Dyson is firmly of the view that we need to do less of this cleaning nonsense. "Our future vision is of a home that can look after itself," says Dyson's chief technology officer John Churchill. "Our engineers continue to employ technologies to reduce the cognitive burden on our owners, saving time, energy, and effort … a true set-and-forget mindset." Perhaps this is bad time to mention that according to a recent study in Neurology, completing household chores may actually lower the risk of dementia? Churchill is holding court at Dyson's global headquarters, St James Power Station, in Singapore, during a splashy three-day press trip in April.

The LightStrike robot in use at the San Diego hospital is a box on wheels with a mushroom-shaped light sticking out of it. It's so powerful, the company says, it can disinfect a space of 99.99 percent of the virus that causes covid-19 in less than five minutes. That's something humans can't achieve as quickly, although humans are still needed for general cleaning and sanitizing, as well as operating the robot. For now, the robots are increasing staffing levels, if anything, given the demands for sanitation amid the pandemic, Mandalia said.

Coronavirus patients with mild symptoms are quarantined at hotels in Tokyo staffed by robots. Five hotels are around the city are using robots to help limit the spread, one being the world's first social humanoid Pepper. 'Please, wear a mask inside,' it says in a perky voice to welcome those moving into the hotel and also offers words of support - 'I hope you recover as quickly as possible.' Other facilities have employed AI-powered robots that disinfect surfaces to limit the need of human workers who are at risk of being exposed. Coronavirus patients with mild symptoms are quarantined at hotels in Tokyo staffed by robots.

Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. announced a few hours back that it will integrate its artificial intelligence (AI) voice assistant Bixby with a wide range of home appliances in order to achieve its vision of establishing an Internet-of-Things (IoT) ecosystem. In case you missed my previous post on CES 2018 and Samsung showcasing smart appliances, click here. Headquartered in South Korea, the global leader held a press conference in Seoul demonstrating how consumers can develop their own at-home IoT ecosystem with its AI voice recognition system being integrated into consumer electronics such as television sets, refrigerators, air conditioners, ovens, vacuum cleaners and washing machines. According to Kim Hyun-suk, head of Samsung's consumer electronics division, the integration of AI into home appliances will increase consumer convenience. "As Samsung already declared its AI vision at this year's Consumer Electronics Show in January, we have been trying to make all Samsung-connected devices intelligent by 2020," Kim said.

The Deebot Ozmo 601 (left) next to the iRobot Braava (right). It's funny how the path of ascendance for Chinese tech upstarts seem to always involve competing with an American product with a lower-cased "I" in its name. In the smartphone world, Huawei, Xiaomi and Vivo are ultimately competing with the iPhone more than they are against each other; and in the world of robot cleaners, Suzhou-based Ecovacs Robotics' rapid rise means its products are constantly being compared with those from Massachusetts-based iRobot. In fact, the tech website Wirecutter (a Forbes partner) last year picked from a selection of top entry-level robot cleaners and Ecovacs' Deebot N79 came out on top, with iRobot's Roomba 690 as runner-up. Ecovacs loaned me a unit to review, but since my friend has raved about her Braava 380T for months, I opted for a comparison of both models.

South Korea's LG Electronics on Monday introduced its latest robot vacuum cleaner that is "smarter and stronger" than predecessors, with an improved artificial intelligence platform with 3-D sensors. The newly launched LG Cordzero R9 ThinQ features LG's AI platform Deep ThinQ whose navigation capabilities are reinforced with 3-D Dual Eye sensors. It is the first time the company equipped the AI platform to its robot cleaners for commercialization. Models showcase LG's newest robot vacuum cleaners (LG Electronics) The sensors help the cleaners learn about details of an indoor space, including locations of obstacles to stop by or bypass within a wide angle view of 160 degrees, the company said. By adopting a smart AI turbo, the new cleaner models can sense dusty areas, such as carpets and corners, where they need to increase suction power and adjust the brush and speed.

Robotic vacuum cleaners, washer dryers and dishwashers are popular among two-income households, as they afford families more free time by relieving them of daily chores, according to electronics makers and retailers. Electronics chain Bic Camera Inc. said the number of robot cleaners it sold in the first half of 2017 increased 20 percent from the year before. U.S. manufacturer iRobot Corp. has introduced low-end Roomba robot vacuums priced below ¥60,000 with a system that allows users to control the machine with their smartphones. The system was previously limited to high-end models. Hitachi Ltd. and Panasonic Corp. are among the Japanese firms offering robot cleaners, with their products sold mainly in the ¥60,000 range.

Researches have pulled inspiration from man's best friend in order to better understand robots. By attaching a fluffy dog-tail to a Roomba, the team was able to determine the state of the machine. A'happy' wag meant the system was working properly, 'sad' communicated there was a problem and'tired' referenced to the robot's battery life. Researches have pulled inspiration from man's best friend in order to better understand robots. The key component in their design turned out to be an iRobot Roomba--a robot cleaner--this time with a fluffy, actuated tail that wagged like a dog's Researches from the University of Manitoba set out to find ways that could help people understand a robot's emotions.

FUKUSHIMA – Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc. said Monday that it will use a robot cleaner to remove sediment inside reactor 2 at its disaster-stricken Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant. The move is designed to make a full-fledged investigation into the reactor by another robot with cameras and dosimeters easier. The robot cleaner, to be placed in the reactor on Tuesday, will jet high-pressure water to remove sediment in the way of the investigative robot. The sediment may contain melted nuclear fuel in addition to corrosive coating materials. The robot cleaner will blow away sediment with water at pressures of some 7.5 megapascals and remove remaining fragments with a device similar in shape to a snowplow.