Apple's Vision for Domestic Automation: Introducing the Next Generation Home-Based Robot Assistant

Apple’s Vision for Domestic Automation: Introducing the Next Generation Home-Based Robot Assistant | Tech Analysis

Westend61/Getty Images

We’ve long been fascinated with the idea of having robots around the house to take care of daily chores, freeing us up for more interesting pursuits. Though it would be cool to think that a robot like the Jetsons’ Rosey is just around the corner, we’re going to have to wait a bit longer for that future.

Even so, that vision has prompted Apple to investigate the world of robotics to see what would be possible in the short term. The company is currently in the early phases of figuring out how best to use robotics , as Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman said in his latest Power On newsletter. If the efforts bear fruit, we could potentially see mobile robots and even humanoid models sometime in the next decade.

For now, Apple is eyeing a way to add robotics to other devices, an idea the company first cooked up around 2020, according to Gurman. Likely popping up around 2026 or 2027, the first test product in this vein will be a tabletop device with the codename J595. It will feature a large display similar to the iPad with cameras and a base that includes a robotic actuator arm.

Also: Six levels of autonomous work: How AI augments, then replaces

With this robotic arm attached, the device could swivel around to face you if you need to hop on a video call or check out a website for recipes while in the kitchen. This concept could even lead to more advanced machines capable of loading a washing machine or cleaning dirty dishes.

However, Gurman stressed that these concepts are so far into the future that, for now, they only exist as rough sketches on a whiteboard.

At this point, Apple’s overarching goal with robotics is to solve some of the limitations and challenges we face with today’s computers and mobile devices.

Newsletters

ZDNET Tech Today

ZDNET’s Tech Today newsletter is a daily briefing of the newest, most talked about stories, five days a week.

See all

Gurman noted several examples of these limitations. For instance, you might want to use your computer or mobile phone, but it’s in another location at home or elsewhere. Maybe you want to take photos of a scene or kick off a video chat, but you’re not directly in front of your device. You may want to check or operate something at your home while you’re away. In each of these situations, robotic technology would allow you to control a device from afar.

Also: How I used ChatGPT to scan 170k lines of code in seconds and save me hours of detective work

The road to robotics has gotten a push from the latest developments in artificial intelligence (AI) . Any future robotic device would clearly rely on AI for its internal smarts. In a Power On newsletter from April, Gurman said that Apple has been exploring the development of personal robots. Powered by embedded AI, such a product would act like a mobile assistant that follows you around the house.

Of course, even a robot needs a personality. Though Siri is the voice of the iPhone, iPad, and other Apple products, the company is developing a different technology for its robots. Gurman said the new interface, based on generative AI, would eventually run on the tabletop unit and other Apple robotic devices.

Beyond AI, Apple could also fine-tune robotic devices through its expertise in sensors, advanced silicon, engineering, and batteries, Gurman explained. Even further, the company might be able to help a robotic assistant navigate by applying its knowledge of how to map spaces around devices.

Also: Linus Torvalds talks AI, Rust adoption, and why the Linux kernel is ‘the only thing that matters’

Still, success is far from guaranteed. Apple had been working on a self-driving car project for almost ten years. However, that project faced a number of obstacles, eventually forcing the company to shut it down earlier this year. Apple doesn’t win at every attempt at a new product – no matter how many people and other resources are thrown at it.

Yes, you can already get robots that roam the house today. But your average contemporary robot is a simple device, more of a novelty than an advanced mechanical person. As Gurman notes, home robots would have to surmount technical challenges in order to truly succeed – like learning how to navigate the average multi-level house, not just one level the way a smart vacuum can.

As with any new and advanced technology, the first robotic devices will cost Apple a lot to build (and customers a lot to buy). Though the company has already brought in top robotics experts, it will need more engineers and other talent to create products that will both work and sell.

Still, if Apple can succeed with robotics, the company will have found another way to potentially improve life for those of us who always wished we had our own personal Rosey.