WEBVTT - TechStuff Classic: TechStuff Gets Domestic . . . Robots 0:00:04.240 --> 0:00:07.240 Welcome to tech Stuff, a production of I Heart Radios 0:00:07.320 --> 0:00:14.120 How Stuff Works. Hey there, and welcome to tech Stuff. 0:00:14.160 --> 0:00:17.520 I am your host, Jonathan Strickland. I'm an executive producer 0:00:17.560 --> 0:00:20.640 with I Heart Radio and I love all things tech. 0:00:21.520 --> 0:00:24.720 It is time for a tech Stuff classic episode, which 0:00:24.800 --> 0:00:28.160 means it's Friday, so I hope you're all celebrating This 0:00:28.200 --> 0:00:33.120 episode originally published back on February two thousand thirteen. It 0:00:33.240 --> 0:00:39.160 is called tech Stuff Gets Domestic Robots. Lauren Voge Obama 0:00:39.159 --> 0:00:42.080 and I sat down to talk about domestic robots and 0:00:42.400 --> 0:00:44.519 where we're going with them. This is another one of 0:00:44.520 --> 0:00:47.360 those episodes that probably merits a follow up, but I 0:00:47.400 --> 0:00:49.520 thought i'd be fun to listen to the original one. 0:00:49.680 --> 0:00:53.519 I'm back in two thousand thirteen, so enjoy. This is 0:00:53.600 --> 0:00:56.680 a topic that a listener of ours wanted to hear 0:00:56.720 --> 0:00:59.959 more about, so we thought, Hey, we haven't really come 0:01:00.000 --> 0:01:03.120 a domestic robots, so yeah, let's let's do that crazy 0:01:03.160 --> 0:01:05.880 thing you Yeah, and when people think of domestic robots, 0:01:05.920 --> 0:01:08.360 I think that the image that immediately pops into most 0:01:08.400 --> 0:01:11.240 people's minds is Rosie, the robot from the Jetsons. Yeah, 0:01:11.280 --> 0:01:14.560 the documentary series. The documentary series from the sixties of 0:01:14.600 --> 0:01:16.720 what the future will be like. This was this was 0:01:16.720 --> 0:01:20.760 created in three set in two by the way, if 0:01:20.760 --> 0:01:22.800 you didn't know that, So we've we've got some cracking 0:01:22.920 --> 0:01:25.759 to get on. Yeah, I think it's okay because their 0:01:26.160 --> 0:01:29.120 vision of the future did not incorporate some pretty amazing 0:01:29.160 --> 0:01:31.759 technologies that we have at our disposal right now. That's fair, 0:01:31.880 --> 0:01:34.640 that's fair. But they did have this giant robotic human, 0:01:34.800 --> 0:01:38.640 life size humanoid made that could you know, sit around 0:01:38.640 --> 0:01:41.360 and drink milkshakes with you and have a conversation and 0:01:41.360 --> 0:01:43.840 and raise your kids for your kids for you. You're 0:01:43.959 --> 0:01:48.480 too busy space parents, right, So yeah, anyway, Rosie the 0:01:48.560 --> 0:01:50.560 robot kind of kind of was this idea of like 0:01:50.960 --> 0:01:53.680 the robot made or the robot butler that could take 0:01:53.720 --> 0:01:57.040 care of all the menial chores that most of us 0:01:57.240 --> 0:02:00.000 do not like to do. Like it, it just seems 0:02:00.120 --> 0:02:03.200 like it's one of those things that takes up valuable 0:02:03.240 --> 0:02:06.400 time that you could spend fragging people on halo floor 0:02:06.640 --> 0:02:11.480 doing literally anything else other than washing dishes again, dishes, 0:02:12.080 --> 0:02:17.079 folding laundry, cleaning windows. These are these these chores that 0:02:17.080 --> 0:02:19.720 that take up time that uh, you know, we just 0:02:19.760 --> 0:02:21.600 wish someone else would take care of that every now 0:02:21.639 --> 0:02:24.600 and then, and sometimes we hire people for that, which 0:02:24.639 --> 0:02:27.760 is in fact probably enormously cheaper and easier than building 0:02:27.760 --> 0:02:29.720 a robot to do it, because a lot of these 0:02:29.760 --> 0:02:32.240 things are actually really hard to do. But we'll talk 0:02:32.280 --> 0:02:34.680 about that later. Yeah, So let's start off by talking 0:02:34.720 --> 0:02:37.520 about where the word robot comes from. And I'm sure 0:02:37.800 --> 0:02:39.720 a lot of you out there already know this story, 0:02:39.760 --> 0:02:42.560 but there was a check writer, as in someone who 0:02:42.639 --> 0:02:46.240 was from Czechoslovakia. His name or the Czech Republic at 0:02:46.240 --> 0:02:51.799 the time, but now the Czech Republic, uh, Carol Kpek, 0:02:52.320 --> 0:02:55.160 who wrote a play called Are You Are? And Are 0:02:55.200 --> 0:03:01.200 You Are stands for Rossom's Universal Robots and this was one. Yeah, 0:03:01.240 --> 0:03:05.200 and the word robot comes from the check word robota, 0:03:05.360 --> 0:03:09.800 which means forced labor or servitude, and that word, in 0:03:09.840 --> 0:03:14.240 fact comes from another word rob r a b That 0:03:14.280 --> 0:03:18.919 word means slave. So uh. Now, in the original form 0:03:19.040 --> 0:03:22.520 that did not necessarily mean an artificial life form of 0:03:22.520 --> 0:03:25.160 any type. It could a robot could be a person. 0:03:25.240 --> 0:03:28.119 It could be someone who has been forced to conform 0:03:28.240 --> 0:03:32.400 to a very specific set of behaviors and to perform 0:03:32.440 --> 0:03:36.200 those behaviors for the benefit of some larger entity, and 0:03:36.240 --> 0:03:38.520 this was sure sharing. This was kind of the crux 0:03:38.560 --> 0:03:40.920 of the play. It was exploring whether or not it 0:03:41.000 --> 0:03:43.160 was okay for machines to be used the way that 0:03:43.200 --> 0:03:47.840 we use people and yeah so so eventually the term 0:03:47.960 --> 0:03:52.560 robot became more about a device, a mechanism that can 0:03:52.680 --> 0:03:57.400 perform functions in an automated way, and perhaps even in 0:03:57.600 --> 0:04:01.400 an autonomous way auto as an automated being two different things. 0:04:01.440 --> 0:04:04.640 Autonomous means that it can do it under its own direction, 0:04:05.160 --> 0:04:08.640 doesn't need someone there to press a button for it 0:04:08.720 --> 0:04:11.200 to to be able to do whatever it does, right, 0:04:11.240 --> 0:04:13.760 which is why we don't call, for example, our dishwashers, 0:04:13.880 --> 0:04:17.480 or our toaster ovens, or our washing machines robots, even 0:04:17.480 --> 0:04:20.159 though technically they are robotic. Yeah they have, they have 0:04:20.400 --> 0:04:23.600 features that are common to robots, though they themselves are 0:04:23.680 --> 0:04:26.960 not a robot. Kind of like how I have features 0:04:27.000 --> 0:04:31.880 that are similar to a human being and yet defy explanation. 0:04:32.880 --> 0:04:35.680 I'm gonna I'm gonna leave that one right there, all right, 0:04:35.720 --> 0:04:39.320 that's fair. So before we get into the whole domestic 0:04:39.440 --> 0:04:43.200 robot history and the sort of things that have developed 0:04:43.200 --> 0:04:45.839 over the years in the field of domestic robots and 0:04:45.839 --> 0:04:47.720 where we are today and where we expect to go. 0:04:48.320 --> 0:04:50.000 I thought it'd be interesting to talk a little bit 0:04:50.000 --> 0:04:52.760 about a survey that was conducted a few years ago 0:04:52.880 --> 0:04:56.800 by a company called Persuadable Research. This was the last 0:04:56.839 --> 0:04:58.720 one that I saw. Was from two thousand twelves. Yeah, 0:04:58.800 --> 0:05:02.160 that was the most in one that This survey was 0:05:02.320 --> 0:05:07.039 to ask people, Hey, if you had the opportunity to 0:05:07.200 --> 0:05:12.039 purchase a robotic device that would perform your chores for you, 0:05:12.080 --> 0:05:15.359 would that be of interest to you? And sixty percent 0:05:15.480 --> 0:05:18.640 of the people surveyed said, why, yes, it would. I 0:05:18.640 --> 0:05:20.800 would love to have a robot that could do things 0:05:20.839 --> 0:05:24.240 like clean windows or do laundry. Also, I would like 0:05:24.279 --> 0:05:27.480 a robot that could move heavy stuff from one place 0:05:27.520 --> 0:05:29.600 to another so that I don't have to do it, 0:05:29.800 --> 0:05:33.360 or provide better home security, personal assistant duties. I think 0:05:33.400 --> 0:05:36.880 we're high on the health monitoring was up there too, Yeah, 0:05:36.920 --> 0:05:40.200 and and a lot of them. I thought that this 0:05:40.279 --> 0:05:43.240 sort of robot would be a very useful device, and 0:05:43.240 --> 0:05:45.680 and in most cases, I think they were thinking of 0:05:45.800 --> 0:05:50.679 a single robot capable of doing multiple things, not not 0:05:50.680 --> 0:05:53.320 not a whole bunch of different robots that are specialized, 0:05:53.360 --> 0:05:57.359 but more of a general purpose robot. Now that that 0:05:57.600 --> 0:06:01.800 was interesting enough, but also there were asking more questions 0:06:01.839 --> 0:06:04.719 like what form would you want this robot to be in? 0:06:04.839 --> 0:06:07.560 And it seemed like most people wanted to have a 0:06:07.680 --> 0:06:12.719 humanoid robot. So we're talking about robots that have arms 0:06:12.760 --> 0:06:14.800 and legs and a head, you know, things that we 0:06:14.839 --> 0:06:18.920 would generally associate with the human form. And they also 0:06:19.200 --> 0:06:22.560 did not want their robots to necessarily have a gender, 0:06:23.000 --> 0:06:26.720 so the voice needed to be neither male nor female. Right, 0:06:27.000 --> 0:06:30.760 So kind of that that stereo root, yes, the one 0:06:30.800 --> 0:06:33.080 that the one that we all have. We all have 0:06:33.120 --> 0:06:35.119 a robot. I think we all have a robot voice, 0:06:35.520 --> 0:06:39.159 and we all have an Internet comments voice, Like we 0:06:39.200 --> 0:06:41.480 have a voice that we use when we describe Internet comments. 