Harmony on the homefront?

Are robots welcome in our homes? A qualitative study has revealed some interesting possibilities. Only one out of three households thinks automatic vacuum cleaners are worth the investment. The opinions of the others will be used to develop the appliances of the future. Will there be lots of gadgets under the family Christmas tree this year? By the back door, robotic vacuums are bringing cyberstuff into daily life; they're among the first autonomous devices that can be easily used by ordinary households. That's all the impetus scientists needed to seize the opportunity and do a study. Understanding to what extent robots will influence daily life in the future is in fact one of the central issues. In 2011, a team from EPFL conducted a qualitative study on household robots.