Since the 1960's, robots have assumed major roles in industrial manufacturing and assembly, the remote detonation of explosives, search and rescue, and academic research. But theY have remained out of reach, in affordability and practicality, to most consumers.
That, according to Andrew Ng, director of the Artificial Intelligence Lab, Stanford University, California, is about to change. One big reason is the mass production of smartphones and game consoles, which has driven down the size and price of robotic building blocks like accelerometers, gyroscopes and sensors.
On the edges of consumer consciousness, the first generation of devices with rudimentary artificial intelligence are beginning to appear: entertainment and educational robots like the Hexy, and a line of tireless household drones that can mow lawns, sweep floors, clean swimming pools and even enhance golf games.
Golf club carrier
There is the CaddyTrek, a robotic golf club carrier that follows a player from tee to fairway to green through tall grass, up 30-degree slopes and in snow, for as many as 27 holes on a single charg e. Players wear a remote control on their belts, which acts a s a homing beacon for the self-propelled car t, which trails six paces behind the player. Golfers can also navigate the robotic cart to the next tee while they finish putting.
Pool cleaner
While one robot to test your golf clubs, another, the Polaris 9300 xi, could be cleaning your swimming pool. The blue, four-wheel drone submerges in a swimming pool and pushes itself along the bottom and walls to dislodge and filter sediment. The device, which is made by Zodiac Pool Systems of San Diego, cleans pools as much as 60 feet long. Users can program the robot to clean a swimming pool at regular intervals or use a remote control to steer it by hand. The Polaris 9300xi sells for $1,379.
Grass cutter
A silent, four-wheeled grass cutter called the Automower, made by Husqvarna, a Swedish power tool and lawn care company that also owns the McCulloch and Gardena brands, can care for lawns as large as 64,000 square feet. The Au t o m owe r cuts grass by staying within a boundary wire drawn around the perimeter , sensing and avoiding trees, flower beds and other obstacles. The mower, which is sold in Europe and Asia but not in the United States, cuts rain or shine and returns to recharge itself when its batteries get low. Advanced models use GPS and can recognize and return to narrow, hard-to-reach parts of lawns and gardens, ensuring that no areas are missed.
The least expensive garden drone, the Automower 305, costs 1,500, or $1,965, and can mow 500 square meters on one charge. The top-end Automower 265AX sells for about 4,600 in Europe and is designed for hospitals, hotels and commercial properties.
Vacuum cleaner
The iRobot Roomba 790, which costs 900 in Europe, is a selfpropelling vacuum cleaner that can sense and navigate interior spaces, adjusting by itself from carpets to hard floors, and wielding side brushes for corners and walls. The iRobot Scooba 390 cleans sealed hardwood , tile and linoleum floors, no pre-sweeping required. The device looks like a hovering bathroom scale and can hug walls and avoid staircases and other dangerous drops as it cleans, vacuums, wet mops and dries as much as 850 sqft of floor on a single charge. The Scooba 390 sells for 500.
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