We’ve been dreaming of it for 100 years. Now a new wave of innovations promises to put an end to housework once and for all. All it took was a mix of robotization, automation and connectivity to relegate cleaning, washing and even home security to its digital assistants. Really ?
It was the Korean company LG Electronics which set the tone in early January by promising what it calls its vision of a “workless home”. The vision is still very thin. It currently takes the form of a small bipedal robot connected to the Internet and which acts as the “brain” of the connected home.
Most of the time, he follows his master throughout the house and responds to his various instructions: turns on the lights in the garage, adjusts the heating throughout the house, plays music in the living room, etc. Its sensors include a camera and a microphone, as well as various other accessories with which it analyzes ambient temperature, humidity levels and air quality in general.
The little robot, which LG describes as an artificial intelligence agent (“ AI Agent » ), can also move from one room to another independently, as long as it does not encounter stairs, and carry out surveillance, like a mobile wifi camera, or even entertain pets left alone during time spent outdoors.
LG’s small mobile agent then welcomes the owner when he returns from work. Its artificial intelligence (AI) analyzes facial features to determine mood and adapts its greeting accordingly, by playing music or personalizing its report on recent news.
“Our AI agent will help our customers get rid of their household chores thanks to its communication functions and autonomous mobility,” said the president of LG’s household appliances division, Lyu, when unveiling the little robot. Jae-cheol.
Interoperability first
This push towards the so-called smart home is still very timid, it must be admitted. We can even speak of a step backwards, if we compare it to a prototype of a domestic robot unveiled exactly a year ago by Samsung and which promised to talk less, but to act more. It was notably equipped with articulated arms allowing it to place dirty dishes in the dishwasher, then take them out and put them away. This is a more concrete promise of household chores taken care of by robots…
But for the moment the end of domestic chores remains just that: a promise. The major new home automation features of 2024 are currently less ambitious. The first of these could still have a positive effect on our daily lives. Indeed, another expression was dusted off at the start of the year: interoperability.
It’s a concept that shouldn’t be one, as it’s so self-evident: basically, it suggests that identical electronic devices offer the same compatibilities with their environment. Whether a phone is from Apple, Samsung or another, it should plug into the same charger, serve as a web camera for a personal computer regardless of its operating system, and so on.
It is therefore early to talk about the end of domestic tasks, but this desire to make the home more autonomous is pushing manufacturers to take small steps towards better interaction between the different connected gadgets that they put on sale.
Here again, we are building on something new launched last year, an interoperability protocol between connected home devices called Matter. This is what should ultimately make it possible to control wifi bulbs, connected thermostats and even smart speakers of different brands from the same control point.
For now, this interoperability is leading to new partnerships. Samsung and LG, as well as Frigidaire, GE and Electrolux, to name a few, have joined forces to create the Home Connectivity Alliance, an organization whose sole mission will be to make all these gadgets for the home equipped with a more durable wifi connection, by being easier to connect together.
The owner of a home will be able to more easily entrust their robotic AI agent with specific tasks, or even let it take care of certain automations based on their daily routine.
The emergence of robots
The invasion of domestic robots is therefore not for tomorrow… but it is coming. As proof, the numerous manufacturers of robotic mowers (Aiper, Husqvarna, Segway), vacuum cleaners and automated mops (iRobot, eufy, Narwal) and even autonomous snow blowers (Yarbo) who have updated their product catalog for 2024 by adding more efficient devices which will eventually be able to chat with this little robot which will follow you everywhere to determine the best time to do their work.
We see it less here, but there is a concern that has persisted for several years in Asian countries, such as Japan and Korea, and which concerns the loneliness of elderly people. In countries where the youngest are not enough to take care of the oldest, we think that a small domestic robot can entertain, if not help out, people whose mobility is reduced, or whose ability to carry out certain tasks themselves. domestic chores are no longer what they used to be.
This doesn’t mean the end of housework, but it is another step in that direction…