Robots are taking over the er.... bedroom

Television series such as Humans and Westworld are once more bringing to the fore the thorny question of having sex with robots. This is nothing new, TV shows from The Outer Limits to Star Trek have explored this concept many times. But what is changing now is that the technology for this to happen is edging closer.

Already, sex toy makers are exploring the connectivity enabled through the IoT to add a new dimension to these devices, especially combined with the latest wearable technology.

As such, I am not really surprised to see an influx of robot-related press releases filling up my inbox, from suggestions that one may one day run for president (see picture) to an adaption of a well-known slogan that now reads: ‘A robot is for life, not just for Christmas’.

While I don’t expect a robot equivalent of Battersea Dogs Home being set up any time soon for unwanted androids, Ubtech Robotics, which came up with the slogan, does have a valid point. Just how many robots do we need and how long before they are gathering dust in the bottom of a cupboard waiting for the robot house cleaner to give them a polish? Now there’s a real item for the wishlist. A robot house cleaner. I could sit hammering away at the keyboard while it toddled about the house cleaning things. We are already seeing robot vacuum cleaners, but they would I think struggle with the amount of clutter I have, but one day, we might even get one to clean the toilet. What’s that? Oh, apparently there already are a number of them. For example, entrepreneurs David Alush and Daniel Tokarev have started a crowdfunding campaign for their Toibot.

Let’s hope they are flushed with success... Sorry.

So, really all that is needed is to go down the route of the Humans TV show, where you can have an in-house robot that cleans, cooks and, well, has sex. But then they might try to take over the world. There is always a downside.

Robots can also solve a logistics problem. Amazon and others are already experimenting with using unmanned drones for deliveries, but with a robot it could deliver itself, buy a train ticket, hop into an autonomous vehicle, and Robot’s your uncle. All you need to do is prepare the bedroom and wait for the knock on the door.

Image: Meet Bobbie. As robots go, this might not look much but its makers Dawody Robotics think that a later version of this robot could one day run for the American Presidency