0:06:41.480 --> 0:06:44.120 People like you guys are awful, you are your show 0:06:44.160 --> 0:06:47.440 was bad and you should feel bad. That's my Internet voice. 0:06:48.360 --> 0:06:50.800 That's not that's not a very kind Internet voice, Jonathan. 0:06:51.000 --> 0:06:53.440 I'm not saying that everyone on the Internet leaves comments 0:06:53.760 --> 0:06:55.840 sounds like that. I'm saying the people who leave those 0:06:55.920 --> 0:06:59.160 kind of comments sound like that. That's entirely if they 0:06:59.200 --> 0:07:02.320 can insult me and I can insult them, you can, Yes, right, 0:07:02.400 --> 0:07:05.160 I have a I have a medium eye for an eye. 0:07:05.240 --> 0:07:09.200 It's a harsh podcast landscape guys is like Donkey Kong. 0:07:10.320 --> 0:07:13.160 But no, that that that they want. That's my internet voice. 0:07:13.160 --> 0:07:14.640 But my robot voice is you know, of course, like 0:07:15.280 --> 0:07:18.400 how can I help you? That's sort of that's that's 0:07:18.440 --> 0:07:20.320 I actually do not possess a robot voice. I don't 0:07:20.320 --> 0:07:23.600 think what I'm sorry, I'll work on one. Okay, next time, 0:07:23.720 --> 0:07:26.840 next time, we must get vogel bound a robot voice 0:07:26.920 --> 0:07:29.480 that really do voices. This is about it. Okay, well 0:07:29.680 --> 0:07:32.080 we'll we'll break you of that habit sooner or later. 0:07:32.880 --> 0:07:37.600 So yeah. And also that the people of responded said 0:07:37.600 --> 0:07:40.160 they would be willing to pay fifteen dollars or more 0:07:40.760 --> 0:07:44.920 for a comprehensive robotic assistant. That's a lot of money. 0:07:45.200 --> 0:07:46.920 Oh well, I mean when you when you think about it, 0:07:46.960 --> 0:07:49.720 that's you know, that's that's the mid range for a 0:07:49.760 --> 0:07:52.880 decent car. Right, Yeah, you're talking about it, and you're 0:07:52.920 --> 0:07:56.080 talking about something that's that's running around your house doing 0:07:56.120 --> 0:07:59.080 everything you do. But if it's a robot this folding laundry, 0:07:59.160 --> 0:08:02.200 you're like, how my is is the fact that I 0:08:02.240 --> 0:08:05.640 don't have to fold laundry? Worth fifteen grand. I guess 0:08:05.640 --> 0:08:08.320 it all depends on how much you hate laundry. Most 0:08:08.320 --> 0:08:13.200 people said that they were their their limit was like 0:08:13.280 --> 0:08:15.960 anything that was a thousand dollars or more was kind 0:08:15.960 --> 0:08:18.920 of outside the range. I think that's interesting because there 0:08:18.920 --> 0:08:22.400 are robots on the market right now, domestic robots that 0:08:22.440 --> 0:08:26.840 have very specific uses, like they don't do things outside 0:08:26.880 --> 0:08:29.400 of whatever it is they were meant for, that are 0:08:29.440 --> 0:08:32.360 more expensive than that. But there there are pool robots 0:08:32.400 --> 0:08:34.360 and we'll talk about those in a bit that are 0:08:34.440 --> 0:08:37.640 fifteen hundred dollars. So this is so this is perhaps 0:08:37.720 --> 0:08:40.439 unrealistic of people to expect that sort of price point, 0:08:40.600 --> 0:08:43.200 And as you were mentioning before, it would end up 0:08:43.240 --> 0:08:45.760 being cheaper to hire someone to come and do this 0:08:45.840 --> 0:08:48.720 work for you, at least over a certain period of time. 0:08:48.720 --> 0:08:52.000 Maybe you could eventually find like how many years would 0:08:52.000 --> 0:08:55.319 it take for a robot to make financial sense compared 0:08:55.400 --> 0:08:57.679 to hiring a human being. Somebody go do that math 0:08:57.720 --> 0:09:00.360 for us. I do not feel like doing it at all. Well, Also, 0:09:00.520 --> 0:09:02.600 we don't have all the variables right, which is because 0:09:02.640 --> 0:09:05.200 you would need to know what is the what's the 0:09:05.280 --> 0:09:09.679 average life span for domestic robot? So without that knowledge. 0:09:09.720 --> 0:09:12.680 We can't really say, like, well, if you if you 0:09:13.480 --> 0:09:16.960 build in maintenance costs and repair costs, then that adds 0:09:17.000 --> 0:09:20.920 to it. Right, You don't necessarily have to repair someone 0:09:20.920 --> 0:09:23.200 who comes in and cleans your stuff. You just hire 0:09:23.280 --> 0:09:26.120 someone else because you know you're a heartless person. I mean, 0:09:26.160 --> 0:09:30.400 I'm just talking about me here, right my perspective. I'm like, wow, 0:09:30.440 --> 0:09:34.480 it's really sad that that, my my, the people I 0:09:34.559 --> 0:09:37.080 hired to come in and clean my windows broke their legs. 0:09:37.320 --> 0:09:40.040 Thank goodness, there's this other cleaning service I can hire instead. 0:09:40.160 --> 0:09:42.040 I can just leave those first guys right there on 0:09:42.080 --> 0:09:43.960 the sidewalk and just keep going. This is turning into 0:09:43.960 --> 0:09:47.960 a really terrible Well you should see the piles of 0:09:47.960 --> 0:09:50.719 people outside my home. You think this is bad? You 0:09:50.720 --> 0:09:53.360 should really take a look at them. But anyway, so, 0:09:53.440 --> 0:09:56.080 and the takeaway that I got from this Persuadable Research 0:09:56.120 --> 0:09:59.720 Corporation survey was that what people want from their domestic 0:09:59.760 --> 0:10:03.200 robo is that they want them to be really cute 0:10:03.360 --> 0:10:06.960 humanoid mobile PCs about in the price range, because a 0:10:06.960 --> 0:10:09.440 thousand dollars is about what you would pay for for 0:10:09.440 --> 0:10:12.280 for a really good PC, for for a decent PC. 0:10:12.760 --> 0:10:15.760 And um Bill Gates actually in two thousand six wrote 0:10:15.760 --> 0:10:19.280 an essay called a Robot in Every Home that was 0:10:19.320 --> 0:10:22.240 basically saying the same thing he said. If I can quote, 0:10:22.440 --> 0:10:24.160 he said, we may be on the verge of a 0:10:24.160 --> 0:10:26.240 new era when the PC will get up off the 0:10:26.280 --> 0:10:29.240 desktop and allow us to see here, touch and manipulate 0:10:29.280 --> 0:10:32.360 objects in places where we are not physically present. And 0:10:32.440 --> 0:10:35.040 this was kind of his vision for the future that 0:10:35.040 --> 0:10:37.600 that we would have. If you guys have seen Far Escape, 0:10:37.600 --> 0:10:39.360 sort of like the d r D s more so 0:10:39.480 --> 0:10:41.840 than Rosie the Rosie the Robot. Yeah, I don't know 0:10:41.880 --> 0:10:44.640 what a d r D and d r D was. 0:10:44.800 --> 0:10:48.640 It stands for Diagnostic Repair Drones. And these were these 0:10:48.679 --> 0:10:52.920 kind of little little bug shaped, little trialobite looking critters 0:10:52.920 --> 0:10:55.560 that would run around Far Escape and do minor repair 0:10:55.600 --> 0:10:58.640 work and play the Symphony of eighteen twelve and etcetera, 0:10:58.679 --> 0:11:01.720 etcetera as you need them to. Okay, I can see 0:11:01.760 --> 0:11:07.040 the pressing need for the twelve overture when I'm when 0:11:07.040 --> 0:11:08.800 I'm talking to them up it. Look, it depends on 0:11:08.840 --> 0:11:11.400 how crazy you get while you're lost in space. Okay, 0:11:11.800 --> 0:11:13.880 lost in space now I can talk about that show, 0:11:14.280 --> 0:11:17.600 but that had a different robot. Anyway, I'm getting off track. 