Robot servants that do the housework to be in British homes 'within ten years'

By SEAN POULTER
Last updated at 16:56 15 January 2008

Robot servants for the home will become a reality within ten years, according to experts at Britain's biggest technology retailer.

Technology unveiled at the world's biggest gathering of industry leaders heralds the arrival of 'house-bots', according to group buying director at PC World, Simon Turner.

He pointed to the example of sophisticated new robots which have been developed essentially as toys as opening the door to wider acceptance of the technology.

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Face of the future: Robot technology is set to become standard in homes, industry leaders say

Among the latest examples unveiled at the Consumer Electronics Show(CES) in Las Vegas were the Spykee series developed by Meccano and Tribot and Rovio, from Wow wee.

However, even more sophisticated worker robots are in the pipeline, such as the iRobiQ, from Yujin Robots of South Korea.

The robots - like iRobiQ - which are linked into the home's own technology and broadband internet service, will effectively become the technology hubs of the home.

Voice commands to the robot would be translated into wireless signals to turn on the washing machine, change the TV channel, dim the lights or change the music.

iRobiQ can also be programmed to wake you up in the morning with a song, tour the house during the night to provide security and even order a second low-grade robot to vacuum the floor.

In South Korea she is even programmed to help teach children English, both through the spoken word and letters which appear on a screen on her chest.

Mr Turner said: 'Consumer robotics is a sector that is expanding rapidly and we're betting that we'll all have some kind of robot servant in our homes within ten years.'

A group of PC World buyers attending the CES show, which attracts 140,000 delegates, from across the globe has identified three breakthrough products.

Their silver medal goes to the new Spykee. The build your own robot was originally launched last year.

However, he has now been joined by three new members of the family Spykee Miss, Spykee Cell and Spykee Vox.

Mr Turner said: 'The original Spykee is a great surveillance tool for the home, with a web-enabled camera on board, capable of sending pictures to your office desktop.

'It can also be used for to make VoIP telephone calls over the internet'.

The new models have an iPod docking station and feature Bluetooth technology which means they can be controlled by a mobile phone, and voice activation technology.

PC World chiefs gave the bronze to a wristwatch mobile phone from LG, the latest example of life catching up with science fiction.

Mr Turner said: 'LG announced that they are developing a wrist phone, similar to the device made famous in the Dick Tracy cartoon strip from the 1950s.

'Prototypes of the device are on display at the exhibition. It features a three-button interface, a colour display and Bluetooth. It'll make it a lot harder to lose a phone and it will suit active types.'

The company gave its gold award to a Samsung's 31in OLED super-thin TV.

This is one of a new generation of organic light emitting diode(OLED) sets which are being developed by all the major manufacturers.

Mr Turner said the TVs do not require a backlight to illuminate the set. Rather the set relies on organic molecules that create their own light and colour when triggered by an electric charge.

'This delivers brighter pictures and uses lower levels of power than other TVs. At the same time OLED technology enables manufacturers to build thinner and lighter TVs,' he said.

'OLED TVs are also potentially 40 per cent more energy efficient than LCD TVs.

'So, in the Samsung, we have a TV that looks great, delivers fantastic pictures and delivers energy and environmental savings.'

Other observers of the CES event have created their own 'best in show' awards.

Among the winners chosen by the web TV channel CNET were a Philips 42in eco TV. The backlight adjusts depending on the conditions to save power and there is reduced use of lead and mercury.

The other winners included the Motorola Rokr mobile phone E8, which claims to be a better MP3 player than stand-alone devices.