A domestic robot is a type of service robot, an

autonomous robot An autonomous robot is a robot that acts without recourse to human control. The first autonomous robots environment were known as Elmer and Elsie, which were constructed in the late 1940s by W. Grey Walter. They were the first robots in history ...

that is primarily used for

household chore Housekeeping is the management and routine support activities of running an organised physical institution occupied or used by people, like a house, ship, hospital or factory, such as tidying, cleaning, cooking, routine maintenance, shopping, ...

s, but may also be used for

education Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty ...

entertainment Entertainment is a form of activity that holds the attention and interest of an audience or gives pleasure and delight. It can be an idea or a task, but is more likely to be one of the activities or events that have developed over thousa ...

therapy A therapy or medical treatment (often abbreviated tx, Tx, or Tx) is the attempted remediation of a health problem, usually following a medical diagnosis. As a rule, each therapy has indications and contraindications. There are many differe ...

. While most domestic robots are simplistic, some are connected to

Wi-Fi Wi-Fi () is a family of wireless network protocols, based on the IEEE 802.11 family of standards, which are commonly used for local area networking of devices and Internet access, allowing nearby digital devices to exchange data by radio waves ...

home networks or smart environments and are

autonomous In developmental psychology and moral, political, and bioethical philosophy, autonomy, from , ''autonomos'', from αὐτο- ''auto-'' "self" and νόμος ''nomos'', "law", hence when combined understood to mean "one who gives oneself one's ow ...

to a high degree. There were an estimated 16.3 million service robots in 2018.

History

People began to design the robots for processing materials and construct products, especially during the

Industrial Revolution The Industrial Revolution was the transition to new manufacturing processes in Great Britain, continental Europe, and the United States, that occurred during the period from around 1760 to about 1820–1840. This transition included going f ...

in the period about 1760 to around 1840. This historical event marked a major turning point in history since people's living standard was greatly improved during that period. However, these robots cannot be considered as domestic robots. After the industrial robots were improved rapidly for over a hundred years since the Industrial Revolution, people started to consider the use of robots at home. One of the earliest domestic robots is called "

HERO A hero (feminine: heroine) is a real person or a main fictional character who, in the face of danger, combats adversity through feats of ingenuity, courage, or strength. Like other formerly gender-specific terms (like ''actor''), ''her ...

", which was sold during the 1980s. "Of all the educational and personal robots created during the 1980s the Heathkit HERO robots were by far the most successful and most popular." There were four types of HERO robots created by Heathkit. The first model is called HERO 1. This model was used for educational purpose, and in order to fit the customer's demand, the second model, which was called HERO JR was generated for personal use. The last two generations are called HERO 2000 and the Arm Trainer. HERO 1, as an educational machine, had very good sensibility. It could gather information accurately and analyze this data. An improved generation of HERO 1 in educational purpose was HERO 2000 which "featured advanced programmability" and another generation, the Arm Trainer was for an industrial purpose and it was able to control the operation of full-scale industrial robots. However, the most important improvement of HERO 1 for the domestic robot is HERO JR. HERO JR was the first affordable, personal robot with a dynamic personality. People could use it to play songs, games, wake people up in the morning, notify important events, and even guard the home. As a private robot, people do not need program skills to operate the robot and if they want to re-program the robot, people can do it simply "with a home computer and optional

RS-232 In telecommunications, RS-232 or Recommended Standard 232 is a standard originally introduced in 1960 for serial communication transmission of data. It formally defines signals connecting between a ''DTE'' ('' data terminal equipment'') suc ...

Accessory and BASIC Cartridge". Another prototype of the domestic robot was called " Topo", which was designed by Androbot Inc. and released in 1983. Its programming language allowed it to do geometric movements and perform tasks. However, it did not have a sensor so it could not receive the order and responded to the order correctly and thus it could not be considered as a real robot. To solve this problem, the second and third generation contained an infrared transmitter and could be controlled by a remote pad. For the last generation, Topo4 was featured by a text-to-speech processor. Although Topo4 was made, but it never went into production. With these two prototypes of the domestic robot, the domestic robots became more and more accessible and affordable. By 2006 there were "3,540,000 service robots in use".

