By Futurist Thomas Frey
I’ve been playing a mental game lately: walking through my daily routine and asking “could a robot do this?” Not “should” a robot do it, but could it—technically, economically, practically. The list grows longer every time I play.
Making coffee. Folding laundry. Mowing the lawn. Cleaning gutters. Walking the dog. Sorting mail. Watering plants. Taking out trash. The tasks I’d happily delegate to machines vastly outnumber the tasks I actually enjoy doing myself.
Which raises a fascinating question: how many robots will the average household actually own? Not in some distant sci-fi future, but in 2030, 2035, and 2040—time horizons close enough that we can make educated predictions based on technology that already exists or is clearly emerging.
The answer, I suspect, will surprise you. And it varies dramatically based on whether you’re suburban or rural, have kids or don’t, own your home or rent. Let’s break it down.
Continue reading… “How Many Robots Will You Own? A Timeline of the Automated Home”