Some films - Robot and Frank, Me, Robot, cartoons - show a future in which robotic servants do the work of maids, nurses, nannies, caregivers, allowing families to spend more time together and older people to remain independent longer. The future of robot guardians is closer than we might imagine. Robot vacuum cleaners and robotic lawn mowers are already available, and Japan is seeing a boom in assistive technology for elderly care.
Not long ago, Middlesex University's robot Pepper was presented before the UK Parliamentary Committee to answer questions about the role of robots in education.
Guardian robots, on the other hand, are a relatively recent phenomenon. As people live longer, there is an increasing number of older people who need help with their daily lives. However, the lack of available caregivers means that we are in for a crisis in adult care in the near future. In Japan, for example, an estimated 370,000 people will be short of caregivers in 2025.
Although modern assistive technology is still far from a future where our meals are cooked by ourselves and all the household chores do not touch us, why don't we try to see what that future will be like.
Home robots
Most robots are now widely used in heavy industry and manufacturing, where hazardous and repetitive tasks are best accomplished with automated systems. However, these non-fatiguing industrial ones are not designed to work in the presence of people, as they move quickly and are made of hard materials that can lead to injury.
Modern "collaboration robots," or cobots, as they are also called, are made with rigid joints and joints. Working in close proximity to people, they move at a limited speed so as not to harm anyone.
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However, the next generation of collaboration robots will be made from softer materials such as rubber, silicon or fabric. “These robots are inherently safe due to the properties of the materials they are made from,” says Helg Würdemann, a robotics engineer at University College London. "This kind of soft robots with controlled stiffness should achieve the accuracy and repetition of existing cobots and at the same time ensure safe interaction with humans."
One of the biggest problems is that navigation systems for human-interacting robots have not yet been fully developed. They work, to a certain extent, but easily get confused - like robotic vacuum cleaners that can't go back to the charging station. In simple laboratory conditions, robots can determine the best route, but in real conditions, in a house full of tables, chairs and other junk, everything is completely different.
“Many of these algorithms were developed in the laboratory and are relatively simple compared to the clutter and activity of people in a real home,” explains Nicola Bellotto, a Lincoln University computer scientist and technical manager for Enrichme, a project that is trying to create robots to care for and monitor elderly people.
Robots also don't quite cope with rough terrain, and some with ladders. In 2017, an autonomous security robot drowned in Washington after falling down a staircase into an office fountain. Working safely in the presence of children and animals can also be a challenge, as was demonstrated in 2016 when a safety robot hit a toddler in a Silicon Valley mall after a child ran to meet him.
Coordination of movement in response to sensory information is also a problem for robots, which limits their ability to interact with the environment. Robots may not be able to cope with tasks that most people and even dogs sometimes do quite easily, such as catching a ball.
This is due to an incredible number of factors that must be considered and which can overload the autonomous system and cause errors. “From a machine learning perspective, most decisions are easier for humans than for robots,” says Diana Cook, co-director of the Artificial Intelligence Lab at Washington State University. "Some tasks that are mentally difficult for humans are easier for a robot, while some simple movements for humans are quite difficult for robots."
The Evil Valley Guardians
There is also the question of whether we want our guardian robots to be human-like. There is a concept of "sinister valley": when objects are very close, but still do not fully imitate the human form and thus cause horror. Somewhere on the verge of transition, something artificial appears, which literally turns us away from humanoid robots. Instead, like the robotic vacuum cleaners in our homes, robots can be aesthetically designed according to their function.
In some cases, a non-humanoid robot may be just what you need. Animal robots like the Paro are beginning to be used as pets in pet-free care homes or as additional companions for people with dementia.
Many modern robots are functionally oriented, like robotic vacuum cleaners, rather than multifunctional ones. Designing a robotic system to perform multiple functions can be challenging, especially if the tasks are unrelated. At least in the near future, we are likely to have several guardian robots performing various functions. However, a problem arises: where do we store them while they are not in use?
Ultimately, guardian robots will complement rather than replace people caring for other people, as robotics can never replace human flesh and blood companionship. Even the most advanced human simulation by a robot cannot simulate a human exactly.
However, it's good that washing dishes and vacuuming the floor is not so difficult for robots. And not lazy. Do you trust robots?
Ilya Khel