A Roomba is a robotic vacuum cleaner. Low to the ground and disk-like in shape, it is self-propelled and has sensors that (mostly) keep it from falling down stairs and getting stuck under things.
I purchased this device during an episode of back trouble. And while my Roomba has not freed me from conventional vacuuming, it does clean under beds and other places conventional vacuums can’t go. Moreover, it’s my closest encounter to date with a robotic device.
According to various reports, we will all be having close encounters with robotic devices in the upcoming Fourth Industrial Revolution. If this revolution is anything like the last three, changes in technology will go hand in hand with the elaboration of new behavior. That is, changes in human movement will occur in tandem.
So far, my Roomba hasn’t affected my life very much. But a self-driving car would. So I’m glad that some people are dancing with robots and exploring the field of man and machine interactions. Find out more in the next blog.