Ever wish your pets could talk to you? Tell you what’s on their mind? Well, in the future there will almost certainly be an app for that. More and more pet-lovers will opt for smart, sustainable robotic companions! It’s not as weird as it sounds!
LUXURIOUS ANIMALS
We all love our pets, and they enrich our lives in so many ways. Pet owners are happier and healthier than average and pet ownership is famously linked to longevity. No wonder cute, cuddly animals are increasingly being used in so-called animal-assisted therapy to treat a whole range of diseases.
Still, every pet owner knows there are some downsides: caring for a pet every day is a lot of work and can be very time-consuming, especially since people are spending more and more time away from home.
Scientists are only beginning to examine the sustainability of pet-ownership. Our beloved animals rely heavily on a whole array of consumer products, some of which are extremely resource-intensive to produce. Having an animal in your home raises your carbon footprint and water usage.
With the world’s human population exploding, a global food and water crisis is looming. This means that pet ownership as we know it will be seen as a luxury in the future.
A. NEW BREED
Today there are over half a million electric vehicles on the road around the world, up from virtually zero just a few years ago. If the trend toward electric cars also continues, as many expect it will, then it’s a safe bet that the car of the future will be both battery powered and self driven.
It will take innovative new battery design to meet the self-driven car’s new energy needs combined with the already considerable energy needs of an electric motor. Will car-makers ensure that their innovations do not cause further harm to the planet?
FORM PET-ROCK TO PET-WHO-ROCKS
Loving a robot is not as weird as it sounds. People always project a lot of their own imagination onto their pets’ personalities as it is (this accounts for the success of the Pet Rock – basically the Tamagotchi of the 1970s). We like to think we understand out pets, what they are thinking, and how they feel about us.
Pet robots will really only be an attractive alternative if they can do all the fun stuff that real pets can do. Some amazing recent breakthroughs in artificial-intelligence research will soon enable manufacturers to create more lifelike robots – including pets – than ever before.
In early 2015 researchers with UC-Berkeley’s CITRIS program announced new work focusing on so-called “deep-learning” techniques, which enable robots to learn from their own experiences, similarly to the way humans do. This means robots will become more authentic and can even develop a unique character based on their experiences, exactly the way a person’s life experiences shape his or her personality.
Anyone who’s ever trained a puppy knows that dogs also learn from experience. If researchers continue to push toward smarter, more adaptable human-like robots, it will open up the door for robots who can learn and act like other species.
PAWS THAT YOU CAN PAUSE
It’s important that robotic pets require love and attention from their owners in order to form the same kind of bonds we now feel for our real-life animals. Your robotic pet may be easier to love, but you should still feel responsible for taking care of it.
Imagine a dog you never have to walk in the rain, never have to housebreak. Why not a talking pet who says what an animal really thinks? Your robotic pet can also be paused or set to stand-by if there is ever a time when you aren’t available to give it the attention is needs.
Not only will robotic pets become more lifelike going forward, they will become a lot easier (and maybe even more fun!) than the real thing.
This is just one of the many ways that robotics will be revolutionizing humankind going forward. The demands and challenges facing our planet in the future will require cultural as well as technological changes.
Loving a robot is not as weird as it sounds.
By Will Gibbens – Table Talk Communications for stay amazed every day