Indoor robots

This type of domestic robot does chores around and inside homes. Different kinds include: * Robotic vacuum cleaners and

floor-washing robot A floor scrubber is a floor cleaning device. It can be a simple tool such as a floor mop or floor brush, or in the form of a walk-behind or a ride-on machine to clean larger areas by injecting water with cleaning solution, scrubbing, and lifting ...

s that clean floors with sweeping and wet mopping functions. Some use

Swiffer Swiffer is an American brand of cleaning products that is made by Procter & Gamble. Introduced in 1999 the brand uses the " razor-and-blades" business model, whereby the consumer purchases the handle assembly at a low price, but must continue ...

or other disposable cleaning cloths to dry-sweep, or reusable microfiber cloths to wet-mop. * Within the ironing robots, Dressman is a

mannequin A mannequin (also called a dummy, lay figure, or dress form) is a doll, often articulated, used by artists, tailors, dressmakers, window dressers and others, especially to display or fit clothing and show off different fabrics and textiles. ...

to dry and

iron Iron () is a chemical element with symbol Fe (from la, ferrum) and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, right in ...

shirts using hot air. Other ones also includes mannequin for down parts (pants, trousers and skirts). More advanced ones (i.e.

laundry-folding machine A laundry-folding machine or laundry-folding robot is a machine or domestic robot which folds apparel such that they can be stored compactly and orderly A laundry folding machine can be a part of or integrated with a washing machine, clothes dry ...

s) fold and organizes the clothes, as Laundroid or

FoldiMate FoldiMate was a California-based company developing a robotic laundry-folding machine founded in 2012. Their clothes folding machine was aimed to enter the market by the end of 2019. In 2021, the company folded. History Foldimate was founded by ...

(using

image analysis Image analysis or imagery analysis is the extraction of meaningful information from images; mainly from digital images by means of digital image processing techniques. Image analysis tasks can be as simple as reading bar coded tags or as soph ...

and

artificial intelligence Artificial intelligence (AI) is intelligence—perceiving, synthesizing, and inferring information—demonstrated by machines, as opposed to intelligence displayed by animals and humans. Example tasks in which this is done include speech ...

), Effie (irons 12 items of clothing at once). * Cat litter robots are automatic self-cleaning

litter box A litter box, also known as a sandbox, cat box, litter tray, cat pan, potty, pot or litter pan, is an indoor feces and urine collection box for cats, as well as rabbits, ferrets, miniature pigs, small dogs, and other pets that instinctively or ...

es that filter clumps out into a built-in waste receptacle that can be lined with an ordinary plastic bag. * Robotic kitchens include Rotimatic (which makes

roti Roti (also known as chapati) is a round flatbread native to the Indian subcontinent. It is popular in India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Maldives, Myanmar, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, Guyana, Suriname, Jamaica, Trin ...

tortilla A tortilla (, ) is a thin, circular unleavened flatbread originally made from maize hominy meal, and now also from wheat flour. The Aztecs and other Nahuatl speakers called tortillas ''tlaxcalli'' (). First made by the indigenous peoples of M ...

s, puris out of flour in just a few minutes), Moley Robotics MK1 and Prometheus delta robot. Security robots such as

Knightscope Knightscope, Inc. (also known as Knightscope) is an American security camera and robotics company headquartered in Mountain View, California. Knightscope designs, builds and deploys robots called Autonomous Data Robots (ADRs) for use in monitoring ...

have a night-vision-capable wide-angle camera that detects movements and intruders. It can patrol places and shoot video of suspicious activities, too, and send alerts via email or text message; the stored history of past alerts and videos are accessible via the Web. The robot can also be configured to go into action at any time of the day. Atlas is a robot built to perform in house task such as sweeping, opening doors, climbing stairs, etc.

Samsung The Samsung Group (or simply Samsung) ( ko, 삼성 ) is a South Korean multinational manufacturing conglomerate headquartered in Samsung Town, Seoul, South Korea. It comprises numerous affiliated businesses, most of them united under the ...

has been presenting robot butler designs such as ''Handy'' and ''Care''.