0:11:17.880 --> 0:11:20.600 So it's interesting that you say that this whole trilobyte idea, 0:11:20.679 --> 0:11:24.200 because in fact, the very first domestic robot that I 0:11:24.240 --> 0:11:26.679 could come up that I came across my research as 0:11:26.720 --> 0:11:29.360 far as on the consumer level goes. So the first 0:11:29.480 --> 0:11:31.600 robot that the average person could go out and buy 0:11:31.679 --> 0:11:35.200 for their home was a very specific use robot. It 0:11:35.280 --> 0:11:38.800 was the electro Lux Trilobyte, and it was a robot 0:11:38.800 --> 0:11:41.200 that looked kind of like a trilobyte, and it was 0:11:41.280 --> 0:11:44.320 a vacuum robot. And you've probably seen different vacuum robots. 0:11:44.360 --> 0:11:46.480 We will talk about a very famous one in a 0:11:46.480 --> 0:11:50.120 little bit, but the electro Lux Trilobyte was the first 0:11:50.240 --> 0:11:53.200 robotic vacuum cleaner and it hit the market in two 0:11:53.240 --> 0:11:57.800 thousand one. And the original model used ultrasonic sensors to 0:11:57.880 --> 0:12:02.679 navigate through an environment, So essentially it's shooting out ultrasonic sounds. 0:12:02.720 --> 0:12:05.360 So this is these are signals that we cannot detect 0:12:05.400 --> 0:12:08.880 their outside the range of human hearing, and the signal 0:12:08.960 --> 0:12:12.160 would emit from the robot and if it, if it 0:12:12.600 --> 0:12:16.400 encountered anything, it would bounce back like a vacuum bat. Yeah, 0:12:16.480 --> 0:12:19.600 it was a vacuum bat. It was kind of like 0:12:19.640 --> 0:12:23.479 what Batman would be if he were a domestic cleaning 0:12:23.559 --> 0:12:27.320 person as opposed to a crime fighter. He would dress 0:12:27.400 --> 0:12:29.679 up as a bat and clean the robot. What it 0:12:29.679 --> 0:12:31.240 would do is it would send out the signal. It 0:12:31.280 --> 0:12:33.360 would the single would reflect back, and that's how we 0:12:33.400 --> 0:12:36.720 would know how far away it was from some other object. 0:12:37.040 --> 0:12:39.600 So when you have it set down to clean your 0:12:39.640 --> 0:12:41.840 living room and you've got all this furniture there, as 0:12:41.880 --> 0:12:44.320 it would approach the furniture, the signal would go out 0:12:44.400 --> 0:12:46.880 bounce back. The robot would know, all right, I have 0:12:47.000 --> 0:12:49.200 to stop in three inches or I'm going to run 0:12:49.240 --> 0:12:53.320 into something like couch or whatever. And so the earliest 0:12:53.360 --> 0:12:56.840 model had these ultrasonic sensors and that was pretty much it. 0:12:56.920 --> 0:12:59.800 You could you could lay down these magnetic strips along 0:12:59.840 --> 0:13:02.640 the borders of your room so that it would not 0:13:02.760 --> 0:13:06.920 go to across, which is important if, for instance, you 0:13:06.960 --> 0:13:09.840 happen to have a staircase and you don't want your 0:13:10.000 --> 0:13:12.880 extremely expensive Trilobyte robot to go take a tumble down 0:13:12.880 --> 0:13:15.160 the stairs. Yes, I imagine that those first ones were 0:13:15.240 --> 0:13:19.360 not at all inexpensive. I'm sure they were quite expensive. Yes, 0:13:19.440 --> 0:13:21.920 and uh, I think that it's still fairly expensive to 0:13:21.920 --> 0:13:24.959 get most of these sort of robots because as the 0:13:25.040 --> 0:13:27.760 years go on, the technology gets more sophisticated, so each 0:13:27.800 --> 0:13:31.840 model that comes out has more features. Uh. The second 0:13:32.080 --> 0:13:35.920 round of the electro Lux trilobyte also included infrared sensors, 0:13:36.480 --> 0:13:39.080 so it made it a little easier for the robot 0:13:39.120 --> 0:13:41.040 to sense its environment because one of the problems with 0:13:41.040 --> 0:13:43.800 the ultrasonic ones was that if it came across, uh, 0:13:43.880 --> 0:13:46.400 something that was like a really sharp curve or whatever, 0:13:46.440 --> 0:13:50.160 the ultra the ultrasonic responses wouldn't be accurate enough for it. 0:13:52.559 --> 0:13:55.160 So that was the first one, and it also had 0:13:55.200 --> 0:13:58.520 a base unit that it could automatically find, again using 0:13:58.600 --> 0:14:01.839 ultrasonic sensors. The base unit, you know, it sends a signal. 0:14:01.880 --> 0:14:04.000 Base unit picks it up, it sends a signal. The 0:14:04.080 --> 0:14:06.640 robot hones in on that signal so that it can 0:14:06.679 --> 0:14:11.080 plug back in charge exactly. So I've seen uses of 0:14:11.120 --> 0:14:14.320 this in toys as well. So for example, there was 0:14:15.040 --> 0:14:19.320 uh Lego has a series of robots that you can 0:14:19.960 --> 0:14:24.120 build yourself robot kits, right, and the robot kits come 0:14:24.240 --> 0:14:28.200 with a programmable base and the programmable base is actually 0:14:28.200 --> 0:14:32.520 really cool and lets you plug and play robot commands 0:14:32.600 --> 0:14:35.840 into your robots. So essentially it's like it's like if 0:14:35.960 --> 0:14:40.880 then commands, if this robot encounters this situation, then the 0:14:40.960 --> 0:14:43.800 robot should behave this way. And one of the things 0:14:43.800 --> 0:14:45.520 you can do is you can buy different types of 0:14:45.560 --> 0:14:48.240 sensors to be on your lego robot, and one of 0:14:48.280 --> 0:14:51.840 them is the ultrasonic sensor, which allows a robot to 0:14:51.920 --> 0:14:56.920 really zero in on objects. And here and how stuff works. 0:14:57.680 --> 0:15:01.320 For our big holiday party of we had some of 0:15:01.440 --> 0:15:03.320 we had someone come in with these robots and show 0:15:03.360 --> 0:15:05.600 them off, and one of the robots had just simple 0:15:05.640 --> 0:15:08.400 infrared sensors that would allow it to detect when it 0:15:08.440 --> 0:15:11.680 was coming close to the edge of the player right 0:15:11.680 --> 0:15:13.600 and it would turn around and come back in. The 0:15:13.600 --> 0:15:16.560 other robot had the infrared sensors and the ultrasonic which 0:15:16.560 --> 0:15:20.400 allowed it to zero in on the its opponent, so 0:15:20.520 --> 0:15:23.920 we could go right after the other robot. Uh. Clearly, 0:15:23.960 --> 0:15:26.320 in the domestic situation here we're talking more about the 0:15:26.400 --> 0:15:31.040 robot just avoiding damage, also avoid damaging other stuff in 0:15:31.080 --> 0:15:34.480 the environment like your furniture. UM, I think this is 0:15:34.520 --> 0:15:37.760 a good time to take a quick break and thank 0:15:37.760 --> 0:15:48.200 our sponsor, and now back to the show. Are getting 0:15:48.200 --> 0:15:51.960 back into domestic robots. There's a company that you pretty 0:15:52.040 --> 0:15:55.480 much have to talk about called I Robot, which is 0:15:55.520 --> 0:15:59.960 kind of funny. I Robot makes me think of something else. Yes, yes, yeah, 0:16:00.000 --> 0:16:02.680 we didn't even mention Isaac asthmov well earlier I think 0:16:02.720 --> 0:16:05.880 this is a perfect opportunity before we dive into the company. Yeah, 0:16:05.960 --> 0:16:08.840 science fiction writer working in Oh, you might be better 0:16:08.840 --> 0:16:10.600 at this and I am in the sixties, is that correct? 0:16:11.480 --> 0:16:14.880 And earlier? Yes, and earlier, but um, I've wrote wrote 0:16:14.920 --> 0:16:18.720 the three Laws of robotics. Yeah, these were the laws 0:16:18.800 --> 0:16:23.080 that that in within the Asimov stories guided the robots 0:16:23.200 --> 0:16:28.920 behavior so that they would try and follow ethical programming. Uh. 0:16:29.040 --> 0:16:31.840 The idea being that the basic three rules, I don't 0:16:31.880 --> 0:16:33.960 have them written in front of me, so I apologize 0:16:34.040 --> 0:16:35.560 for the fact that I'm going to get these out 0:16:35.600 --> 0:16:38.800 of order and that I'm paraphrasing. But that the robot 0:16:38.800 --> 0:16:42.520 could not do anything to harm itself unless it would 0:16:42.680 --> 0:16:45.760 mean that it would allow others to come to harm. So, 0:16:45.800 --> 0:16:48.240 in other words, first, robot couldn't harm itself. A robot 0:16:48.320 --> 0:16:53.160 could not harm other people. Uh, And there was another one. 0:16:53.200 --> 0:16:56.080 I think it's property that robots can't hurt. But anyway, 0:16:56.120 --> 0:16:58.680 the most important rule of all of them was that 0:16:58.880 --> 0:17:01.520 a robot could not allow could not hurt a person 0:17:01.680 --> 0:17:03.720 or allow a person to be hurt to come to 0:17:03.840 --> 0:17:08.040 damage yes through inaction. Uh. And that overruled all other 0:17:08.320 --> 0:17:10.680 robotic rules. So if it meant that the robot would 0:17:10.760 --> 0:17:13.399 end up being damaged in the process of preventing a 0:17:13.440 --> 0:17:16.280 living thing from being hurt, the robot would go ahead 0:17:16.280 --> 0:17:19.040 and override that rule and allow itself to be damaged 0:17:19.080 --> 0:17:22.680 so that could save the person. Uh. Most of Asimov's 0:17:22.680 --> 0:17:28.040 stories involving robots had had stuff to do with unintended 0:17:28.119 --> 0:17:32.520 consequences of these what what appeared to be ironclad rules, right, 0:17:33.119 --> 0:17:37.280 because when you give a logical set to a very 0:17:37.280 --> 0:17:41.360 sophisticate in computer, it may or may not find ways around, right. 