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Dyson's Secret Household Robots

Apparently, vacuum-maker Dyson has been branching out - they want to make a household robot.

Dyson also showed off a "Perception Lab" that was all about robotic vision systems, detecting its environment and mapping humans with sensors, cameras and thermal imaging systems.

Dyson is currently on a recruiting drive, looking for around 700 engineers, which is one reason it finally decided to show off the lab (located at Hullavington Airfield, Wiltshire in the UK) after keeping it under wraps. "What you're developing counts an awful lot in terms of excitement and attracting engineers," he said.

(Via engadget)

Science fiction great Robert Heinlein thought about and described a household robot called Flexible Frank in his 1956 novel The Door Into Summer:

Housekeeping is repetitious and unnecessary drudgery; as an engineer, it offended me.

For the problem to be within the scope of one engineer, almost all of Flexible Frank had to be standard parts and must not involve any new principles...


('Door into Summer' by Robert Heinlein)

Just what did I want Flexible Frank to do? Answer: any work a human being does around a house. He didn't have to play cards, make love, eat or sleep, but he did have to clean up after the card game, cook, make beds, and tend babies - at least he had to keep track of a baby's breathing and call someone if it changes.

Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 6/25/2022)

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