What does a typical day look like for you?
If you’re like most Americans, you rely on quite a few automated systems and devices to get through it. These might not be the walking, talking robots popularized by old-school science fiction lore — yet, anyway — but they’re very much “robots” in the broader sense.
They exist to make your life easier. And, if you’re being honest, they probably do.
These are seven of the most popular household bots — ones many of us feel like we can’t live without. If you’re looking to make your life easier, take a look at this list and consider adding a few to your daily routine.
1. Robotic Vacuum Cleaners
Robotic floor vacuums are the most common household robot on the market today. At least, the most common household robot most of us would recognize as such.
That’s because being able to sweep (and in some cases mop) without actually guiding the broom is a massive time-saver. Companies like Roborock, which manufactures robotic floor vacuums, have saved Americans millions of hours in the relatively short period during which robot vacuums have been commercially available.
2. Smart Thermostats
Your home smart thermostat doesn’t look like a robot. It looks like, well, a thermostat.
But it’s a lot smarter than the old dial thermostat that it replaced, that’s for sure. It’s designed to learn your household’s climate control preferences over a period of weeks, then turn itself on, off, up, and down without any input from you.
That isn’t just a time-saver that eliminates the slow, sad walk from bed to turn up the A/C or heat in the middle of the night. It’s a money-saver too. Google claims its Nest smart thermostat reduces climate control costs by more than 10% — and that’s just one brand.
3. All-in-One TVs
Your fancy new LED smart TV is not a humanoid robot a la Rosey the Robot in The Jetsons. Like your smart thermostat, it’s a heck of a lot smarter than the older TV it replaces — whether that one was a “dumb” LED with an external streaming device attached (Roku, Amazon FireStick), an early-generation plasma TV, or (gulp) one of those ancient cathode tube TVs.
4. Smart Lighting
Say it with us: Your smart lighting system isn’t a recognizable robot either. Sensing a pattern yet?
That doesn’t mean it’s not great at what it’s designed to do: manage the ambient lighting inside your home without asking you to lift a finger. You can control your smart lighting from afar using an app, or closer to home using a voice-activated smart home hub like Alexa.
Smart lighting is more than a time-saver for people who hate walking across the room to flick on a light. It helps augment your home security system too by making it look like the house is occupied when it’s not.
5. Vehicle Infotainment Systems
If you bought a car in the past few years, know that you own what’s basically a computer on wheels. Many of its functions are electronically controlled rather than mechanical, and the most visible manifestation of its smarts is the vehicle infotainment system that you use to play music, call or text friends, and navigate to your destination.
6. Smart Driving Systems
If your car has an infotainment system, chances are it has some sort of smart driving capability as well.
This could be an envelope-pushing automation suite like Tesla’s Autopilot, which can fully operate the vehicle in certain situations. Or it could be a less sophisticated feature that simply helps you stay in your lane and automatically brakes for you if it senses danger ahead.
Either way, you can bet that this particular “robot” will get more sophisticated every year. Soon enough, your presence behind the wheel might be a mere formality.
7. Adaptive WiFi
Your home’s WiFi network might be smarter than you think. State-of-the-art routers use artificial intelligence to boost your WiFi signal, manage devices, and protect against potential threats. And if you’re still using an ancient router that doesn’t know head from tail, don’t worry — your next one will be a lot better at its job.
The Robot Revolution Is Here to Stay
We’re still a ways off from humanoid robot servants who wait on us hand and foot. Robotic pets haven’t caught on like some hoped, either.
Maybe that will change soon, but not to worry. These consumer “robots” are holding it down in the meantime. You probably count on a few — maybe all — to make your life easier.
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