Page 302 - Concise Encyclopedia of Robotics

Smart Home
As event simulators become more advanced, they will increasingly
incorporate artificial intelligence (AI) to draw their conclusions, but there
will always be an element of uncertainty that limits the effectiveness of
event simulators.
SMART HOME
Imagine having all your mundane household chores done without your
having to think about them! A home computer could control a fleet of per-
sonal robots,which would take care of cooking,dish washing,the laundry,
yard maintenance,snow removal,and other things.This is the ultimate form
of computerized home: having a “central nervous system” run by a com-
puter. In the building trade, a computerized home is called a smart home.
Technology and ethics
The key to a smart home lies in the technologies of robotics and artificial
intelligence (AI).As these become more available to the average consumer,
we can expect to see, for example, robotic laundry stations. Robots will be
available to make our beds, do our dishes, vacuum our carpets, shovel
snow from our driveways, and clean our windows.
There are two main types of mobile robots that might roam the home
of the future: autonomous robots and insect robots. There are advantages
and disadvantages to either design. In addition to these, some appliances
will themselves be robots, such as dishwashers and laundry machines.
Some people question whether computerized, robotized homes are
worth developing. Some people will prefer to spend their hard-earned
money in other ways, such as buying vacations or new properties. There are
also ethical concerns.Should some people strive for total home automation,
when a large segment of society cannot afford a home at all?
Let us suppose, for the moment, that we solve the ethical problem, and
that everyone has a home and some money to spare. Further imagine that
the cost of technology keeps going down, while it keeps getting more and
more sophisticated. What might the future hold?
Protection from fire
When people and property must be protected from fire, smoke detection
is a simple and effective measure. Smoke detectors are inexpensive, and
can operate on flashlight batteries. You should have one or more of these
devices in your home now.
In a computerized home of the future, a smoke alarm could alert a
robot. Robots are ideal for fire-fighting because they can do things that
are too dangerous for humans to do. The challenge will be to program the
robots to have judgment comparable to that of human firefighters.

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