Personal Robots – A Lagging Innovation

Personal Robots – A Lagging Innovation

Development of technology is an unending process. Gadgets become outdated within a couple of years of their introduction, as technological advances render the newer versions of the old products superior in their technical features. While this is true for most of the daily use gadgets, one popular technological concept from the world of science fiction that has not leapfrogged from its humble beginning is that of personal robots. International news agencies are abuzz with the development that Apple Inc. is now working on creating personal robots for household usage. Having innovated personal computers in the past decades, Apple’s ambitions for the personal robots are a shift from its much talked about electric car project which as of today stands cancelled. Can Apple deliver this time? How has popular science fiction envisioned the world of personal robots? What are some past successes and failures in commercializing personal robots? What is the industry expert’s opinion on this? And what are the apprehensions and expectations of tech enthusiasts and common people? My City Links explores these questions in this special story on personal robots.

Personal Robots in Sci-Fi movies and shows

As history shows us, science fiction ideas have been the precursor of many scientific inventions. H.G. Wells in his science fiction novel ‘Men like Gods', ideated the concept similar to television in a future human society just before it was invented. For the generation that has grown up in the 1990s in India, the popular cartoon show ‘The Jetsons’ showed a number of futuristic technologies, a few of which have been realised over the years. In the show, depiction of the robotic maid, Rosie, and the nuclear-powered pet dog electronimo, stand out as innovative ideas on personal robots.

Similarly, Vicki, in American children’s sitcom ‘Small Wonder’ showed the many interesting scenarios that a personal robot can face in real world families. Movies like ‘Ex Machina’ have gone further by exploring the possibility of an artificially intelligent personal robot, that mimics a human female, and in its pursuit for freedom kills its very creator. In the race for personal robots in Sci-Fi movies, Bollywood is not far behind. The 2024 movie ‘Teri Baaton Mein Aisa Uljha Jiya’ stars Shahid Kapoor as a robotics engineer who falls in love with Kriti Sanon’s character Sifra, who turns out to be a “Super Intelligent Female Robot Automation”. While movies explore these concepts from different perspectives, the actual progress in the sector is nowhere near what has been shown, making personal robots a “lagging innovation”.

Some past efforts – Globally and in Odisha

Moving from reel to real life, there have been a few attempts by technology companies to launch personal robots on a commercial scale. Though in its early stages, these personal robots have addressed human needs satisfactorily in many cases. Take for example the robot developed for therapeutic purposes by Japan – Paro. Paro was successfully commercialized after an eight generation series of development in 2005 and is being used in over 30 countries as a biofeedback medical device. As a therapeutic tool Paro, a robotic harp seal, finds use in hospitals and nursing homes, and is programmed to respond to its name and cry for attention. Covered with white antibacterial fur and a well regulated body temperature, Paro makes for a decent companion robot that helps in distress of the elderly.

Another commercial project which was launched by Sony in 1999, but never really took off, was the robotic dog named Aibo. This high priced pet dog robot generated an initial craze that didn’t last long, as consumers became aware of its limited functionality, despite being designed to be playful and interactive, with features such as artificial intelligence and face recognition. Aibo failed to match the charm and liveliness of a real world dog, which ultimately led to the shutting down of its production in 2006.

When it comes to personal carrier robots, Gita robot, launched by Piaggio Fast Forward in 2018, has had mixed success. Its basic functionality is that of a luggage carrier cum follower robot. It has a carrying capacity of 18 kgs and is equipped with cameras and sensors for smart navigation. Despite its number of advantages from mobility to reduced burden, Gita robots have the drawback of being steeply priced and difficult to operate in crowded areas. To be commercially successful, products like the Gita robot need to improve their operational difficulties and be less demanding of the wallets.

In 2019, an Odia restaurant named Robo Chefs in Bhubaneswar introduced two robots named Champa and Chameli for taking orders from customers and greeting them. This innovation, as explained by the restaurant owner, was inspired by similar restaurants in the US. It proved to be a major crowd-puller for the restaurant and sparked curiosity among the public about robotic technology in Bhubaneswar.

An Expert’s Opinion

My City Links spoke to Amiya Kumar Samantaray, an engineer-turned entrepreneur who has started technology-based brands like Aurassure and Datoms. His company Datoms works in the field of IoT. Amiya is also a fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering (UK).

