Kittylicious

More Robots

Saturday, November 19, 2011 10:24:16 AM

Denmark, WTF, Everyday life, Thoughts, News

I don't know if you remember my post about how Danish senior citizens who need help with personal hygiene may be washed in some sort of a "car wash" device in the near future? If you don't remember that, you can read it here.

The latest thing I've heard about is that babies now also get to be in touch with robots. The department of IT and innovation in Skanderborg Municipality has invented a "cradle robot". The robot gently rocks the children's cradles back and forth in order to make them fall asleep.

The intention is to give the nursery teachers more time to attend to other services. Instead of spending half an hour rocking the children's cradles, they can spend the time looking after other children (who presumably are awake).

I don't know what to think about this trend. When they said that we'd all have our own robot sometime in the future, I kind of imagined something else, you know? Something useful - like "Do the laundry", "Pay my bills", "Bake me a Cake" or even "Air the apartment while I'm at work". Not for stuff that requires the human touch.

I wonder what'll be next?

Previous Owner...Emotional Roller Coaster

Comments

Gavin Tripp-Sheedygarlingmatthews # Saturday, November 19, 2011 11:34:00 AM

Well, this one doesn't sound so bad. We've been putting babies in front of washing machines for years, hanging them from trees... not long ago we were shocked at the idea of (non aristocratic) mothers farming out their kids at all. It's just a new wrinkle on an old story.

KittyliciousZaphira # Sunday, November 20, 2011 9:56:44 AM

Yeah well. The story doesn't say anything about what happens if the babies aren't actually falling asleep. I don't expect the robot to pick them up and make them stop crying...?!

I don't like this progress.

Gavin Tripp-Sheedygarlingmatthews # Sunday, November 20, 2011 10:41:06 AM

That's a point, though hopefully the human wouldn't be far away. It's the robots in old age care that worry me. Where exactly is this taking us? We need human contact, especially old folk... and we need jobs, too.

KittyliciousZaphira # Sunday, November 20, 2011 10:50:08 AM

I agree about the job part. It seems that society can't afford to pay to have as many workers though. Despite the fact that if people don't work, they get some kind of money anyway. So why not get *something* for the money. I don't get it.

Jurjenjekav # Sunday, November 20, 2011 3:04:13 PM

Humans often have more flaws as machines (not the first ones produced, but after all errors have been fixed

). I can imagine that the a robot could detect weather the child sleeps or not, it can detect if it's crying, if it's too hot or too cold, if its still breading, if the heart rate is good, etc, ect.

Why would you want jobs, if everything is just taken care of? Just sit down in the sun on your lazy ass, snap your fingers and a robot will serve you refreshing drinks!

KittyliciousZaphira # Sunday, November 20, 2011 8:46:46 PM

If only!

Where would I get the money to buy the drinks?

Gavin Tripp-Sheedygarlingmatthews # Sunday, November 20, 2011 9:05:54 PM

Yes. When we're all replaced, who is going to buy anything?

Jurjenjekav # Sunday, November 20, 2011 9:39:04 PM

Robots don't have to get payed, they just work for free. Until they got broken, then another robot comes to repair them. Maybe there will still be a few people involved, but they just do it for the fun of it. No more working!