# My idea for the next big thing: House Droids **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [June 21, 2025, 12:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-idea-for-the-next-big-thing-house-droids/1019928 "2025-06-21T12:17:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2025, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-idea-for-the-next-big-thing-house-droids/1019928/41 "2025-06-22T00:26:10Z")
That, we’ve had for decades… if you had a Hollywood budget. The end goal is for that to not just exist, but to be available to everyone. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2025, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-idea-for-the-next-big-thing-house-droids/1019928/42 "2025-06-22T04:14:04Z")
> [@Pardel-Lux](#): > > Alternating sex with the fridge and the trash can. Yeah, that is the way to go. Will it also make popcorn? Yes, but the popcorn will taste funny afterwards. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2025, 5:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-idea-for-the-next-big-thing-house-droids/1019928/43 "2025-06-22T05:57:03Z")
> [@Moriarty](#): > > I predict that it won’t be long before porn is completely customizable AI. And if you can “create” the person (or people) you want to see, and then direct them in their performance, then it’s a short jump to just selecting photos of actual people. Gee, yet another category of jobs AI destroys. I suspect the porn writers job is already gone. ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2025, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-idea-for-the-next-big-thing-house-droids/1019928/44 "2025-06-22T23:48:52Z")
You beat me to it! Dan Davis, I presume? ---
**Author:** ![Nyvaak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Nyvaak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nyvaak)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2025, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-idea-for-the-next-big-thing-house-droids/1019928/45 "2025-06-23T21:03:36Z")
Nope. Not as bright as that Heinlein hero, though I probably display judgment just as bad at times. But I’m going to have to re-read _The Door Into Summer_ soon, with this thread in mind. I’ll be asking myself: of all domestic chores that Heinlein’s household robot did - so outlandish as to put the story firmly within the realm of science fiction - how many have become commonplace for gadgets to do? How many might be automated soon ? ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Bravo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_bravo/32/493_2.png) [@Johnny\_Bravo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Bravo)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2025, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-idea-for-the-next-big-thing-house-droids/1019928/46 "2025-06-23T21:42:57Z")
I’m pretty sure we already have most of the technology to do this stuff from a series of discrete “robots” in static locations. Even delivering beer could be done with a smartfridge capable of vending a bottle to a roomba (there’s a restaurant near me that uses a wheeled robot to deliver stuff to tables). Designing a robot that can interact with human objects the way humans do is a much bigger lift than just building robots designed to do one or two things very well. A “smarthouse” with a bunch of this stuff embedded in the structure of the home would, for me, be preferable to a “domestic manservant” robot. I’d rather say “house, get me a beer” and have it pop out of clever tube than wait for RoboJeeves to shuffle to the fridge and get it for me. Ooh or maybe the fridge could have, like, a fleet of lil robot trucks that deploy with snacks and drinks. That would be cute AND fun. ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2025, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-idea-for-the-next-big-thing-house-droids/1019928/47 "2025-06-23T21:50:32Z")
This [article](https://law.stanford.edu/2015/09/09/biosci-fi-the-door-into-the-summer-robert-a-heinlein-1956/) has quotes about the various robots in the book > The first model was a slightly sophisticated vacuum cleaner (Roomba, anyone?), though one that would put anything bigger than a BB shot (anyone remember those?) in a tray for human consideration. Then he developed _Window Willie_ to clean windows and “ring around the bathtub” without supervision. For all his devices, he used modular parts – when something broke, it could be unplugged and a replacement plugged in. > > Ultimately, though, he moved on to _Flexible Frank_, a household servant that could do anything. He bought hands, eyes, and ears off the rack; made extendable arms and a neck; and used a power wheelchair for the framework. The key, though, was the Thorsen memory tube, developed for intercontinental ballistic missiles. Walk the memory tube (or the machine it controlled) manually through an operation once and it could repeat it perfectly. (Don’t ask how – “No need to go too deeply into the theory of an electronic tube even Bell Labs doesn’t understand too well.”) Add more tubes and it could wash dishes, change diapers, polish silverware, make martinis, and do hundreds of other pre-programmed tasks. Note that when the book was new, dishwashing machines of the modern type were for very wealthy folks. ---