0:17:41.640 --> 0:17:44.320 And and it's not necessarily that the computer is trying 0:17:44.359 --> 0:17:50.520 to behave in a a malevolent way. For example, here's 0:17:50.560 --> 0:17:52.200 another example. This is one of those things about the 0:17:52.280 --> 0:17:55.200 robot apocalypse that you always, you know, hear science fiction 0:17:55.200 --> 0:17:59.120 writers talk about, and some futurists as well. Uh. Let's 0:17:59.160 --> 0:18:03.000 say that you a super intelligent computer robot, and you 0:18:03.080 --> 0:18:08.199 tell the robot, uh, I want you to make humankind. Uh, 0:18:08.720 --> 0:18:10.320 I want I want you to bring about world peace. 0:18:11.040 --> 0:18:13.080 You know, you're you are smarter than we are, bring 0:18:13.080 --> 0:18:15.600 about world peace. It's possible that the robot could come 0:18:15.640 --> 0:18:17.640 to the conclusion that the reason why there's not world 0:18:17.680 --> 0:18:19.879 peace is because there are people, all of those pesky 0:18:19.920 --> 0:18:22.159 humans running around causing wars. So if we just end 0:18:22.160 --> 0:18:24.960 of all kill all humans and then you've got peace. 0:18:25.880 --> 0:18:30.760 So yeah, that's that's that's that's the classic example. But 0:18:30.840 --> 0:18:33.520 so you don't have to worry about your domestic vacuum 0:18:33.600 --> 0:18:37.160 robot doing that. Probably not. I've I've known I've known 0:18:37.200 --> 0:18:40.119 an I Robot roomba, and it did not seem malevolent, 0:18:40.280 --> 0:18:43.640 very very malevolent to me. My dog was not too shared. 0:18:44.880 --> 0:18:47.760 The dog might have a completely different opinion about the 0:18:47.800 --> 0:18:50.359 intentions of the I Robot roomba. All right, well to 0:18:50.440 --> 0:18:53.159 talk about I robot before we we talked about the roomba. 0:18:53.240 --> 0:18:55.719 What's interesting to me is that it's a company that 0:18:55.800 --> 0:19:00.719 was formed in nineteen by three m I T associate uh. 0:19:00.840 --> 0:19:03.840 Those three m I T Associates where Rod Brooks, Colin 0:19:03.960 --> 0:19:09.600 Angle and Helen Grinder and they wanted to bring robots 0:19:09.640 --> 0:19:14.720 out of the realm of academ and industry. Those were 0:19:14.720 --> 0:19:17.160 the two places where you would find a robot pretty 0:19:17.280 --> 0:19:20.600 much before ninety nine, with some exceptions. There were some 0:19:20.680 --> 0:19:24.480 toys that were had. I had a very annoying robot 0:19:24.520 --> 0:19:27.480 toy when I was a young child, all of all 0:19:27.520 --> 0:19:29.760 of the noises. My my aunt, who didn't have kids yet, 0:19:29.760 --> 0:19:32.399 got it for me. Of course, that's always the relative 0:19:32.400 --> 0:19:37.080 who does that. Yeah, So there were toys, and like 0:19:37.160 --> 0:19:40.520 hobbyists had some access to some robotics, and a lot 0:19:40.560 --> 0:19:42.720 of people were doing d I y stuff, but much 0:19:42.760 --> 0:19:45.040 like the field of early computers, most people were just 0:19:45.119 --> 0:19:47.760 kind of going like, what is this thing good for? Yeah? Yeah, 0:19:47.840 --> 0:19:49.560 so what can we do with it? Consumers didn't have 0:19:49.600 --> 0:19:54.800 an option as of yet. This is way back in purchase. First, 0:19:54.840 --> 0:19:58.000 they well, first their company was called I S Robotics, 0:19:58.000 --> 0:20:00.560 but they would change that further down the line, and 0:20:00.720 --> 0:20:04.439 they originally built their business plan on the idea of 0:20:04.440 --> 0:20:10.120 space exploration robots. So their first designs were for NASA 0:20:10.480 --> 0:20:14.199 and UH. They created some robots that were meant for 0:20:14.280 --> 0:20:20.320 things like lunar exploration and UH spaceship robot type creations 0:20:20.400 --> 0:20:26.720 and planetary exploration robots, and these designs allowed them to 0:20:26.720 --> 0:20:29.480 get some contracts with the government. And the whole point 0:20:29.520 --> 0:20:32.120 of them making these designs, besides the fact that this 0:20:32.160 --> 0:20:35.040 was like they were genuinely interested in, was that it 0:20:35.040 --> 0:20:37.880 would allow them to gain the capital they would need 0:20:37.920 --> 0:20:41.879 to invest in a consumer robot, because that's not a 0:20:41.920 --> 0:20:44.600 small undertaking. Remember this is a decade before we see 0:20:44.640 --> 0:20:48.399 the first consumer robot on shelves, So it's as Lauren 0:20:48.440 --> 0:20:52.880 was saying before, it's not the most efficient or economically 0:20:52.960 --> 0:20:56.560 feasible way for you to take care of minor chores 0:20:56.600 --> 0:20:58.640 around the house. It could be a very expensive thing. 0:20:58.760 --> 0:21:01.919 So they need to raise some capital first before they 0:21:01.920 --> 0:21:04.600 could start getting into consumer robots. You know, they couldn't 0:21:04.600 --> 0:21:07.080 just hit the ground running doing that. So first they 0:21:07.080 --> 0:21:11.600 started working on robots for space exploration missions. They developed 0:21:12.320 --> 0:21:16.800 a robot called the I Robot five tin PackBot, and 0:21:16.840 --> 0:21:20.760 this was a search and rescue and bomb disposal robots. 0:21:20.800 --> 0:21:22.399 I was used by the military, and they still do 0:21:22.440 --> 0:21:25.320 a bunch of military work I believe they do. So, yeah, 0:21:25.359 --> 0:21:27.439 you've got to hope that your room bud does not 0:21:27.480 --> 0:21:32.320 get mixed up with the PackBot five ten. Yes, fingers 0:21:32.320 --> 0:21:35.199 crossed to be fair. Of the five tin pac bots 0:21:35.200 --> 0:21:37.320 not it's not a military robot in the sense of 0:21:37.320 --> 0:21:40.399 one it's weaponized. It's at most of these are in 0:21:40.480 --> 0:21:45.959 fact going on reconmissions or to defuse bombs where so 0:21:46.000 --> 0:21:49.440 that you know, or or possibly to uh, like I said, 0:21:49.440 --> 0:21:51.800 search and rescue. So for first responders, they might send 0:21:51.800 --> 0:21:54.440 a robot if there's a building, for example, that's been 0:21:54.600 --> 0:21:57.840 the target of a bomb, then sending a robot in 0:21:57.920 --> 0:22:01.719 to look for survivors, UH could mean saving the lives 0:22:01.720 --> 0:22:04.199 of first responders. You know. It's it's one of those 0:22:04.200 --> 0:22:06.320 things where you think, well, this is a really expensive robot, 0:22:06.400 --> 0:22:10.280 but compared to a human life, it is negligible. So UH, 0:22:11.320 --> 0:22:13.800 I Robot began to make those as well, and again 0:22:13.840 --> 0:22:16.560 this helped I Robot gain the capital they needed to 0:22:16.600 --> 0:22:19.240 go into the consumer market. And one of the other 0:22:19.359 --> 0:22:22.680 big projects they did before they got into consumer robots 0:22:23.040 --> 0:22:27.240 was called Auto Cleaner. An auto cleaner was meant for S. C. 0:22:27.480 --> 0:22:33.480 Johnson wax and as an industrial cleaning robot. UH. And 0:22:33.920 --> 0:22:36.359 this this is kind of the project that inspired a 0:22:36.400 --> 0:22:39.480 couple of the engineers once the project was winding down, 0:22:39.920 --> 0:22:42.919 to look into a way of building a consumer model 0:22:43.040 --> 0:22:47.400 of and that was what would eventually become the Room 0:22:47.760 --> 0:22:50.840 And it was when they first started working on it, 0:22:50.920 --> 0:22:53.440 and the Rombo would not hit store shelves until September 0:22:53.480 --> 0:23:00.000 two two so um. By then, the electro Lux Trilloby 0:23:00.119 --> 0:23:02.240 had been on the market for almost a year, and 0:23:02.280 --> 0:23:05.679 then they launched the I Robot, which don't totally different. 