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"There's a poetry in the materials we use to construct our world of artifacts; it speaks of our long history as a technological species."
- William Gibson

Master-Operator  
  Takes over the functions of many different household robots.  

"And by the way, has your home got an A. E. Master-operator?"

It hadn't. Pathis explained that a Master-operator was new this year, a stupendous advance in scientific engineering. It was designed to take over all the functions of housecleaning and cooking, without its owner having to lift a finger.

"Instead of running around all day, pushing half a dozen different buttons, with the Master-operator all you have to do is push one! A remarkable achievement!"

Technovelgy from Cost of Living, by Robert Sheckley.
Published by Galaxy in 1952
Additional resources -

Compare to the master machine from The Revolt of the Machines (1931) by Nat Schachner (w. AL Zagat).

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Additional resources:
  More Ideas and Technology from Cost of Living
  More Ideas and Technology by Robert Sheckley
  Tech news articles related to Cost of Living
  Tech news articles related to works by Robert Sheckley

Master-Operator-related news articles:
  - Can One Robot Do Many Tasks?

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Science Fiction in the News

Prufrock-MB2 Ready In Nashville
'It sounds to me as though you had invented a kind of metal earthworm.'

DIY Robotic Content Farming
'The chief wheeled to the master machine and pressed a button.'

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'I don't have to tell you about the seven two-mile-diameter orbital mirrors that circulate around the satellite, making it habitable.'

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'The steel tortoise gave MacKinnon a feeling of Crusoe- like independence.'

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'Out of warrens in the wall, tiny robot mice darted.'

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'So far as I could see, the thing was without a directing Martian at all.'

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't came out into plain view. Darkington glimpsed a slim body and six short legs of articulated dull metal.'

US Army IBEX Exoskeleton Walks Troops Out Of Danger
'The suit stands up and starts walking, gripping me round the calves and waist, taking the bulk of my weight off my throbbing feet.'

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'Internally it’s made up of millions of components, but the most important ones are the thinking and memory parts of the Mind proper.'

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