Outdoor robots

A robotic lawn mower is a lawn mower that is able to mow a lawn by itself after being programmed. Once programmed, this invention repeats the operation by itself according to its programming. Robotic lawn mowers come with a power unit which may be an electric motor or internal combustion engine. This provides power to the robot and allows it to move itself and its cutting blades. There is also a control unit which helps the mower move. This unit also contains a memory unit which records and memorizes its operation programming. Its memorized route includes the length of travel in a given direction and turns angles. This allows the same lawn to be mowed repeatedly without having to reprogram. The steering unit acquires an operation signal and propels the lead wheel, which leads the mower, go guide along the programmed route. Some models can mow complicated and uneven lawns that are up to three-quarters of an acre in size. Others can mow a lawn as large as , can handle a hill inclined up to 27 degrees. There are also

automated pool cleaner An automated pool cleaner is a vacuum cleaner that is designed to collect debris and sediment from swimming pools with minimal human intervention. History Evolution Swimming pool cleaners evolved from the water filter and early cister ...

s that clean and maintain

swimming pool A swimming pool, swimming bath, wading pool, paddling pool, or simply pool, is a structure designed to hold water to enable Human swimming, swimming or other leisure activities. Pools can be built into the ground (in-ground pools) or built ...

s autonomously by scrubbing in-ground pools from the floor to the waterline in 3 hours, cleaning and circulating more than of water per minute, and removing debris as small as 2

µm The micrometre ( international spelling as used by the International Bureau of Weights and Measures; SI symbol: μm) or micrometer ( American spelling), also commonly known as a micron, is a unit of length in the International System of Uni ...

in size. Gutter-cleaning robots such as

Looj The Looj was a rain gutter (eavestrough) cleaning domestic robot made and sold by iRobot. The Looj was not an autonomous robot An autonomous robot is a robot that acts without recourse to human control. The first autonomous robots environment we ...

use brushes and rubber blades to remove debris from

rain gutter A rain gutter, eavestrough, eaves-shoot or surface water collection channel is a component of a water discharge system for a building. It is necessary to prevent water dripping or flowing off roofs in an uncontrolled manner for several reasons ...

s; users operate the device using a remote. Window cleaning robots are most commonly used to clean outdoor windows, more specifically house windows. However, it may be used on other types of windows, such as ones on tall buildings and structures. This robot contains a movement system which allows the robot to navigate itself across the window surface in a defined direction. It also has a powered agitator located by the cleaning pad. When activated, the agitator gets rid of debris and dirt from the window surface. The cleaning pad directly interacts with the window surface and is directly responsible for removing the dirt by filling itself with specialized window cleaning fluid. A window-washing robot commonly uses two magnetic modules to navigate windows as it sprays the cleaning solution onto microfiber pads to wash them. It covers about per charge.

Toys

Robotic toys, such as the well known Furby, have been popular since 1998. There are also small humanoid remote-controlled robots as well as electronic pets, such as robotic dogs. They have also been used by many universities in competitions such as the

RoboCup RoboCup is an annual international robotics competition founded in 1996 by a group of university professors (including Hiroaki Kitano, Manuela M. Veloso, and Minoru Asada). The aim of the competition is to promote robotics and AI research by o ...

Social robots

Social robots take on the function of social communication. Domestic humanoid robots are used by elderly and immobilized residents to keep them company. Home-

telepresence Telepresence refers to a set of technologies which allow a person to feel as if they were present, to give the appearance or effect of being present via telerobotics, at a place other than their true location. Telepresence requires that the use ...

robots can move around in a remote location and let one communicate with people there via its camera, speaker, and microphone. Network robots link ubiquitous networks with

robot A robot is a machine—especially one programmable by a computer—capable of carrying out a complex series of actions automatically. A robot can be guided by an external control device, or the control may be embedded within. Robots may be ...

s, contributing to the creation of new lifestyles and solutions to address a variety of social problems including the aging of population and nursing care. Robots built for therapy have been in production for quite some time now. Some of these uses can be for

autism The autism spectrum, often referred to as just autism or in the context of a professional diagnosis autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or autism spectrum condition (ASC), is a neurodevelopmental condition (or conditions) characterized by difficulti ...

physical therapy Physical therapy (PT), also known as physiotherapy, is one of the allied health professions. It is provided by physical therapists who promote, maintain, or restore health through physical examination, diagnosis, management, prognosis, pat ...

In popular culture

In the ''

Star Wars ''Star Wars'' is an American epic space opera multimedia franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the eponymous 1977 film and quickly became a worldwide pop-culture phenomenon. The franchise has been expanded into various film ...

'' film series, robots of all shapes and sizes can be found assisting the humans with several tasks.

C-3PO C-3PO () or See-Threepio is a humanoid robot character in the ''Star Wars'' franchise who appears in the original trilogy, the prequel trilogy and the sequel trilogy. Built by Anakin Skywalker, was designed as a protocol droid intended to assis ...

is a robot designed to assist humans in translation, and etiquette.