0:23:05.680 --> 0:23:09.320 Company obviously launched the roomba, which has I think become 0:23:09.400 --> 0:23:14.800 almost like the best synonymous basically, yeah exactly, or Xerox 0:23:14.800 --> 0:23:17.679 it's it's or Jello fridge. Yeah. Yeah, It's just one 0:23:17.680 --> 0:23:22.119 of those things where the term has almost just substituted 0:23:22.160 --> 0:23:25.600 the idea of vacuum robot roomba shorthand as as of 0:23:25.640 --> 0:23:27.960 two thousand eleven, over six million of the buggers have 0:23:28.000 --> 0:23:31.920 been sold. So so um, there's a whole bunch of 0:23:32.000 --> 0:23:33.480 jokes that are coming to mind, and I'm going to 0:23:33.560 --> 0:23:37.960 leave them all alone. Excellent, but you're all welcome. I 0:23:38.080 --> 0:23:41.640 Robot does make several other kinds of things, Yes, they do. 0:23:41.800 --> 0:23:45.320 They make They make a robot scuba, which is a mop. Yes, 0:23:45.359 --> 0:23:50.919 scuba actually has an interesting approach. Well, it's good to 0:23:50.920 --> 0:23:54.400 compare it to the roomba. So the rumba uses essentially 0:23:54.400 --> 0:23:57.679 three different kinds of brushes. There's one brush that just 0:23:57.720 --> 0:24:01.040 sort of helps sweep particles with in the path into 0:24:01.080 --> 0:24:03.400 the path of the roomba. But then it has these 0:24:03.400 --> 0:24:07.040 two brushes that are used to pick up the larger 0:24:07.440 --> 0:24:11.720 types of debris. And uh so these two brushes spin 0:24:12.440 --> 0:24:15.720 in a way where they're one is clockwise, the other's counterclockwise, 0:24:17.400 --> 0:24:20.560 and they use that motion to I'm gesticulating, and that's 0:24:20.560 --> 0:24:24.159 not helping. Yeah, they're using this this opposite rotating motion 0:24:24.240 --> 0:24:28.160 to flick stuff up into the bin that the that 0:24:28.320 --> 0:24:31.399 is inside the roomba, the the refuse bin if you 0:24:31.440 --> 0:24:34.760 prefer trash bin um. And then it also has a 0:24:34.840 --> 0:24:38.400 vacuum that uses suction to suck up the finer particles, 0:24:39.040 --> 0:24:43.199 finer being smaller, not of higher quality. And then the 0:24:43.240 --> 0:24:47.400 scuba its method is it uses it has a vacuum 0:24:47.400 --> 0:24:49.960 as well to suck up loose particles, and then it 0:24:50.520 --> 0:24:56.120 sprays the floor with a combination of water and cleaning solution, 0:24:56.720 --> 0:25:00.160 then uses a rotating brush to scrub the floor. Then 0:25:00.200 --> 0:25:03.840 it sucks up the dirty water into a wastebind that 0:25:03.960 --> 0:25:06.840 is separate from the water and cleaning solution bend. So 0:25:07.000 --> 0:25:11.159 there's two different containers inside the scuba for this stuff, 0:25:11.200 --> 0:25:13.240 so that way you don't mix the two. Clearly you 0:25:13.200 --> 0:25:17.359 want dirty water to go back into there. And then uh, 0:25:17.520 --> 0:25:21.240 it uses a technology called I adapt to monitor and 0:25:21.320 --> 0:25:25.200 respond to its environment. So the rumba and the scuba 0:25:25.280 --> 0:25:28.480 both have to be able to maneuver through an environment 0:25:28.680 --> 0:25:33.280 and uh and cover an entire floor, because I mean, 0:25:33.280 --> 0:25:34.920 it wouldn't do you any good if the room bad 0:25:35.000 --> 0:25:37.320 just kind of wandered aimlessly and then went to its 0:25:37.400 --> 0:25:40.160 charging station. You go in and like, well, this one 0:25:40.600 --> 0:25:44.040 meaningless path is clean, but everything else is filthy. So 0:25:44.119 --> 0:25:47.400 it has to be able to make its way across 0:25:47.440 --> 0:25:49.640 around in a in a space that was not necessarily 0:25:49.680 --> 0:25:52.640 intended for a robot to move around, right, because yeah, 0:25:53.040 --> 0:25:56.240 well humans can instinctively look at a coffee table and go, 0:25:56.280 --> 0:25:59.679 I shouldn't walk directly into that. Yeah, robots don't necessarily 0:25:59.680 --> 0:26:02.959 seraily know that off the top. They have to actually 0:26:03.040 --> 0:26:05.960 be programmed to not do that that. We'll get into 0:26:06.000 --> 0:26:08.160 more of that in a second too. But yeah, those 0:26:08.160 --> 0:26:10.640 are the two big ones, roomba and scuba. Yeah, yeah, 0:26:10.680 --> 0:26:14.439 they I think it's CS or it might have been. 0:26:15.119 --> 0:26:17.800 And they also introduced the I Robot Luge, which is 0:26:17.800 --> 0:26:20.639 a gutter cleaner. Yeah. I've seen examples of the luge 0:26:20.680 --> 0:26:24.400 for a couple of years, but it's it's essentially this 0:26:24.480 --> 0:26:26.320 thing that you put in your gutter and it just 0:26:26.400 --> 0:26:28.359 kind of goes, it goes, it goes down like a 0:26:28.440 --> 0:26:32.439 bullet and then just starts scoop it out gunk. So 0:26:32.600 --> 0:26:35.439 do not stand near your gutter while the while that 0:26:35.520 --> 0:26:38.000 sucker is going to stand in your gutter that's near 0:26:38.040 --> 0:26:43.679 your gutter like or under Yeah. Gross. Remember though, if 0:26:43.720 --> 0:26:46.239 your head's in the gutter, your eyes are looking at 0:26:46.240 --> 0:26:52.680 the stars, just a paraphrase of that is deep. Oh 0:26:52.760 --> 0:26:54.600 that's pretty you know, I can get pretty deep in 0:26:54.600 --> 0:26:57.800 the gutter anyway. So there are other types of domestic 0:26:57.880 --> 0:27:00.480 robots as well. I mean, these these were probably the 0:27:00.560 --> 0:27:03.439 best known because they are it's a huge brand and 0:27:03.440 --> 0:27:06.000 they've been around for a few years. But there's a 0:27:06.200 --> 0:27:09.560 robotic lawnmowers. I think we're I think I have Robot 0:27:09.560 --> 0:27:12.080 actually does one of those as well. Yeah, so they 0:27:12.160 --> 0:27:14.280 might I know that. I know there are quite a 0:27:14.280 --> 0:27:17.120 few brands that do have robotic lawnmowers, and so these 0:27:17.160 --> 0:27:20.440 are again using that same tech. Those same technologies are 0:27:20.480 --> 0:27:23.560 using collision detection to make sure that they don't bang 0:27:23.560 --> 0:27:27.720 into anything. Uh. Most of them have a little kill 0:27:27.800 --> 0:27:30.760 switches inside them, so they if they're tilted or turned over, 0:27:31.240 --> 0:27:34.560 the blade stops spinning immediately, so that way you don't 0:27:34.680 --> 0:27:37.679 endanger anyone like a little kid wondering what this thing is, 0:27:38.000 --> 0:27:39.960 I'll put my hand on it. Yeah, that's that can 0:27:40.000 --> 0:27:43.320 be dangerous. And they also can you know, you can 0:27:43.359 --> 0:27:47.280 define the parameters of your yard so that the lawnmower 0:27:47.520 --> 0:27:50.600 works within those parameters and doesn't you know just suddenly 0:27:50.720 --> 0:27:53.040 like well, all done here, let's do the neighbor's yard, 0:27:54.840 --> 0:27:58.200 and then the next one, next one. So there there 0:27:58.240 --> 0:28:02.960 are examples of that. They it works very similar technologies 0:28:03.000 --> 0:28:08.240 as the vacuum robots. Another similar robots, window cleaning robots 0:28:08.240 --> 0:28:11.560 that use suction to attach themselves to a window. And 0:28:11.640 --> 0:28:15.440 then again with the cleaning solution and the interesting water. 