**Author:** ![Moriarty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moriarty/32/49_2.png) [@Moriarty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moriarty)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2025, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-idea-for-the-next-big-thing-house-droids/1019928/48 "2025-06-23T21:59:15Z")
> [@Johnny\_Bravo](#): > > I’m pretty sure we already have most of the technology to do this stuff from a series of discrete “robots” in static locations. OP here. That was sort of my inspiration. When my son was very young we’d use the monitor to watch him. We also had a Roomba (which we put googly eyes on and named Jake for some reason). Plus the smart speaker. Once you start adding a bunch of things together you’d end up with a little robot that could be a home companion. > [@Johnny\_Bravo](#): > > Designing a robot that can interact with human objects the way humans do is a much bigger lift than just building robots designed to do one or two things very well. Well, with AI you could converse, and get information, from it. So we aren’t that far off from natural interactions. > [@Johnny\_Bravo](#): > > I’d rather say “house, get me a beer” and have it pop out of clever tube than wait for RoboJeeves to shuffle to the fridge and get it for me. No, this robot would include a mini fridge. So you can grab one whenever it’s next to you. And it’s next to you when you call it. (Tubes in the walls? Are you going to live in Swiss Cheese? You’d need holes everywhere to accommodate wherever you happen to be) ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2025, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-idea-for-the-next-big-thing-house-droids/1019928/49 "2025-06-24T01:22:53Z")
> [@Johnny\_Bravo](#): > > A “smarthouse” with a bunch of this stuff embedded in the structure of the home would, for me, be preferable to a “domestic manservant” robot. I’d rather say “house, get me a beer” and have it pop out of clever tube than wait for RoboJeeves to shuffle to the fridge and get it for me. That sounds good, but it’s kind of limited. Some people had wired computer networks built into their homes, and then wifi came along it wasn’t needed anymore. You could have an automatic tube that delivers cans of beer to your couch, and then your favorite brewer switches to bottles and it doesn’t work anymore (or if it does, you have to get up off the couch to throw the bottle cap away). A general-purpose robot could learn to do new tasks. In a world built for humans, a human-shaped robot would fit in very well, and could take on a lot of tasks, someday. This video makes that point and shows what’s being done today. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/v8UaiRgqvlc/maxresdefault.jpg "Pick, Carry, Place, Repeat | Inside the Lab with Atlas") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v8UaiRgqvlc) (In the interest of full disclosure, I work for that company. I dont speak for them in any official way, and I’m limited to talking about topics that they have publically released.) ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2025, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-idea-for-the-next-big-thing-house-droids/1019928/50 "2025-06-24T01:34:14Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > A general-purpose robot could learn to do new tasks. In a world built for humans, a human-shaped robot would fit in very well, and could take on a lot of tasks, someday. > > This video makes that point and shows what’s being done today. I wasn’t aware robots were prone to back trouble. It’s lifting with it’s legs and maintaining a straight back and good posture. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2025, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-idea-for-the-next-big-thing-house-droids/1019928/51 "2025-06-24T02:30:37Z")
That robot has a pretty limited ability to bend at the waist, it mainly _can_ only lift with its legs. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2025, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-idea-for-the-next-big-thing-house-droids/1019928/52 "2025-06-24T17:47:18Z")
Yeah, but try getting up off the floor in the way the robot did at the very start using your greater human flexibility. Not gonna happen. That droid’s legs are _strong_ compared to its weight. @Robot_Arm. That is truly amazing stuff. It seems like it’d be really cool to work in that space. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-idea-for-the-next-big-thing-house-droids/1019928.md?page=2)