Meta is studying how humans and robots can collaborate on housework
Meta on Friday announced PARTNR, a new program designed to study human-robot interaction (HRI). The research is specifically focused on how humans and robots might collaborate in the home environment. That includes mundane tasks like cleaning, cooking, and picking up food deliveries.
Automated housework is a decades-old dream, most prominently captured by Rosey on “The Jetsons.” The robot maid debuted on prime-time television more than 60 years ago but continues to be a popular touchstone when discussing the potential for sophisticated machines to remove some of the burden of household chores.
To date, however, only the robot vacuum has made significant headway in the market. There are numerous reasons why no other home robots have cracked the mainstream, including price, reliability, and limited functionality. It’s certainly not for lack of trying, nor is it due to consumer disinterest. It’s just that no other robot has hit the mark on both cost and feature set.
It’s likely that seeing more robots in the home will require improved collaboration with the people who own them. The first wave of home robots are unlikely to single-handedly manage chores. Even a good robot vacuum needs help from time to time. Meta is positioning PARTNR as both a benchmark and dataset to determine how people and robots might work together to get things done around the home.