By Dick Pelletier
Imagine a machine that sets the table, creates and serves
dinner, cleans house, and never complains. This may sound like
something out of The Jetsons, but in labs everywhere, scientists
believe that one day, we will share our homes with loyal robot
servants that enthusiastically tackle mundane chores, freeing us
for more fulfilling activities. 
Carnegie Mellon’s Hans Moravec believes that by 2020, we will
create robots in humanoid form, able to express reasoning and
emotion, and eager to perform household tasks. These “smart”
machines will walk the dog, put groceries away, find and fetch
things, mimic human feelings of compassion and love, and become
friends with family members.
2020s robots will appear amazingly human-like. Moravec suggests
they could be powered by fuel cells that are cooled by a squeeze
pump which beats like a heart while circulating alcohol as a
coolant. They would “drink wine” for fuel, and breathe air like
humans.
Design tricks like these, along with soft “nanoskin” will make
tomorrow’s ‘bots seem uncannily human, encouraging us to perceive
them as friends. Author Ray Kurzweil says tomorrow’s ‘droids could
quickly learn to flesh out positive feelings, which would provide
an allure difficult for humans to resist.
How about robo-love? Jason Nemeth, in his essay,
Should Robots Feel, believes love-companion robots will be
practical in the future and could easily fill the role of a
partner, satisfying our intimacy needs. Nemeth is not sure whether
human/robot love would experience higher success rate than love
between two humans; but he says technologies will unlock the
possibilities, and human curiosity will make it happen. (cont.)
Experts suggest the following timetable for robot
development:
2008. Successes by Roomba vacuum cleaners, robot pets, and
driverless cars from DARPA’s Grand
Challenge, reveal the fledgling robot industry’s enormous profit
potential.
2015. Moravec envisions crude machines that although frustrating
at times, perform some household chores and assist seniors and
children.
2020. ‘Bots prepare meals, set tables, clean house, provide
interface to communication and entertainment systems, strengthen
security, and develop friendships with family members.
2025. Robots are coming closer to matching human mental
capabilities for performing in the real world. They can act as
guides, escorts, check out groceries, and assume most home
management duties. Robot abuse has prompted Congress to pass an
android civil rights bill.
2030. Kurzweil predicts that by the 2030s, robots will surpass
human intelligence and could help solve many of society’s
problems.
Futurists believe we have already entered the early stages of a
cyborg society that some predict will not end until man and machine
become one. Today, artificial pets befriend children, and
self-operating machines clean homes. By mid-2030s our silicon
cousins will outthink us, which many experts predict, will spark
the first efficient two-way human-machine intelligence
transfers.
These advanced technologies will enable us to access
intelligence directly from robot “brains”, marking the start of
“human-machine” merges. Robots will become more like us, and by
accessing their intelligence, we will become more like them.
Some wonder where this technology will take us. Clearly our
robotics journey winds around some unknown, possibly even dangerous
turns; but strong commercial support guarantees that we will one
day experience this amazing “magical future”
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