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All of we slightly older folks, whom were around to watch shows such as the "The Jetsons" knew that robots that cleaned and performed other rather tedious tasks...would be a part of our future... but to what capacity? Well not many of us knew the answer to that.
Yet, here we are today and according to the calendar, it is the year 2023. Did the robot predictions from way back then, come true? Well... we are certainly getting closer.
Today many of us feel too busy to clean, so we turn to our trusty 'Irobot' or 'Zoomba' vacuums, to help make our lives a little bit easier.
I personally find myself affectionately smiling at them ( I currently have three... one for each floor - duh!! ) as they navigate their way over the dust and around the toys, dog bones and whatever other objects my pets have left behind...with no intention of ever retrieving. Which is ironic, when one of my pups is half golden retriever. Bad parenting I guess.
We live with many unemployed pets and so I vacuum daily with the plug in vacuum and let the little ones (my robotic vacuums) pick up throughout the day. When I hear one of my robots cry out things such as"error...there is an object stuck...or please empty my dustbin" I race to her rescue, as she is, after all, my only willing cleaning companion. Well her and her two other robot sisters on level one and two.
My Electronic Homemakers do crash and bump into quite a few things. Often running over my toes, because I sometimes get in their way. Usually when I am guiltily creeping past them to the fridge. All while looking to see if they have left any crumbs behind. Thankfully they don't notice my micromanaging and go back to work.
I do expect these some-what clunky robot vacuums that bump into furniture like clumsy toddlers to learn and grow. Something humans are not often capable of...ouch!!
In the future, these little bots will most likely have master ninja-level navigation. They'll stealthily glide across rooms, doing backflips to avoid chair legs, and executing acrobatic maneuvers to dodge pesky pet toys. They are going to take "convenient cleaning" to a whole new level!
The future could include sitcom-worthy interactions with our robotic cleaning companions. Smart vacuums will probably pick up on our favorite TV shows and start binge-watching alongside us.
Imagine our robot vacuum enthusiastically vacuuming away while having a wee chuckle at the latest comedy series. Like my all-time favorite"Curb Your Enthusiasm." Hopefully Larry's humor won't be lost in my robots badly-programmed brain.
Having said that... if my future robot can help with cooking, cleaning and maybe even throwing my dogs a bone...then I could actually enjoy that thing people refer to as"free-time."
I may affectionately call my future robot "Marie Kondo." If she has even a fraction of Marie's talent... then I will welcome her into my home with open arms. Probably with many tears of joy.
As I start to see more and more Ai therapy applications...I wonder what sound advice our future cleaning robots might offer. Alexa's dry responses don't really turn that frown upside down.
Perhaps our future electronic homemakers will offer sage advice while cleaning. Such as " Travel while you are young and able. Don't worry about the money, just make it work." " You are smart, beautiful, funny and just the best in general. No, you are."
They could be programmed to be empathetic, helpful and hilarious. Maybe we will end up vacuuming more to hear the robot's encouragement. The future of the electronic homemaker is full of potential. Will they ever live up to my somewhat OCD cleaning standards? Who knows...but as long as they don't get offended or start eye-rolling when I ask them to please clean the dishes that were left in the sink...then we are off to a good and peaceful start. To the Future, and Beyond!!!
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