Speaking about the link between IoT and Robotics, Amiya said, “Robotics is more related to how we are automating things, how we are creating machines that simplify human effort. But IoT is more related to connectivity. If we are talking about connecting a machine to the internet, that is where IoT comes into existence. The moment we enable IoT in robots, machines would be able to speak with each other. It’s like creating a connected machine universe. So, if the power of both the technologies can be combined then one can do miracles.”

Talking about robots, Amiya expressed that when we speak of robots, we think of machines resembling humans. It may be a full-fledged humanoid or part of a human, such as the limbs as in the case of robotic arms. Companies like Boston Dynamics are coming up with robots that are creating dogs, and other types of animals. Thus, they should have some kind of resemblance with living entities found in nature. Robot is a machine which is implementing a particular function of a living entity, on a full scale or on a partial scale. 

Giving a comparison between personal and industrial robots, he said, “Personal robots are those which help us in our home applications. On the other hand, industrial robots are those which help in industries such as in mining, where it is difficult for human beings to work. Other examples are like pipeline cleaning or sewage cleaning. These are use cases that are otherwise very hard for human beings to do. The goal is to simplify those jobs without having any risk of life. Industrial robots are more focused on repetitive tasks. They can work 24x7, they can only focus on a particular type of activity. Robotic arm is one of the most deployed industrial robots in the automobile industry for production line automation. Here not much intelligence is required.”

We asked Amiya as to why personal robotics is lagging behind industrial robotics. To this Amiya replied, “When we speak of personal robots, there are interactions with human beings. They are more intelligent, and can understand emotions, so that they don’t harm human beings at a practical level. The reason why personal robots are a lagging innovation is because the world is always driven by money. Always economics drives scale. If a machine can replace man, which works without taking wages and caring about life, living style and all other factors, then naturally I will push industrial robotics.”

As per Amiya, technology adoption is a time taking process, though its development may not be. He is of the opinion that as human society becomes more and more individualistic, the need for such technologies like personal robots will be felt. Talking about India in robotics, he highlighted, “If we talk about India in robotics, then we are good at the software part. But there is a lot to improve in the hardware part. We are not good at machines and mechanical parts. But many startups are trying for that these days. So maybe it’s the right time the new generation is taking these initiatives. Even in Odisha there are few companies that have created underwater robots, drones and hardware products. So maybe down the line we might see Odisha have humanoid robots.”

Amiya is positive that there would be many advances in this sector in the developed world. “As a technologist, I would like to see robots assist human beings in different tasks of their life. A case being the differently abled people who need assistance. We have chosen machines like dishwashers and automatic cooking machines. So the day is not far when there will be a robotic maid that helps in all household tasks. I think Apple will target to fulfill that need”, Amiya concluded.

Tech Enthusiasts and People’s Perspective

My City Links spoke to some keen followers of technology as well as a few common folks to find their response and gauge their curiosity towards personal robots. 

Amar Subudhi, a tech enthusiast, said, “The thing about such technologies is that one cannot anticipate anything unless the product has come out to the market. I am positive that personal robots will get a positive push after Apple’s intervention.” Another techie Abhishek Panda opined, “I think personal robots should try to reduce our daily grind and save our precious time. But it should not be a replacement for human interaction as shown in Sci-fi movies.” Speaking of the ethical side Animesh Routray, an AI enthusiast said, “Robots try to mimic nature. And nature comes in different shades of good and evil. So even super intelligent robots can go out of hand, if they start learning the dark traits of human species.”

Rahul Kumar, a business owner, said, “There are a lot of repetitive and mundane tasks that human beings do which a single multitasking robot can be programmed to do. I think the possibilities are endless here.” Ritika Mohanty, who works as a nurse in a private hospital, spoke, “When I interact with elderly patients, sometimes I have to stay with them for a prolonged duration of time. It can become very exhausting mentally. I feel there is a possibility of intelligent robots attending to patients in the distant future.” Retired engineer Vikram Senapati said, “Old people, who live far away from their children, feel loneliness from time to time. They need a companion for interacting and listening to. I think the future personal robots have to serve these types of needs of society.” Kritika Swain, a college student, feels otherwise, “I think that with these types of technologies, we are distancing ourselves from real world natural experiences and are getting more and more trapped in artificiality.” 

Like it or not, the curious human mind will try and experiment with technologies unless it has evolved with each successful iteration. To this, personal robots are no exception.