#63-Intelligent Robotics as ConsumerTech next wave in the House- Adoption beyond the Smart Factories
Think of a device or a consumer gadget/machine you really wanted to own- Car, A SmartPhone, a Camera, a musical instrument, or a Tablet? Chances are high if they were not smart (like a smartphone/tablet) or part of a habit( musical instrument) or a utility (car), you grew out of them.
Consumerbot powered by AI with full dexterity will be the ultimate dream-machine/gadget that you will never get bored of. It will be like a smartphone that humans are addicted to. It is not just a product, it is a platform. It goes way beyond the functionalities of a smartphone- can move, talk and do a lot of chores for you.
btw they are not scary at all- They will the cutest dolls and toys of the 21ST century- check out the Little Sophia
How it started?
In 2007, Steve Jobs launched the first iPhone (smartphone), and the rest is history. Smartphone is the only smart hardware that managed to penetrate billions of household (3.5+ billion Smartphone users) in 2020.
What is general-purpose technology (GPT)?
General-purpose technologies are technologies that can affect an entire economy. GPTs have the potential to drastically alter societies through their impact on pre-existing economic and social structures.
Examples of General-purpose technology:
- Electricity (reached maturity)
- Personal Computing (reached maturity)
- Mobile network (reached maturity)
- Internet (almost mature with broadband and mobile internet)
- Smartphone (will reach maturity by 2025–2028)
- Cloud (will keep evolving but early maturity by 2025–2030)
- AI (will keep evolving and never reach maturity-Singularity by 2040–2050)- Voice, Image, and ML/ Incremental Processing intelligence
- Edge-analytics and IoT (infinite number of sensors can be deployed)
- Blockchain (expected to reach early maturity by 2025–2030)
- Quantum Computing (early maturity by 2030 and beyond)
- Robotics (in existence for long, but still to reach maturity)- Possible only with AI integration and like AI will keep evolving in use-cases/mobility and intelligence. Variations like Nano-bot will evolve.
The last 5–6 general-purpose technologies from the above list will never reach maturity, as they have infinite use cases and variations that can be brought to existence.
We have seen great adoption of robots at the Smart Factories, Manufacturing Plants, Warehouses, and Distribution Ports.
Even small size robots were rare, but thanks to companies like Boston Dynamics and their SPOT range, the adoption is growing fast.
Let's focus on consumer bots and retail establishment bots:
Over the last few years, there has been a lot of scattered pilots of voice (Alexa, Google Assistant), home bots (Dyson robot), educational robots (Lego robotics), but a full-fledged consumer adoption is yet to be seen.
I have always been fascinated with a smartphone kind ownership of a consumerbot. It may be 5–10 years away, but it is inevitable. Owning a bot will be common like owning a car (or sharing one for full family).
Imagine having a cute robot as a best friend that lives with you at your place as part of the family. The data is locally stored (thanks to edge analytics) and hence the threat of cybersecurity could be minimized. AI will ensure that they get smarter with each passing day.
What can you use a consumer bot for (Ethical Use-cases):
- Conversation which is not just screen-based but replicate actual ones (like with Sophia)
- Kids and personal education
- Security of the house
- Elderly and Patient care
- Maids, Helpers, and Babysitter’s role- To free up human labor from the household chores
- Programmable Kitchen to cook you the food you want
- Intelligent entertainment
- Connected to external world machines- They can go out and shop for groceries on your behalf, and interact with delivery drones/bots.
- Can in the long run evolve as your Avatars (Imagine if they become as a copy of you)- They could be your legacy and continue to outlive a human life of 100 years with the help of upgrades. Your great/great-grandchildren can hear your voice and stories and see your videos through these moving bots.
The use-cases are limited only by your imagination and open-mindedness to not view them as an apocalyptic threat.
So what has to fall in place:
- Cost is the biggest detriment- Cost to be brought to a sub-5000 USD level will see the consumer adoption. Eventually, the goal should be to bring it down to 1000 USD. Currently, a SPOT by Boston dynamics could cost in the range of ~75000 USD.
- Cybersecurity and safety- It should not pose any physical or cyber threat to the household it is stationed at. An intelligent and secure governance framework must be created to keep it domesticated. Ideally, a developer platform should be able to constantly improve it by building applications.
- Battery-Life and maintenance cost- It should be as easy as maintaining a smartphone. If it auto-charges itself from renewables- then even better.
- Robotics Dexterity, Aesthetics for Home use-cases- Ability to replicate human functions at household chores: What can it fetch, move, carry, clean, cook, cut, create, sort, and locate will determine the adoption curve. Just like the Alexa platform keeps a track of new skills added, the Robot should be able to learn new skills. Even the appearance should be human-like and a metallic machinery look is a big no.
- Shareable and personalized bots- Imagine a Netflix-like personalization option, where the robot’s behavior with each family member is dependent on who they are interacting with. This way one robot can be shared with a full family (up to 10–12 or more profiles). Office package and upgrades could handle a higher number of members/profiles.
Best regards,
Sidhartha Sharma (Views are personal)
Digital and Transformation Expert
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