If you have harbored dreams of owning a robot, you’ve probably been waiting eons. Robots have been a staple of popular culture for decades: a 1933 Mickey Mouse cartoon, “Mickey’s Mechanical Man,” features Mickey building a robot, and throughout the 1950s and 60s, robots cropped up in science-fiction movies and futuristic TV shows alike. Remember Rosie the Robot on “The Jetsons” or the robot on “Lost in Space”?
You get the idea.
But what you haven’t got is the robot that serves you breakfast in bed and makes snarky quips while the two of you watch TV. If that’s what you’re after, you can put away your wallet. There are, however, some household robots currently for sale — and coming to a store near you soon. They include:
Robots that clean your home. You are probably aware of iRobot, maker of the Roomba (models start at $399.99), a robot vacuum cleaner that debuted in 2002. The company has also rolled out other housecleaning robots, including the Braava ($299.99), which mops floors; the Scooba 450 ($499.99), which sweeps and scrubs floors; and the Looj 330 ($299.99), which tunnels through gutters, whacking away debris with blades that spin at 500 revolutions per minute.
Neato Robotics also has a line of vacuum cleaners that, while not as well known, have been widely praised.
Meanwhile, another vacuuming robot — the Dyson 360 Eye — that’s being touted as the greatest thing since the invention of the broom, is in the final stages of beta testing in Japan and could hit U.S. shelves as early as this fall, according to a company spokesperson.
“The 360 is controlled by your iPhone or Android device, with a computer option available, too, and the product is a very sexy vacuum cleaner,” says David Fisher, an associate professor of mechanical engineering and a robot enthusiast at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, a private college in Terre Haute, Indiana. “Roomba has been unable to capture the autonomous vacuuming market, but I believe the 360 Eye has a much better chance.”
3-D printers. These may not sound like they belong on a list of household robots, but Fisher disagrees.
“Yes, a 3-D printer is really a robot. Don’t tell anyone,” he says.
Stores like Best Buy and Staples carry 3-D printers now, but the machines themselves and the materials that go with them can get into the thousands of dollars. That’s why Fisher is looking forward to “the affordable 3-D printer.”
Schools and libraries will most likely start using 3-D printers before they go mainstream, Fisher says, although he does think the public will eventually get on board: “There are a lot of things you can do with a 3-D printer,” he says.
Time will tell, but 3-D printing enthusiasts claim that consumers will someday use them to make everything, including their own shoes, toys, clothing and handbags.
Still, if you want your robot now — and in the form of a 3-D printer — the Cube, for instance, made by 3D Systems, retails for $999.
Robots that take care of pets. Some companies have been working on mass producing robots that can walk dogs. Available now, however, are robots for our feline friends. Litter-Robot II, which, like it sounds, is a cat litter robot, sells for $369.
Your cat will climb into what looks like a globe-shaped robot head. Once the device senses that your pet has done his or her business, it will clean it for you — but you still have to maintain it. The website notes that if you have several cats, the Litter-Robot drawer may still need to be emptied every day, “but you will never again have to scoop a dirty litter box by hand.”
Toys that are robots. If you have young children — and relatively deep pockets — Fisher is enthusiastic about Lego’s line of toys, Lego Mindstorms EV3, which teaches kids how to build and program robots shaped like serpents, guitars and more.
“What parent wouldn’t buy a $300 to $400 toy for their child if they knew it would help promote their STEM education?” asks Fisher, referring to science, technology, engineering and math.
For more information, check out lego.com/en-us/mindstorms/build-a-robot.
Robots that carry things for you. If you’ve ever imagined having a robot follow you around, carrying your belongings, then you may be interested in the Budgee, a new product from New Jersey-based Five Elements Robotics, which will likely be available to the public in late April. Customers can pre-order on the website now, however.
“The purpose of Budgee is to follow you around and carry your things. It’s simple but to the point, and something people need,” says Five Elements’ CEO, Wendy Roberts.
With an anticipated sticker price of $1,399, many consumers may decide it’s not a must-have, but Roberts says they are especially targeting a more specific consumer base, the elderly and disabled, for whom, she contends, this bot could be a boon. .
Imagine someone who relies on a walker trying to carry bags through a shopping mall, and you start seeing the possibilities for Budgee, a waist-high robot shaped like a curved floor lamp that can haul up to 50 pounds, travel at walking pace and whose eye color can be customized. In fact, some shopping malls have expressed an interest in purchasing Budgees. Roberts thinks mothers with young children may be a market as well.
“I could have used a Budgee when I was raising four kids,” she says.
Robot lawn mowers. They aren’t here yet, but they will be, Fisher insists.
“Expect to see automated lawn mowers right after people get comfortable with automatic vacuum cleaners,” Fisher says. “Right now the focus is only on golf courses, but in 10 years, yeah, I expect to see consumer lawn mowers. The task is doable and the need is there. Capitalism will do the rest.”
For now, there’s no need to fire your neighborhood kid or the lawn service.
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Is It Time to Buy a Robot? originally appeared on usnews.com