Isaac Asimov yi, יצחק אזימאװ , birth_date = , birth_place = Petrovichi, Russian SFSR , spouse = , relatives = , children = 2 , death_date = , death_place = Manhattan, New York City, U.S. , nationality = Russian (1920–1922)Soviet (192 ...

's ''

I, Robot ''I, Robot'' is a fixup (compilation) novel of science fiction short stories or essays by American writer Isaac Asimov. The stories originally appeared in the American magazines ''Super Science Stories'' and ''Astounding Science Fiction'' be ...

'' and the 2004 film of the same name, featured domestic robots as a common feature, in daily routines and family lives. Many cartoons feature robot maids, notably Rosie the Robot from '' The Jetsons''. Maid Robots are especially prominent in

anime is Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japane ...

(in Japanese, they are called Meido Robo, Meido Roboto or meido robot), and their

ranges from rudimentary to fully sentient and emotional, while their appearance ranges from obviously mechanical to human-like. The 2009 adaptation of ''

Astro Boy ''Astro Boy'', known in Japan by its original name , is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Osamu Tezuka. It was serialized in Kobunsha's ''Shōnen'' from 1952 to 1968. The 112 chapters were collected into 23 '' tankōbon'' ...

'', based on creator Osamu Tezuka's Japanese anime Tetsuwan Atomu, showcases robots with various domestic functions. Orrin, with resemblance to the comedic, gold, humanoid companion C-3PO, plays Dr. Tenma's domestic robot performing various tasks such as

housekeeping Housekeeping is the management and routine support activities of running an organised physical institution occupied or used by people, like a house, ship, hospital or factory, such as tidying, cleaning, cooking, routine maintenance, shopping, ...

and tutoring to Dr. Tenma's son, Toby. A vignette, shown at the end of the final episode of

Syfy Syfy (formerly Sci-Fi Channel, later shortened to Sci Fi; stylized as SYFY) is an American basic cable channel owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming division of Comcast's NBCUniversal through NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment. La ...

's failed 2010 ''

Battlestar Galactica ''Battlestar Galactica'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Glen A. Larson. The franchise began with the original television series in 1978, and was followed by a short-run sequel series (''Galactica 1980''), a line of ...

prequel A prequel is a literary, dramatic or cinematic work whose story precedes that of a previous work, by focusing on events that occur before the original narrative. A prequel is a work that forms part of a backstory to the preceding work. The term ...

TV series ''

Caprica ''Caprica'' is an American science fiction drama television series. A spin-off prequel of the re-imagined ''Battlestar Galactica'' (2004), Caprica is set 58 years before the main series. ''Caprica'' shows how humanity first created the Cylon a ...

'', features early models of

Cylons The Cylons are the main antagonists of the human race in the ''Battlestar Galactica'' science fiction franchise, making appearances in the original Battlestar Galactica (1978 TV series), 1978 series, the Galactica 1980, 1980 series, the Batt ...

serving as domestic and industrial robotic assistants for the human inhabitants of the

Twelve Colonies of Kobol "Kobol's Last Gleaming" is the two-part first-season finale of the reimagined ''Battlestar Galactica'' television series. In the first part, the human fleet discovers the abandoned planet Kobol, the mythical birthplace of humanity, who left here ...

, some five years prior to the

revolt Rebellion, uprising, or insurrection is a refusal of obedience or order. It refers to the open resistance against the orders of an established authority. A rebellion originates from a sentiment of indignation and disapproval of a situation and ...

that precipitated the

First Cylon War ''Battlestar Galactica'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Glen A. Larson. The franchise began with the original television series in 1978, and was followed by a short-run sequel series (''Galactica 1980''), a line of b ...

. In the 2008 film '' Wall-E'', humans use sentient robots as trash compactors to clean up the mess they left behind on Earth. Wall-E is a small

bulldozer A bulldozer or dozer (also called a crawler) is a large, motorized machine equipped with a metal blade to the front for pushing material: soil, sand, snow, rubble, or rock during construction work. It travels most commonly on continuous track ...

-like robot who has claws for hands and spends all his time collecting and compressing garbage into cubes. Another robot named Eve is small, sleek, and can fly. The 2012 movie '' Robot & Frank'' featured a domestic robot, the story of the movie centered on an elderly man and his relationship with a caretaker robot.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Biorobotics

Robot A robot is a machine—especially one programmable by a computer—capable of carrying out a complex series of actions automatically. A robot can be guided by an external control device, or the control may be embedded within. Robots may be ...

20th-century inventions