Top Domestic Robots for Your Smart Home
Translated from French by Abha Vardhan (2019)
The advancement in technology has offered many benefits to the modern world. One such innovation is the invention of robotic appliances that have made things simpler, quicker and more convenient to contemporary households.
Nowadays, there are smart appliances for almost all types of house chores. There are Robotic vacuum cleaners such as iRobot Roomba, Samsung, Neato; lawnmowers such as Husqvarna, Bosch, or Evo; robots for tile washing such as Winbot; smart electronic font door locks for the home such as Latch; and smart appliances for floor cleaning such as Scooba.
The launch of these smart gadgets has definitely made life easier for people and the success of them has paved the way for the next set of smart robots that are dedicated to doing everything. These are referred as to domestic robots.
You must be wondering what they are for and what the existing models are. Go through this article and learn more about these efficient domestic robots.
What Is A Domestic Robot?
There are many references to domestic robots in science fiction. You probably have in mind the little robot from Pixar, Wall-e or Eve. It's true that these little robots look a lot like them.
There is another science fiction, the humanoid movie Bicentennial Man with the NDR-114. This domestic robot was designed to do all housework, and the family who welcomed him had even given him a name: Andrew. This is an adaptation of a short story by Isaac Azimov.
The domestic robots of 2017 are not going to become human; nevertheless, they are the beginnings of the robots of the future. The typical profile of these robots is they are 50 centimeters in height, they are cute, advanced and even sometimes intelligent.
These are at the crossroads of many technologies due to several reasons:
- They are connected to the cloud and benefit from the mass of information available on the web.
- They connect to our new smart objects and fully control the home automation system.
- They take advantage of the advanced artificial intelligence but also technologies related to voice, and are even designed to adopt smart wizards such as Amazon’s Alexa, Google Assistant, Microsoft’s Cortana, and Apple’s Siri.
They are not yet endowed with reasoning or creative thoughts, but they can be considered intelligent as they know how to adapt to their environment.
What Is the Use Of A Domestic Robot?
These “do-all” domestic home robots perform many functions, such as:
- Security: They enhance the security of your home by monitoring the interior and exterior of your residence. They are equipped with sensors and can alert you in real-time if an intrusion takes place.
- Communication: These domestic robots are often equipped with a screen and a sensor, and they can connect to the VoIP service such as Skype, Facebook Messenger, and help put you in touch with your interlocutor.
- Notification: They are also able to notify you by sending text messages and other notifications.
- Assistant: They are great assistants as they can answer your questions regarding the weather and current affairs. They are often connected to devices such as Amazon’s Alexa and Google Assistant. Interestingly, they can also respond with facial expressions and can change the tone of their voice depending on the context.
These domestic robots are made as advanced as they are because of the progress in articular intelligence and deep learning. Thus, they learn to better respond to your problems. Some are even able to understand your problems, desires, and questions.
- Control: They control other connected objects such as your speakers, television, connected washing machine, and more. You can ask them to change the channel on your TV or check the timer on your oven.
- Companion: These smart robots work as great companions of children or older people. They watch them, take care of them or simply keep them engaged.
The Top Domestic Home Robots for Your Smart Home
Kuri: Cute and Smart Home Robot
He is sweet! He is named Kuri, is 50 centimeters tall and weighs six kilograms. This robot has a round head, with details on the eyes and also has a robust body.
This cute domestic robot can gauge its environment and surroundings and is also able to distinguish some people. He is smart and responds to your queries with head movements and cute facial expressions.
Kuri is a voice-activated robot, which is fitted with a camera that allows the owner to remotely check on his or home security and family. The robot also has inbuilt speakers for music, microphones for voice commands, and Wi-Fi connectivity.
The sensors in Kuri help him check his environment and find his way around the home. They also ensure that he doesn’t fall down or hit a wall, furniture or any other items.
LG Hub Robot: For Better Living
The renowned manufacturer behind this robot is LG and it was introduced at CES 2017.
This LG hub Robot is designed to assist family members. The Korean LG manufacturer wanted to make it the center of all connected devices, so it can control your vacuum cleaner, washing machine, lawnmower, oven, fridge, and everything connected to it.
It is connected to your smartphone and alerts you by sending notifications. It can control the air conditioning of the house, change the drying cycle of the dryer, greet each member of the family individually, display the contents of the refrigerator, describe the steps of a recipe orally, play music or give a weather report.
Omate Yumi: The Family Home Robot for All Your Needs
Omate Yumi is an asset to your home for the price of nearly 350 euros. It is a small robot that runs on Android and is compatible with Amazon’s Alexa.
Omate Yumi can run with most Google Play apps; not only the security apps but also entertainment apps. For example, you can stream music to Spotify through its speakers, or watch a movie on Netflix on the 5-inch HD screen. You can not only also use it to record activity in your home when you're away, but also chat over VoIP via Skype or other apps.
But that's not what's interesting with this robot. It is compatible with Amazon’s Alexa and can execute all the commands of voice assistant and central home automation. Although Amazon’s Alexa is not yet available in France, this does not prevent the success of Omate Yumi Robot in the United States.
Similar to Apple's Siri, Ok Google, or Microsoft's Cortana, Amazon's Alexa can answer questions of any kind. With a mix of databases and artificial intelligence, it makes it easy for the robot to describe or perform actions that are requested.
Just say “Alexa, what is the capital of Romania ", so that the Hello box gives the answer vocally, or say “Alexa, play rock of the 1950s "so that it plays the desired music.
Buddy, The Emotional Robot: Connects, Protects and Interacts
Buddy was developed by the startup Blue Frog Robotics. They created "The Companion Robot Accessible to All" after doing a lot of research in robotics. The head of this startup is Rodolphe Hasselvander, the former director of the Integrated Robotics Center of Ile-de-France (CRIIF).
The face of the robot integrates an Android tablet, his big eyes and a small mouth, which make him a nice cartoon character, a kind of R2-D2. Moreover, it has been presented to children with autism and it is a good companion for children. Most people find this robot endearing.
This smart robot was designed as a modular platform and can be upgraded with accessories such as a docking station (to recharge alone), a pico projector (to project an image), and arms.
Technically, the robot seems to have been created to fit the needs of its owners. On the software side, it is basically an android with Android apps running on it. Thus, it is possible to adapt it to certain requirements by simply installing applications which are found on a dedicated store.
Panasonic Desktop Companion Robot: The ‘Human-Like’ Companion
Panasonic Desktop Companion Robot is a prototype, which was presented at the last CES 2017 edition. The Companion Robot uses natural language processing based on artificial intelligence to communicate clearly and in a very friendly way.
It accesses the cloud to retrieve data and can exchange with other robots. Panasonic has chosen a childlike voice to create a sense of attachment. It has been programmed to emulate human movements. Based on a UNIX system, it runs with ARM (Cortex-A53 ARM four cores).
Asus Zenbo: Your Adorable Smart Robot
The adorable Asus Zenbo is, in fact, a competitor of Amazon Echo or Google Home. He can, in addition to displaying adorable expressions on his screen, provide assistance, entertainment, and companionship to families to meet the needs of each person.
Zenbo works like an Amazon Echo responding to queries just like Google Now. Homeowners can also use Zenbo to purchase goods online, take photographs or monitor their garden. Zenbo is also useful for older users. It can also sing songs, dance according to music and tell stories. Asus also promises you that he will be able to watch your children.
Source: frandroid.com
Written By: Ulrich Rozier