Over the next 20 years, the presence of robots will dramatically increase in our daily lives. Unlike the first wave of automation, which took place deep inside factories and warehouses, this next wave will be up close and personal. Eventually, we will have robots in our homes, schools, stores, hotels, restaurants, hospitals, city streets … pretty much everywhere. They will serve as maids, gardeners, companions, waiters, security guards, journalists, nurses, teachers, playmates, receptionists, chauffeurs, soldiers, and prostitutes. And that is just a few of the roles robots will assume. These robots will be intelligent, autonomous, communicative, emotional, and will continually progress in their abilities. Ready or not, it’s coming. And sooner than you might think.

This book describes what we can expect in terms of robot advances over the next two decades, particularly in the area of human-interactive robots. We provide an in-depth look at how American consumers will react to this dramatic social, economic, and marketplace revolution. Our insights come from national surveys we conducted with over 2,700 Americans, as well as a thorough review of existing academic research and expert predictions. We provide suggestions for acceptable robot roles, robot design, and the optimal marketplace approaches to successful human-robot interactions and, yes, even successful human-robot bonding. This book provides valuable insights for robot manufacturers, companies considering using robots in consumer-facing roles and for consumers themselves who will be increasingly interacting with robots in their everyday lives. If you want to understand our future, you need to understand robots.

Keywords

robots; robotics; artificial intelligence; affective computing; androids; consumer behavior; marketing; customer service