, another startup, California-based Mayfield Robotics, ceased manufacturing Kuri, a roving US$699 machine that would shoot pictures and video from cameras hidden behind its round, blinking eyes. Other home robots, such as the three-foot, video-screen equipped personal assistant Temi (US$1,499) and Sony鈥檚 dog-like Aibo (US$1,800), are even less affordable.
鈥淵ou cannot sell a robot for US$800 or US$1,000 that has capabilities of less than an Alexa,鈥 said Boris Sofman, CEO of Anki, which plans to launch its pet-like Vector this fall.
Promising a robotic future beyond 鈥減uck-like vacuum cleaners and lifeless cylindrical talking speakers,鈥 Anki is pitching the US$249 Vector as an older brother to its tiny 鈥 and feisty 鈥 toy robot Cozmo.
Both robots are tiny enough to fit in your palm. They scoot around on tank treads and chirp more than talk, but Vector can answer basic questions, set a timer or deliver messages from e-mail and texts. It can rest on a tabletop until it hears a door open or, using facial recognition, 鈥渟ees鈥 a familiar person in view. It purrs when you rub its gold-plated back.
Social robots trace their lineage back to an interactive humanoid head named Kismet, which Breazeal built in an MIT lab in the 1990s. Since then, advances in artificial intelligence have propelled the field forward. The popularity of Alexa and its ilk has also helped take the strangeness out of talking machines.
The key for Vector and other companion robots, experts say, is to strike the right balance between usefulness and personality. Affordability also seems pretty important. Though there鈥檚 plenty of disagreement over what makes the proper balance.
Fall short on personality, and 鈥測ou better be perfect because the moment you make a mistake, you鈥檙e going to be the big lumbering robot that made a mistake,鈥 Sofman said. But people can forgive errors so long as the robot reacts in a realistic way.
Anki hired animators from Pixar and DreamWorks to give character to Cozmo and Vector. Israeli startup Intuitions Robotics brought on prominent industrial designer Yves Behar to help craft the look of ElliQ, which is designed for seniors. The robot is expected to launch next year.
鈥淲e were looking for an aesthetic that will earn the right to be part of people鈥檚 life for a long period of time, not just a gadget or a toy,鈥 said Dor Skuler, Intuition鈥檚 founder and CEO.
Instead of cute, ElliQ aims for calm. Designed to sit on an end table, the robot is shaped like a rounded table lamp with a circular light shining from inside its translucent plastic head. It swivels frequently, directing attention to the person it鈥檚 speaking with, and has an adjacent tablet screen to show off photos or text messages.
Many researchers say social robots hold great promise in helping an aging population. Such robots could remind seniors to take medicine, prompt them to get up and move or visit others, and help them stay in better touch with extended family and friends.
For the robots to catch on across all ages, though, they need to prove themselves useful and helpful, said James Young, a researcher at the University of Manitoba鈥檚 human-computer interaction lab.
鈥淲hether that鈥檚 by helping with loneliness, helping with tasks like cooking, that鈥檚 key,鈥 he said. 鈥淥nce people are convinced something is useful or actually saves them time, they鈥檙e really good at adapting.鈥
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