In the previous installments of this series, we’ve looked at how the home robots of the not-so-distant future could come to assist humans with many different everyday tasks. We’ve seen how collaborative robots could soon be cleaning our homes, and how advanced AI presents the possibility of reliable childcare for busy working families. At AvaWatz, we’re currently building the robots and AI systems of tomorrow, which could become our party pals and even provide the food, drinks and entertainment at our future robot parties.
Today we’d like to turn our attention to our furry friends, and how robotic technology and artificial intelligence could help us to better care for our beloved pets. Many pet owners will already be well aware of some of the current products on the market that make use of robotic technology to both entertain and protect our pets. Simple appliances like automatic feeders and fetch toys make use of basic robotics to complete some of the everyday tasks that we sometimes struggle to find the time for.
But these rudimentary appliances aren’t quite what we have in mind when we picture the robots of the future. With the great advancements that we’ve made in both robotic movement and intelligence, surely there’s the possibility of humanoid petcare robots in the next few years?
With over 48 million dog owners in the US alone, our canine friends are comfortably the most popular pets in the western world, with one of the most common tasks for new dog owners being training their pup to obey commands. This can often be a laborious and difficult process, which is why the robots of the future will be designed to assist!
A San Francisco startup has already developed an impressive AI system that uses an array of sensors and machine learning to successfully train dogs to follow basic commands. Featuring the ability to communicate with your dog, monitor their movements and even deploy treats to reward the completion of tasks, tools like the Companion Pro will surely be popular with dog owners in the near future!
Following on from this AI powered technology, the most beneficial use for robots in terms of pet care is likely to be monitoring our furry friends whilst we’re unavailable. There are already some home security systems and petcare robots that do a great job of detecting our pets movements, and differentiating between animals and the motions that they make. We picture this technology being adapted to a humanoid robotic helper, which can accurately carry out some of the basic petcare functions that are currently reserved for humans.
To take things even further than robot pet carers, we’re likely to see advancements in AI technology that can lead to fully robotic pets! There are already a few examples of such robots, though none have quite reached widespread commercial availability, we believe that will change in the not so distant future! At AvaWatz, we’re committed to creating advanced collaborative robots that can take some of the pressure off of humans, by completing complicated tasks and operating in hazardous environments. By creating advanced AI systems and developing adaptive robot teams, we look to bring the future of robotics into the present, learn how to aid us in this mission by visiting our funding page.