Intrinsitivity

Robots Take on Social Tasks

A new device by iRobot Corp. resembles the company’s disc-shaped Roomba vacuum cleaner but has a webcam bulging from the top.

It’s designed to enable parents on a business trip to feel they’re almost at home. For example, a parent could remotely send the wheeled robot into a bedroom, where the children could open a book in front of the robot’s camera. The parent could then read the story aloud and watch and hear the kids’ reactions. The family could also converse.