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"The trouble with too much genre SF is that it's so obviously the product of the conscious mind."
- William Gibson
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| Childcare Robot | ||
| A robot constructed to take care of a small child. |
This is probably the first reference in science fiction to the idea of a robot as a childcare provider; see the caveat below.
| Robbie nodded his head - a small parallelepiped with rounded edges and corners attached to a similar but much larger parallelepiped that served as a torso by means of a short, flexible stalk - and obediently faced the tree. A thin metal film descended over his glowing eyes, and from within his body came a steady, resonant ticking.
"Don't peek now - and don't skip any numbers," warned Gloria, and scurried for cover. With unvarying regularity seconds were ticked off, and at the hundredth, up went the eyelids and the glowing red of Robbie's eyes swept the prospect... "Please, Robbie, please give me a ride." She encircled his neck with rosy arms and hugged tightly... Robbie gave in immediately and unconditionally before this ultimatum and nodded his head vigorously until the metal of his neck hummed. Carefully he raised the little girl and placed here on his broad, flat shoulders. Gloria's threatened tears vanished immediately and she crowed with delight. Robbie's metal skin, kept at the constant temperature of seventy degrees by the high resistance coils within, felt nice and comfortable and the beautifully loud sound her heels made as they bumped rhythmically against his chest was enchanting. |
| Technovelgy from Robbie (Strange Playfellow),
by Isaac Asimov. Published by Super Science Stories in 1940 Additional resources -
|
This story also emphasized the first of Asimov's famous laws of robotics.
But is it right to entrust your little girl to a robot?
"Dear! A robot is infinitely more to be trusted than a human nurse-maid. Robbie was constructed for only one purpose - to be the companion of a little child.
Compare to Philip K. Dick's Nanny Robot, from a 1950's story collection.
See also the entry for psychophonic nurse from a 1928 story by David H. Keller.
"You listen to me, George. I won't have my daughter entrusted to a machine - and I don't care how clever it is... A child just isn't made to be guarded by a thing of metal."
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Additional
resources:
More Ideas
and Technology from Robbie (Strange Playfellow)
More Ideas
and Technology by Isaac Asimov
Tech news articles related to Robbie (Strange Playfellow)
Tech news articles related to works by Isaac Asimov
Childcare Robot-related
news articles:
- Robot Nanny - The Fact, The Fiction
- Asimov's First Law Of Robotics Real-Life Beta
- Robot Designed To Break First Law - In Order To Save It
- Optimus Robot Will Be A Good Nanny, Says Musk
| Proof Of Robothood - Not A Person |
| Dancing Robots Taught Dance Moves |
| Factory Humanoid Robots Built By Humanoid Robots |
| Mornine Sales Robot |
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'The observation vehicle was of that peculiar variety used in conveying a large number of people across rough terrain.'
'The real border was defended by... a swarm of quasi-independent aerostats.'
'I ... set my automatic astronomical instruments to searching for a habitable planet.'
'...haven't you a section of the factory where only robot labor is employed?'
'... oblongs were all over the floor and surfaces.'
