The home of the future: Robotic furniture | The Economist
- 5 years ago
Domestic furniture may soon have a mind of its own.
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Researchers at Stanford University have been testing a robotic footstool but some volunteers found the idea a little scary at first. Others quickly adjusted to their comfy companion but treated the footstool more like a pet.
The idea is to bridge the gap between anodyne appliances like vacuum cleaners and completely humanoid helpers. So a robotic chest of drawers might suggest the tool you need but doesn't mind a bit of a tickle. Larger furniture like this "couchbot" could rearrange itself to fit different scenarios, but giving your couch a personality means it may occasionally be a bit obstinate.
People seemed pretty willing to oblige a roving bin but some deliberately ignored the encouragement. The science of robots is coming along bit real world obstacles always pose a risk. Robots may be designed to help people but luckily sometimes people are willing to help them too.
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Researchers at Stanford University have been testing a robotic footstool but some volunteers found the idea a little scary at first. Others quickly adjusted to their comfy companion but treated the footstool more like a pet.
The idea is to bridge the gap between anodyne appliances like vacuum cleaners and completely humanoid helpers. So a robotic chest of drawers might suggest the tool you need but doesn't mind a bit of a tickle. Larger furniture like this "couchbot" could rearrange itself to fit different scenarios, but giving your couch a personality means it may occasionally be a bit obstinate.
People seemed pretty willing to oblige a roving bin but some deliberately ignored the encouragement. The science of robots is coming along bit real world obstacles always pose a risk. Robots may be designed to help people but luckily sometimes people are willing to help them too.
Get more The Economist
Follow us: https://twitter.com/TheEconomist
Like us: https://www.facebook.com/TheEconomist
View photos: https://instagram.com/theeconomist/
The Economist videos give authoritative insight and opinion on international news, politics, business, finance, science, technology and the connections between them.