This robotic maid takes us one step closer to 'The Jetsons'

Imagine this: You're rushing to get ready for work – juggling emails, kids and lunches – and your home is a disaster, with toys on the floor, a carpet that needs of vacuuming and spilled milk in the kitchen. To make matters worse, you have guests coming over in the evening and you won't have time to straighten up before they arrive. For the hyper-clean among us, this is the stuff of nightmares. But what if – instead of hiring a pricey maid service or offering profuse apologies to your guests – you could instruct a robot to do your dirty work? Such is the lofty promise of the Aeolus Robot, a child-size machine that wowed onlookers this week at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.