At the International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA) in Philadelphia on Wednesday, Dyson showcased 'secret robot prototypes' as part of a recruitment drive to hire more robotics engineers. Founded by James Dyson in 1991, Dyson is a Singapore-based consumer electronics firm primarily known for its vacuum cleaners, air purifiers and hand dryers. The company also recently unveiled a pair of bizarre-looking wireless headphones called Dyson Zone that double up as an air purifier.
Companies, researchers and universities have already showcased robots that can climb stairs, open doors, do back-flips, and even race against a Tesla. The promise of friendly robots to do household chores has been around for ages, but the concept is getting closer to reality with every passing year. Multiple companies are working on robotic devices to clean houses, wash dishes and serve drinks. Hyundai showcased one such robot at Consumer Electronics Show 2022. Called the Mobile Eccentric Droid (MobED), the device can reportedly deliver groceries and carry babies.
The concept robots showed off by Dyson in Philadelphia can do household chores like vacuuming couches and handling dishes. In a press release, the company said that it is investing heavily in robotics to explore the concepts further in the coming years. It is part of the company's plans to develop "an autonomous device capable of household chores" and other tasks. The company also claimed that it is working towards making robotics more mainstream and bringing advanced robots to homes everywhere "by the end of the decade." Towards that end, the company is creating what it called "the UK's largest, most advanced, robotics center" at Hullavington Airfield in Wiltshire, U.K.
Dyson Is Doubling Down On Robotics Research
Dyson's latest experimentation with robotics comes several years after it launched the Dyson 360 Eye robotic vacuum cleaner and is part of the company's increasing interest in artificial intelligence and robotics. As part of its plans to invest more in robotics research, the company this year hired 2,000 new employees, half of whom are engineers, scientists and coders. Dyson is also recruiting 250 robotics engineers with expertise in computer vision, machine learning, sensors and mechatronics. Plus, it expects to hire at least 700 more in the next five years.
Dyson is one of the many companies experimenting with robots that can do regular household chores, such as cleaning, washing, and vacuuming. The new-age technology opens up a tantalizing prospect of a world where reality would meet science-fiction, with people being able to get serious work done by robots without getting their hands dirty. This would not just save people from doing manual labor but also save significant amounts of time. That said, a world where robots can do household chores without missing a beat is still some way away, so it will be fascinating to see how Dyson's research unfolds in the years ahead.
Source: Dyson