14 DAY TRIAL // We've seen lots of robots crop up over the years, especially the past half a decade, and we seem to have finally reached the stage where humanoid bots can start to help around the house.
The Romeo project has, as primary goal, the creation of a humanoid robot capable of carrying out menial tasks.
That is to say, this Romeo bot will be able to open and close doors for people, bring them drinks, take the trash out, etc.
In other words, this is a robot housekeeper, or will be as soon as it gets over a small problem.
Romeo can't walk yet, alas. It has to stay glued to a chair in order to avoid lying in an undignified heap on the floor.
Nevertheless, the first (half)working prototype now exists, meaning that it is only a matter of time before test runs can be held.
Going by the short video demo below, one can assume this final barrier will be surmounted by the end of the year (2012).
After all, the robot can already talk, so there should be no other setbacks. It relies on a text-to-speech voice box and can seemingly recognize voice commands.
There is one unfortunate thing about Romeo, though: it looks somewhat creepy, with its strange head shape and awkward movements, not to mention exposed insides.
It will definitely take some time getting used to it, even if the final model does come with better circuit coverings.
We can't tell what, besides novelty, would make rich people prefer this thing over a housekeeper, and there is no way to know what price it will sport either.
Nevertheless, this is, in the end, a years-old effort, so the inventors and researchers behind Romeo will doubtlessly do their best to make it all worthwhile. Thus, even if it does not happen overly fast, the housekeeper job market will suffer a decline eventually, for better or for worse.
