Business Bytes
Curt Finch

Robots in the Home

 

It was just as the creators of "The Jetsons" envisioned. In 2002, Helen Greiner invented the Roomba, a hands-off device that vacuums people's homes. While it can have the occasional glitch — namely, getting stuck under the couch or something — it is an ingenious invention that has become quite popular. Interestingly enough, some people have taken this technology to new levels by "hacking" the Roomba and allowing users to do a variety of things, including make it sing, drive it around, and connect it to the internet.

Not only is a robot in the home incredibly useful, but some people find it more endearing than other types of appliances. A 2007 MSNBC article stated that many people actually become emotionally attached to their Roombas, even going so far as to name them and to re-organize their homes to make them more Roomba-friendly (and avoid the couch problem). Does this mean that we are ready to embrace robots as a more integrated part of our lives in the future?


Curt Finch is the founder & CEO of a resource management software company.

Curt Finch has more than two decades of software development and distributed workforce management experience. In 1997, Curt created the world's first internet-based timesheet application and the foundation for the current Journyx product offering. Curt has a B.S. in Computer Science from Virginia Tech. His book, All Your Money, is available on Amazon. @curtfinch