Conversation

Are there any out-of-the-box useful home robots you can buy today, besides the roomba? You turn it on and it does something useful, like vacuuming, with minimal setup. Not toys or general purpose manipulators that you have to work to integrate like a factory automation project.
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We really need a Sirius Cybernetics producing tech that goes beyond “smart” versions of things to full-on robotic versions.
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My definition of robot is that it’s operating decision-making principles shouldn’t be obvious from inspection.
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So a refrigerator that turns a compressor and light on and off using simple sensors isn’t a robot. A rice cooker with fuzzy logic is probably where the spectrum starts.
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I think there should be at least one fairly general sensor-actuator pair adapted to an open environment rather than a closed event set. Like camera and mobility. Roomba has IR obstacle detection and mobility.
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Replying to
Yeah, manipulation, sure. I was considering an example like that as "mobility." That coffee robot counts, in my book. All automotive construction robots do too. Their tasks rely on them moving around, even if their "feet" are planted.
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