0:28:15.600 --> 0:28:18.800 I haven't seen any of these. They sound terrifying. There 0:28:18.880 --> 0:28:24.240 was one unbuild at CSEN called the back windbot. I 0:28:24.320 --> 0:28:27.800 wish I had seen that now, and uh it's yeah, yeah, 0:28:27.800 --> 0:28:29.840 it's supposed to debut later this year for under four 0:28:30.240 --> 0:28:33.400 dollars supposedly, and yeah, reusable pads to wash and dry. 0:28:33.400 --> 0:28:35.600 It has a little squeegee in there, so I guess 0:28:35.600 --> 0:28:38.120 you set it on the window and then it goes Yeah, 0:28:38.480 --> 0:28:40.840 that's that's the thing. This is another example of why 0:28:41.320 --> 0:28:44.880 people are a little disappointed, not that they should be, 0:28:44.880 --> 0:28:47.880 but they're disappointed in domestic robots because it's not a 0:28:47.960 --> 0:28:50.800 robot that just comes out of a closet and then 0:28:50.920 --> 0:28:53.040 takes a look around says, oh, these are the four 0:28:53.160 --> 0:28:55.520 things that need to be done in this room. I 0:28:55.560 --> 0:28:57.640 need to to sweep and mop the floors, and need 0:28:57.680 --> 0:28:59.520 to clean the windows, need to fold the laundry, and 0:28:59.520 --> 0:29:01.760 I need to pick the kid off the TV because 0:29:01.760 --> 0:29:04.320 he's been on it too long, which is what you know, 0:29:04.400 --> 0:29:08.600 Rosie the robot could do. It's John again. The robots 0:29:08.600 --> 0:29:10.720 still beeping, So we're going to take another break while 0:29:10.720 --> 0:29:20.080 I try and figure out how to turn this thing off. Yeah, 0:29:20.120 --> 0:29:23.800 I've got one called the dress Man. Dress Man. Dress 0:29:23.840 --> 0:29:27.720 Man looks like a kind of a mannequin torso, but 0:29:27.800 --> 0:29:32.440 it essentially uses uh in. The robot itself inflates and 0:29:32.560 --> 0:29:36.560 uses hot air to dry and press shirts. It's a 0:29:36.680 --> 0:29:41.880 robotic iron that's that's terrific. Yeah, I could use one. 0:29:42.360 --> 0:29:45.480 I definitely tend to wear wrinkled stuff. Yeah, I think 0:29:45.520 --> 0:29:50.040 I iron approximately never, so that's yeah. There's also robots 0:29:50.080 --> 0:29:53.760 in pet care, robotical litter boxes that self scoop away, 0:29:54.320 --> 0:29:58.120 that's a valuable service, refilling food and water trays. There 0:29:58.120 --> 0:30:01.040 are robot pool cleaners, which we talked about it. You know, 0:30:01.080 --> 0:30:05.000 I mentioned that there was um and and you know 0:30:05.120 --> 0:30:08.680 that these are all different levels of sophistication. Not all 0:30:08.720 --> 0:30:11.560 of them need all the sensors that other ones need 0:30:11.600 --> 0:30:15.360 because the job they do doesn't require it. So, uh, 0:30:15.480 --> 0:30:18.640 not every single robot is going to be decked out 0:30:18.640 --> 0:30:24.880 with sensors. However, the future robots might might be decked 0:30:24.880 --> 0:30:28.240 out with sensors. We've got a lot of development in 0:30:28.280 --> 0:30:32.480 the robots space, people who want to create general purpose 0:30:32.600 --> 0:30:36.440 robots that can tackle different tasks so that you don't have, 0:30:37.120 --> 0:30:39.760 you know, eight different robots to do all of your chores. 0:30:39.800 --> 0:30:42.200 You've got one robot that can do all of them, right. 0:30:42.640 --> 0:30:45.360 Willow Garage is one company that has been making a 0:30:45.440 --> 0:30:48.640 lot of waves. Yeah, they've got a robot called the 0:30:48.720 --> 0:30:52.600 PR two, which stands for Personal Robot to the number 0:30:52.600 --> 0:30:56.240 two and it's essentially a research and development platform. It's 0:30:56.280 --> 0:30:59.320 not necessarily meant to be a robot that a consumer 0:30:59.320 --> 0:31:01.040 will go out. And first of all, it's like around 0:31:01.040 --> 0:31:06.680 four dollars tag prohibitively expensive for most of us, including myself. 0:31:07.280 --> 0:31:09.719 Um And but what what this is meant to do 0:31:09.840 --> 0:31:13.240 is it's meant to allow people to build apps, robot 0:31:13.280 --> 0:31:17.080 apps that would increase the functionality of the robot. So 0:31:17.160 --> 0:31:19.560 you might create an app that's a laundry folding app 0:31:20.160 --> 0:31:23.200 or an app that's a fry an egg app. And 0:31:23.560 --> 0:31:27.560 the robot is humanoid in the sense that has arms, 0:31:27.680 --> 0:31:33.120 it's got like sensors that are in a head length thing. Yeah, 0:31:33.600 --> 0:31:37.520 it looks like a torso with arms and uh wheels. 0:31:37.520 --> 0:31:40.720 It doesn't have legs. It's gonna it's gonna a wheeled base, 0:31:40.840 --> 0:31:42.960 and it's a it's a little from what I saw. 0:31:43.600 --> 0:31:46.400 I didn't see like an actual scale like next to 0:31:46.400 --> 0:31:47.960 a human being. But to me, it like they came 0:31:48.040 --> 0:31:51.520 up a little higher than your waist maybe mid chest 0:31:51.680 --> 0:31:54.640 area is what it looked like. It could be that 0:31:54.680 --> 0:31:57.360 they're much taller than that, but that's not what it 0:31:57.560 --> 0:32:00.720 seemed to be when I was looking at the videos. Um, 0:32:01.280 --> 0:32:02.920 all of the robot videos that I've watched in the 0:32:02.960 --> 0:32:05.000 past twenty four hours are running into my head, so 0:32:05.320 --> 0:32:08.400 I've got no to You're watching a lot of like 0:32:09.320 --> 0:32:11.840 robots that had nothing to do with this. It's just 0:32:11.840 --> 0:32:17.800 just robots, just rot It's transformers, Michael Bay kick stuff 0:32:17.800 --> 0:32:21.400 blew up. Anyway, much much better robot videos than those 0:32:21.480 --> 0:32:27.280 come on. Nice, well done, you shall live. So the 0:32:27.320 --> 0:32:30.160 PR two robot is really meant for developers to create 0:32:30.240 --> 0:32:33.680 software for this role. Right, it's all open platform, open 0:32:33.720 --> 0:32:37.880 source developing UM is highly encouraged, and it's mostly trying 0:32:37.920 --> 0:32:40.120 to get people excited about it. Also, Willo Garage is 0:32:40.120 --> 0:32:44.040 doing the turtle Butt, which works together with I Robot 0:32:44.040 --> 0:32:47.360 makes something called to Create, which is a roomba base 0:32:47.680 --> 0:32:50.880 that has a loading dock for whatever other stuff you 0:32:50.880 --> 0:32:52.600 want to kind of shove in there. And it's for 0:32:52.680 --> 0:32:55.680 home developers. UM you can you can hook it up 0:32:55.680 --> 0:32:57.760 with a connect with a netbook anything else you want, 0:32:58.560 --> 0:33:01.600 and teach it how to do your own stuff. Neat. Yeah, 0:33:02.400 --> 0:33:06.240 things that allow hackers more tools to play with stuff 0:33:06.320 --> 0:33:09.120 is always cool. And the PR two has some pretty 0:33:08.840 --> 0:33:11.840 hefty hardware on it. It's got two computers on it 0:33:12.640 --> 0:33:16.479 that have eight core processors um each each computer has 0:33:16.480 --> 0:33:21.200 an eight core processor, twenty four gigs of RAM, and 0:33:21.240 --> 0:33:26.400 two terabytes of disk space. And according to that, to 0:33:26.400 --> 0:33:28.880 to what I was to one of the articles I 0:33:28.920 --> 0:33:32.640 was reading, all of that heavy duty hardware gives the 0:33:32.680 --> 0:33:36.120 pr tow the capability of folding a towel in just 0:33:36.440 --> 0:33:42.440 six minutes, which is down from twenty four minutes, which 0:33:42.480 --> 0:33:47.400 just means it's not the most efficient towel folding device ever. Well, 0:33:47.480 --> 0:33:50.440 to sure, but towels are towels are tricksy? No, yes, 0:33:50.520 --> 0:33:53.960 tells the other boy. Towels are so much trickier than say, 0:33:54.040 --> 0:33:57.240 t shirts. Well, I mean, you know, if if you're 0:33:57.240 --> 0:33:59.040 if you're looking at it as a as a human, 0:33:59.120 --> 0:34:01.080 then no, towels are pretty simple. But if you're looking 0:34:01.120 --> 0:34:03.600 at it as a robot, it tells are are floppy? 0:34:03.720 --> 0:34:06.480 They move around, they don't they don't say. And here's 0:34:06.520 --> 0:34:09.040 here's the rub. This is the problem is that teaching 0:34:09.040 --> 0:34:11.240 a robot to do something that's simple for a human 0:34:11.360 --> 0:34:13.919 is incredibly complex. Yeah. I mean, if if you teach 0:34:13.960 --> 0:34:15.960 a robot, how do you play chess? For example? A 0:34:16.080 --> 0:34:19.520 chess is one of those if then statement end of things. 0:34:19.560 --> 0:34:22.840 Only so many potential things you can do within a 0:34:22.920 --> 0:34:25.520 chess game. There are a lot of them, but there 0:34:25.600 --> 0:34:27.680 is a limit. There's an upward limit of the things 0:34:27.680 --> 0:34:30.000 you are capable of doing within the context of a 0:34:30.080 --> 0:34:32.960 chess game. If you ask a robot, however, to go 0:34:33.160 --> 0:34:35.279 to the kitchen, pick up a mug of tea and 0:34:35.320 --> 0:34:39.200 bring it back into the podcast room, that's I mean, 0:34:39.440 --> 0:34:41.880 that's that's incredibly complicated, Yeah, because you never know what 0:34:41.960 --> 0:34:44.320 could be in the way. I mean, if the environment 0:34:44.480 --> 0:34:48.480 is constantly the same and the parameters for that task 0:34:48.640 --> 0:34:52.200 are always identical, that's one thing. But when you're in 0:34:52.200 --> 0:34:55.200 an environment that's dynamic, that can change over time. Maybe 0:34:55.200 --> 0:34:57.719 there's a chair that's in the way that normally wouldn't be. 0:34:58.040 --> 0:35:01.720 Maybe the mugs are all pretty, or maybe there's only 0:35:01.840 --> 0:35:04.240 only clean mugs are in the dishwasher, as if people 0:35:04.360 --> 0:35:08.239 use that thing, Come on, how stuff works, people, Or 0:35:08.320 --> 0:35:10.440 or maybe maybe some mugs are more delicate than others 0:35:10.440 --> 0:35:12.800 and it crushes the mug to a fine powder instead 0:35:12.800 --> 0:35:14.520 of picking it up, and then pours the tea on 0:35:14.560 --> 0:35:18.840 it and brings you a what pile a mug powder 0:35:19.440 --> 0:35:23.040 which is not delicious. No, it's i recommend you do 0:35:23.120 --> 0:35:26.960 not drink ceramic powder. That would probably not go overwhelming. 