A Domestic Robot? I Would Be Buying Time, Not a Machine

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Hello Steemians,

When I read this question, I did not immediately imagine one of those futuristic humanoid robots walking through my living room and speaking like a person, because honestly, that is not really what would convince me to spend money on one. What came to my mind instead was something much simpler: all those little moments during the day when I say to myself, “I still have to do that,” even though the task itself may only take five or ten minutes.

If domestic robots become cheap enough, would you buy one for your home? What would you want the robot to be able to do, and when do you think they will become widely available and affordable?

So yes, I think I would buy one, but not because having a robot at home would sound impressive. I would buy it if it could quietly take responsibility for the small repetitive jobs that are always waiting for us and, little by little, give me back some of the time that disappears during an ordinary day.

In other words, I would not really feel that I was buying a robot. I would feel that I was buying a little more free time.

Why Would I Want One?

One of the first things I would want my robot to do is what I would call the “end of the day round,” because there are always little things left unfinished at night, even when the house is not particularly messy. Before I go to bed, for example, I might leave a glass on a table, forget to put something back in its place, notice that a window is still open, see a phone charger lying in the wrong room or remember that the rubbish should probably be taken out in the morning.

I would love to have a robot that could quietly go through the house after everyone had finished their day, collect the things that were out of place, check whether doors and windows were properly closed, put small objects back where they belong and leave the main rooms ready for the next morning. That may sound like a very simple use for an advanced machine, but for me that is exactly what would make it useful, because I do not need it to perform spectacular tricks, I need it to notice the little things that I am tired of noticing myself. Another job I would happily give it would be dealing with deliveries and shopping.

Imagine coming home with several bags after grocery shopping and, instead of making three or four trips, the robot helps carry everything inside, places heavy items where they belong and perhaps even recognizes which products should go into the refrigerator and which ones can stay in a cupboard.

I would also like it to keep track of things that are easy to forget, not by constantly sending annoying reminders, but simply by noticing patterns, such as the fact that we are almost out of detergent, there are only two bottles of water left or a light bulb has stopped working. That kind of assistance would feel much more useful to me than having a robot that tries to behave like another person in the house.

I Would Give It the Jobs I Always Postpone

There are also certain household jobs that are not difficult at all, yet somehow we keep postponing them because they are boring or inconvenient.

Sorting recycling is a good example. If a domestic robot could recognize different types of waste, separate cardboard, plastic, glass and ordinary rubbish, compress what can be compressed and prepare everything for disposal, I would gladly let it handle that part of the house.

I would also like it to take care of small maintenance tasks that we tend to ignore until they become bigger problems, such as noticing a small water leak, detecting that a plant has not been watered, finding that something has fallen behind furniture or recognizing that an appliance is making an unusual sound.

It would not necessarily have to repair everything by itself, because I am not sure I would trust a robot with a screwdriver near every appliance in my house, but simply alerting me early could already be very useful.

Actually, I think I would appreciate a robot that says, in its own way, “You may want to check this,” much more than one that tries to do absolutely everything.

What About Cooking?

I would definitely let a robot help in the kitchen, but I would not want it to take cooking away from me completely. There is something very human about preparing food, tasting it while it cooks, changing the seasoning because you feel like it and sometimes making a recipe slightly differently from the last time, so I would not be interested in pressing a button and watching a machine replace the whole experience.

What I would happily give it are the parts that come before and after. It could wash vegetables, bring ingredients, peel something while I prepare the rest, clean the work surface as I go along and, most importantly, take care of the kitchen after everyone has eaten.

If I had to choose between a robot that can cook a perfect meal and one that cleans everything after I finish cooking, I think I would choose the second one without thinking for very long.

I Would Also Use It When Nobody Is Home

This is another reason why I think a domestic robot could be genuinely interesting. There are moments when nobody is at home for several hours, yet the house does not completely stop needing attention.

A robot could close a window if rain suddenly starts, move something that should not stay in the sun, water a plant, check an unusual noise, feed a pet at the correct time or simply send a message if something looks wrong.

If I were away for a day or two, I think having a machine physically present in the house would offer a different kind of usefulness from the cameras and smart devices we already have, because it could actually interact with the environment instead of only allowing me to watch it from a screen. I would probably find that much more valuable than asking a robot to follow me around all day.

Would I Trust It Completely?

Probably not, at least not from the beginning. I think it would take time before I became completely comfortable with a machine moving around my home, especially if it used cameras and microphones to understand what was happening around it.

I would want a physical button that could disconnect those sensors, and I would also want the robot to continue performing basic tasks without needing to send everything it sees or hears to some distant server.

Another thing that would matter to me is control. I would not want a robot that decides too much for me simply because its software thinks it knows my habits. Helping me is one thing, reorganizing my life without asking is another. I can already imagine getting annoyed if I put something somewhere deliberately and the robot keeps “correcting” me by returning it to the place where it thinks it belongs.

Living with a robot would probably involve learning its habits just as much as it learns ours, and I suspect there would be some funny arguments during the first few weeks.

Price Would Change Everything

For me, “affordable” would not simply mean that I could technically pay for one. It would mean that buying the robot feels similar to buying an important household appliance rather than buying a car. I would also look closely at everything that comes after the purchase, because a cheap robot that requires an expensive subscription, special replacement parts and constant paid repairs would not really be cheap in the long run.

I would prefer a simpler robot that can be repaired easily and continues working for many years over a very advanced one that becomes almost useless when the company stops supporting its software. I think this point will become very important if robots eventually enter millions of homes, because people will not want to replace such an expensive machine every two or three years in the same way that some people replace a phone.

When Do I Think This Will Become Normal?

I think useful domestic robots will arrive before truly affordable domestic robots. We will probably see increasingly capable machines over the next few years, but the first good ones are likely to remain too expensive for many ordinary households.

My guess is that sometime in the first half of the 2030s we will begin seeing domestic robots more regularly, especially in homes where there is a clear reason to have one, while broader adoption could take several more years as prices fall and people become more confident about reliability and privacy.

However, I do not think there will be one specific year when everybody suddenly decides they need a robot. It will probably happen in the same quiet way that many other technologies entered our lives, where at first you know one person who owns one, then you start seeing them more often, then prices become reasonable and eventually nobody finds them strange anymore.

One day, perhaps a friend will say, “I cannot come yet because my robot is updating,” and nobody will even find the sentence unusual.

So, Would I Buy One?

Yes, but I would buy usefulness rather than novelty. I do not need a robot to look human, entertain visitors or become another personality in the house. I would rather have one that quietly notices what needs to be done, takes care of the tasks I always postpone and gives me back a few hours every week without constantly demanding my attention.

If it can tidy the house at the end of the day, help with groceries, sort recycling, deal with the boring part of cooking, notice small household problems and take care of simple things while nobody is home, then I think I would find a place for it quite easily.

What interests me most is not the idea of living with a robot, but the possibility of having fewer little obligations constantly waiting in the back of my mind, and maybe that is the real luxury domestic robots could eventually offer us: not a futuristic house, but a house that asks a little less from us every day.

Now I am curious about something different: if you had a domestic robot, would you prefer it to do one job extremely well, or would you rather have one robot capable of doing a little bit of everything?