The Robot Apocalypse

Each year at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES), there seems to be a common key innovation that various companies deem worthy of showcasing. A few years ago, autonomous vehicles were demoed in a closed course. The year after that, it was all about VR, and people lined up to try on uncomfortable and sweaty headsets for a brief escape from the crowded meatspace. Last year, it was voice assistants, more specifically Amazon’s Alexa, which appeared in various speakers and headphones.

- Gadjo Cardenas Sevilla

2018, it seems, is the year of the robot. That is, if the companies banking on CES to promote their tech are to be believed.

Robots were everywhere in Las Vegas and while this might seem like an exciting peek into a new future, nothing could be farther from the truth.

Robots are nothing new

Robots have been around for ages, like Sony’s adorable AIBO pets over a decade ago. Sure, they were expensive and quite impractical, but a lot of their technology have been successfully used elsewhere. We now have vacuums and other autonomous devices that can be called robotic. Suffice to say, robots are nothing new. And while they are being made to look shiny, new, and smart, I think they’re still not ready for prime time.

A face and body for A.I. and smart assistants

During LG’s keynote at CES, VP David VanderWaal’s demo came to a screeching halt when he repeatedly invoked the CLOi kitchen robot (looks like WALL-E’s EVE) and it refused to respond.