Could Serge Be Your Grand Domestic Robot?

If you are into robotics (as I hope you are, you reading this aren't you?) and enjoy science fiction then surely you have been catching the series called "Caprica". Caprica is a spin off from the successful Battlestar Gallactica series remake. In the Caprica series a domestic robot by the name of Serge works at a home for a human family (Graystone). Serge seems to have been inspired by the Ballbot which is able to balance itself on a single spherical wheel while traveling about but what makes Serge interesting is the effortless ability to interact with humans and their home while providing a soothing human language response to commands. Serge practically is the brain of the home and it is able to freely move within it with a level of artificial intelligence that makes it seem sentient.






















I have always had the idea to create something like Serge today. Many technological aspects already exist today. Here are some basic "ingredients" to create Serge in 2010:

• Robotics: Use similar technology as used by the Ballbot or Anybot's Monty
• A.I.: A mix of speech recognition/feedback system as created by Tellme Networks and Artificial Neural Networks (ANN)
• Energy Source: Fuel cell technology
• Home Navigation: A mix of laser SLAM technology as used by the Neato XV-11, visual SLAM technology as seen on Samsung Tango and NorthStar as used on WowWee's Rovio.
• Home Automation: Medina's Home Automation System.
  

As you can see, the basics are there and it is just a matter of time for someone to start rolling out Serge. Would you have a need for one? As computer are being integrated more and more into other systems (phones, cars, televisions, homes, etc.) it is just a matter of time to have them integrated into domestic robots in the likes of Serge.