0:35:27.280 --> 0:35:29.600 But yeah, I mean that's the thing is that teaching 0:35:29.600 --> 0:35:33.000 a robot to deal with these kind of changing environments 0:35:33.120 --> 0:35:36.320 is really challenging, and there are a lot of companies 0:35:36.360 --> 0:35:39.120 that are working on this with various types of artificial 0:35:39.160 --> 0:35:42.040 intelligence to deal with this. I mean, you think about 0:35:42.080 --> 0:35:44.960 it this way. If I walk into a room that 0:35:45.080 --> 0:35:47.719 I have never been in before, but I have all 0:35:47.760 --> 0:35:51.120 of my normal senses, if the lights are on, if 0:35:51.200 --> 0:35:53.600 lights are on and I'm able to see, I've got 0:35:53.600 --> 0:35:56.120 my glasses on because I am here sided. Let's say 0:35:56.120 --> 0:35:58.000 I walk into this room and I take a look 0:35:58.040 --> 0:36:02.400 around the room. I can get around that room fairly effectively, 0:36:02.400 --> 0:36:05.040 assuming there aren't like laser death traps or something in it, 0:36:05.120 --> 0:36:07.480 just a typical room, like there's there's some chairs and 0:36:07.560 --> 0:36:09.840 some other furniture around. As long as I haven't built 0:36:09.840 --> 0:36:11.960 the room right, I can get from point A to 0:36:12.040 --> 0:36:15.879 point B without killing myself or bumping into something or 0:36:15.920 --> 0:36:18.680 you know, otherwise making an idiot of myself more so 0:36:18.760 --> 0:36:22.399 than I normally do. A robot goes into that room, 0:36:22.440 --> 0:36:24.239 if it's never been there before, it has to have 0:36:24.280 --> 0:36:26.800 a lot of sophisticated equipment to be able to map 0:36:26.840 --> 0:36:31.839 out that room and then maneuver through that map, and 0:36:32.280 --> 0:36:35.239 it also needs to be able to map dynamically to 0:36:35.320 --> 0:36:38.320 be able to update this map in real time and 0:36:38.600 --> 0:36:43.400 act processing power, a lot of processing power, and it 0:36:43.520 --> 0:36:48.200 requires fairly sensitive and sophisticated sensors. So we take it 0:36:48.200 --> 0:36:51.600 for granted because it's our natural way of life. You know, 0:36:51.719 --> 0:36:54.160 we walk into a room and that's just the way 0:36:54.200 --> 0:36:56.920 things are. But for a robot, there is no natural 0:36:56.960 --> 0:36:59.200 way of life. We have to program all of that 0:36:59.280 --> 0:37:02.239 into the robot, and that is really really tricky, and 0:37:02.239 --> 0:37:04.160 it gets even more tricky when you start talking about 0:37:04.160 --> 0:37:07.759 things like can the robot navigate stairs? There are some 0:37:07.920 --> 0:37:12.160 robots that can. Honda's Asimo can go up and downstairs, 0:37:12.160 --> 0:37:14.160 but it needs to be the stairs have to be 0:37:14.200 --> 0:37:17.240 programmed in Asimo. At least in the last I read, 0:37:17.800 --> 0:37:21.560 as Amo could not navigate us upstairs that it had 0:37:21.600 --> 0:37:25.320 not encountered before. It could get through a room Manhattan 0:37:25.440 --> 0:37:29.560 encountered before, because it's sensors were sophisticate enough so that 0:37:29.640 --> 0:37:31.880 if you said, all right, as Amo, I need you 0:37:31.920 --> 0:37:34.560 to pick up the red ball that's in this room. 0:37:34.600 --> 0:37:36.839 As Amo could navigate through a room even if I've 0:37:36.840 --> 0:37:38.640 never seen it before and get to the object. And 0:37:38.640 --> 0:37:40.160 this is if you haven't seen one of these critters. 0:37:40.239 --> 0:37:42.680 It is. It is bipedal. It looks more or less 0:37:42.680 --> 0:37:44.359 like a like a person. I think it's about four 0:37:44.360 --> 0:37:47.879 ft two, so it's a small as Hueman's his Lauren's eize, 0:37:48.239 --> 0:37:52.320 thanks welcome. Hey, I'm five too. I'm gigantic compared to that. 0:37:53.120 --> 0:37:56.120 You could take him, totally take it, I keep saying him. 0:37:56.280 --> 0:37:59.480 But as Amo doesn't technically have a gender. It is genderless. 0:37:59.520 --> 0:38:01.760 It is is a robot that's like a little spaceman. 0:38:01.880 --> 0:38:04.799 Though does it kind of honestly, it creeps me out. 0:38:05.160 --> 0:38:08.520 I'm kind of sort of not okay with humanoid robots. 0:38:08.600 --> 0:38:11.960 I mean, have you seen it run? I has this 0:38:12.080 --> 0:38:14.640 little hopping run because Asthma that was that was one 0:38:14.640 --> 0:38:16.400 of the things that was famous about Asthma was that 0:38:16.480 --> 0:38:19.960 was the first robot of that size to be able 0:38:20.040 --> 0:38:23.080 to run. And by definition, running is a is a 0:38:23.120 --> 0:38:26.840 method of conveyance where at some point both your feet 0:38:26.880 --> 0:38:31.000 are off the ground, and most robots had to have 0:38:31.080 --> 0:38:33.120 at least one foot in contact with the ground at 0:38:33.120 --> 0:38:36.719 all times. In order to support over and uh, and 0:38:36.760 --> 0:38:39.359 it does mean that you have to program very sophisticated 0:38:39.400 --> 0:38:42.520 sensors in the robot to be able to have both 0:38:42.520 --> 0:38:44.760 feet come off the ground and when when a foot 0:38:44.960 --> 0:38:47.920 makes contact with the ground again, the robot has to 0:38:47.920 --> 0:38:51.000 be very carefully balanced so they can react in the 0:38:51.080 --> 0:38:54.960 right way so it remains upright and as Amo. They 0:38:55.000 --> 0:38:57.600 achieved that with Asimo, so when it runs, it it's 0:38:57.640 --> 0:39:01.879 really this little hoppy run that looks of comical when 0:39:01.880 --> 0:39:05.120 you when you first see it. Um. But Asimo also 0:39:05.520 --> 0:39:09.320 had a lot more sophistication than uh than previous versions 0:39:09.320 --> 0:39:13.320 of robots did. And um I wrote a whole article 0:39:13.360 --> 0:39:15.760 about Asimo, and I got a chance to see Asimo 0:39:15.880 --> 0:39:20.480 in person, actually anyone could because Asimo was at Disneylands 0:39:20.520 --> 0:39:25.720 in oventions and uh it was it was interesting to see. 0:39:25.800 --> 0:39:28.319 Now again, Asimo is kind of like an example of 0:39:28.360 --> 0:39:31.279 what a domestic robot might one day look like. But 0:39:31.360 --> 0:39:35.080 it really illustrates how challenging it is to build a 0:39:35.160 --> 0:39:39.960 robot that is bipedal and humanoid. It just doesn't it's 0:39:40.000 --> 0:39:42.479 not it's not the easiest design, all right, It doesn't 0:39:42.520 --> 0:39:48.279 necessarily make development sense. It's easier in the long run 0:39:48.360 --> 0:39:50.359 to to build these kind of small things the room 0:39:50.400 --> 0:39:53.400 by the window washer, etcetera, etcetera. If we're going to, 0:39:53.560 --> 0:39:55.880 I mean because we can either we can either build 0:39:55.960 --> 0:39:58.640 robots to interact with our environment, or we can build 0:39:58.640 --> 0:40:03.120 our environment to interact more easily with robots. And that 0:40:03.160 --> 0:40:07.040 would involve, you know, having an extra entire space in 0:40:07.040 --> 0:40:11.080 our kitchen so that a robot can can access all 0:40:11.120 --> 0:40:14.360 of our food and cook for us, rather than you know, 0:40:14.440 --> 0:40:16.000 set it loosen there and just kind of see what 0:40:16.040 --> 0:40:18.920 it does. Yeah, yeah, it's it's There are a lot 0:40:18.920 --> 0:40:21.880 of challenges, and grant they're very smart people working on 0:40:21.920 --> 0:40:25.319 these challenges to try and and overcome them. There are 0:40:25.320 --> 0:40:30.319 other challenges as well. There are emotional challenges, because the 0:40:30.360 --> 0:40:33.840 more humanoid you make a robot, the more likely you 0:40:33.880 --> 0:40:36.480 are to develop some sort of emotional attachment. There are 0:40:36.480 --> 0:40:39.360 people who find their room bas to be perfectly charming. 