I do a lot household chores, including the most loathe chore in the history of mankind: toilet scrubbing. However, if a team of researchers over at the University of Koblenz-Landau have their way, this particular chore might be a thing of the past. Yes, that’s right. We are talking about a toilet-scrubbing robot. The Toilet Scrubbing Robot is not perfect yet, but it already proven to be a handy robot and perhaps, the single most important robotic development to date.
Based on PAL Robotics TIAGo mobile research platform, this toilet-scrubbing robot is able detect people, objects, and the toilet seat, and it has a microphone for speech recognition, as well as a mobile base for moving around. It does not look like a person though, but one it can approach a toilet, introduce liquid on the seat and even the floor surround the toilet. It can pick the filth, such as stray pieces of toilet paper and toilet rolls, on the floor too.
Granted, it is not particularly quick with the chore, but this little guy gets the job done nonetheless. Before you get too excited like I am, you and I ought to know that it will be quite a while before Toilet Scrubbing Robot hits the market. It is a start which, who knows, might be as common as Roomba? We may not be able to savor the fruits of the labor pioneered by Team Homer, a bunch of engineers from University of Koblenz-Landau in Germany, perhaps our grandchildren will.
Or maybe not. The researchers reckon the robot is probably too expensive for consumers; it is likely a machine of choice for public places like airports or malls. However, one of the researchers did not dismiss the possibility of a consumer-grade variety in “distant future.” I wonder what Skynet will think about humans demanding its kind to do such a crappy job? Likely not please.
Images: YouTube.
Source: Digital Trends.