0:40:39.360 --> 0:40:41.960 There are people who have named their room bas. Apparently 0:40:42.000 --> 0:40:44.560 most people that name their room bas. Yeah, so it 0:40:44.640 --> 0:40:46.920 ends up becoming almost like a pet. Even though this 0:40:46.960 --> 0:40:50.880 is this is an object that has no sentience, there's 0:40:51.200 --> 0:40:55.720 no emotion in this object whatsoever. But they seem because 0:40:55.760 --> 0:40:58.400 they are animated and this we move around and and 0:40:58.440 --> 0:41:00.480 go through an environment. They seem I used to talk 0:41:00.520 --> 0:41:03.360 to mine all the time, and you know it to 0:41:03.360 --> 0:41:04.880 be fair a long and you just talk to yourself 0:41:04.920 --> 0:41:11.120 all the time, so entirely fair, Yeah that was I mean, yeah, 0:41:11.400 --> 0:41:14.520 so of course you talked to it all the time. However, 0:41:14.560 --> 0:41:16.200 if it had looked I mean, you know, the way 0:41:16.239 --> 0:41:19.080 the way that I reacted to the videos I was 0:41:19.120 --> 0:41:22.600 watching of of the ASMAO, I'm kind of creeped out 0:41:22.600 --> 0:41:26.239 by it. I'm not really okay with humanoid robot, which 0:41:26.400 --> 0:41:29.160 brings to the concept of the uncanny valley right where 0:41:29.160 --> 0:41:33.360 you start to The closer you approach the appearance of 0:41:33.400 --> 0:41:35.560 a human the more likely you are to make it 0:41:35.600 --> 0:41:40.080 an unsettling experience for someone to look at. Right. Um, now, 0:41:40.120 --> 0:41:41.799 if you were to ever get to a point where 0:41:41.800 --> 0:41:45.480 the robot is indistinguishable from a human being, you would 0:41:45.560 --> 0:41:48.400 bridge theoretically, you would bridge the uncanny valley and it 0:41:48.440 --> 0:41:51.319 would no longer be an issue. But the problem is 0:41:51.320 --> 0:41:54.200 when you get really close but not exactly there, so 0:41:54.280 --> 0:41:58.520 that there's something that's off and it just really it 0:41:59.080 --> 0:42:02.640 unsettles you in a very Freudian itch in between your 0:42:02.640 --> 0:42:05.520 shoulder blades kind of way. It's it's it gives you 0:42:05.600 --> 0:42:10.279 the willies in the in the Americans sense the word please, 0:42:10.320 --> 0:42:13.680 Brits still right to me. I'm not being rude. We're 0:42:13.719 --> 0:42:18.279 not trying to be anyway now I am ha ha. Anyway, Yeah, 0:42:18.960 --> 0:42:21.240 you get to these robots that look kind of human, 0:42:21.320 --> 0:42:24.799 but they're not quite right, and that definitely gives a 0:42:24.800 --> 0:42:27.400 comment on settling feeling. The example, I always hear that 0:42:27.440 --> 0:42:32.000 this isn't robots, this is computer generated uh imagery? Is 0:42:32.080 --> 0:42:35.799 the film Polar Express? Oh yeah, when the when the 0:42:35.840 --> 0:42:39.240 trailers came out for the Polar Express movie did the 0:42:39.280 --> 0:42:44.360 animated models looked very lifelike, but the eyes were not 0:42:44.520 --> 0:42:47.160 quite right and kind of gave the sort of deadlights 0:42:47.239 --> 0:42:49.920 kind of thing that you get a little creepy. Now, 0:42:50.239 --> 0:42:52.359 as as we get better and better at that, there 0:42:52.400 --> 0:42:54.640 may be a time where we do bridge that gap. 0:42:55.040 --> 0:42:58.080 We get that that David from Prometheus kind of thing 0:42:58.160 --> 0:43:00.680 where all robots look like Michael fast during. That's pretty 0:43:00.760 --> 0:43:04.080 much okay. I was thinking back to AI personally, but 0:43:04.640 --> 0:43:08.279 because I want my robots like Jude Law. That's entirely fair. 0:43:08.320 --> 0:43:11.200 We're allowed to disagree on Okay, all right, I'm glad. 0:43:11.239 --> 0:43:14.959 I'm glad we've reached that that accord. Excellent. We've we've 0:43:15.040 --> 0:43:17.600 kind of covered the whole topic here. The future of 0:43:17.760 --> 0:43:21.640 domestic robots. I think more likely likely than not, we're 0:43:21.640 --> 0:43:25.520 going to see more specification type robots, you know, robots 0:43:25.520 --> 0:43:29.080 made for specific use. Um, it will still be quite 0:43:29.080 --> 0:43:32.400 a while before we get robots that can be general 0:43:32.440 --> 0:43:35.880 purpose domestic robots, especially the humanoid ones. I think that's 0:43:36.600 --> 0:43:40.400 easily more than a decade away, just because the the 0:43:41.160 --> 0:43:43.200 stuff that we could do now is incredible, but it 0:43:43.239 --> 0:43:47.080 requires so much computing horsepower and such a huge support 0:43:47.120 --> 0:43:49.880 system around it, it's not feasible for them. Yeah, the 0:43:50.280 --> 0:43:52.719 hardware is kind of getting their hardware is cheap enough 0:43:52.760 --> 0:43:55.400 these days that that I think that that part is 0:43:55.400 --> 0:43:58.319 on the feasible end. But it's really the software that 0:43:58.400 --> 0:44:01.000 we do not have the capa see yet, you know, 0:44:01.400 --> 0:44:04.160 to run the programs necessary. Yeah. So I mean, if 0:44:04.200 --> 0:44:06.600 you if you had a supercomputer in your home that 0:44:06.680 --> 0:44:10.200 could run the robot for you, so the robot would 0:44:10.200 --> 0:44:13.560 not have to carry around its own superhuman robot brain, 0:44:14.200 --> 0:44:16.239 that might help. But I don't know a lot of 0:44:16.239 --> 0:44:19.080 people who have supercomputers. You know, just stored away and 0:44:19.160 --> 0:44:22.080 there their gaming room or whatever. Not not too many 0:44:22.080 --> 0:44:25.200 of us, Nope, I definitely do not number among them. 0:44:25.200 --> 0:44:27.600 But anyway, that's kind of the low down on domestic 0:44:27.719 --> 0:44:30.480 robots as they stand now and how they may be 0:44:30.600 --> 0:44:32.880 in the future. I would love to see robots that 0:44:32.960 --> 0:44:35.440 come out that have this sort of adaptability, like the 0:44:35.520 --> 0:44:38.719 kind of stuff that Willow Garage is walking working on. 0:44:38.760 --> 0:44:41.640 Where You've got these robots that you know, depending upon 0:44:41.640 --> 0:44:44.719 what apps you download, they can do different stuff. And 0:44:44.840 --> 0:44:47.239 that wraps up another classic episode of tech stuff. Hope 0:44:47.239 --> 0:44:50.480 you guys enjoyed it. Uh. It's one of those topics 0:44:50.520 --> 0:44:53.919 that I think is fascinating because the more I learned 0:44:54.000 --> 0:44:57.160 about the what goes into designing these robots, the more 0:44:57.920 --> 0:45:02.000 I appreciate how complicated is. Because you're not just designing 0:45:02.239 --> 0:45:06.359 the systems. You're not just engineering the robotics so that 0:45:06.400 --> 0:45:08.959 the thing does the thing you need it to do. 0:45:09.360 --> 0:45:12.960 You also have to start taking human psychology into account, 0:45:13.320 --> 0:45:16.640 and once you start looking at how humans interact with robots, 0:45:17.000 --> 0:45:20.279 things change in ways you probably didn't expect when you 0:45:20.320 --> 0:45:22.680 were just trying to work out the kinks of the 0:45:22.760 --> 0:45:26.360 mechanical aspect. I find that fascinating. So this is a 0:45:26.400 --> 0:45:29.040 topic I'm sure I will return to in the future. 0:45:29.239 --> 0:45:32.359 If you guys have suggestions for future topics I should cover, 0:45:32.719 --> 0:45:35.360 email me. The address is tech stuff at how stuff 0:45:35.360 --> 0:45:37.840 works dot com, or drop me a line on Facebook 0:45:37.880 --> 0:45:39.960 or Twitter. The handle it both of those is text 0:45:39.960 --> 0:45:43.480 stuff HSW. You can go to our website that's tech 0:45:43.520 --> 0:45:46.319 stuff podcast dot com. There's an archive there of every 0:45:46.320 --> 0:45:49.000 episode that's ever published. It's searchable. Go check that out. 0:45:49.440 --> 0:45:52.000 And there's also a link to our online store where 0:45:52.000 --> 0:45:54.200 every purchase you make goes to out the show. And 0:45:54.239 --> 0:45:56.680 we greatly appreciate it, and I will talk to you 0:45:56.719 --> 0:46:03.960 again really soon. Text Stuff is a production of I 0:46:04.080 --> 0:46:07.040 Heart Radio's How Stuff Works. For more podcasts from I 0:46:07.160 --> 0:46:10.759 heart Radio, visit the I heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, 0:46:10.880 --> 0:46:12.840 or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.