According to a survey carried out by Persuadable Research in January 2012, majority of people are in favor of domestic robots. When most people think about robots, they usually conjure up those that they have read in books or have viewed in movies.
Domestic robot
According to the survey, it is evident that majority of people think that domestic robots are useful and can perform a number of tasks. The list of tasks that they expect from a domestic robot is quite lengthy.
Some of the main tasks include providing home security and moving heavy things around. Other tasks include doing the laundry, washing dishes and floors and cleaning windows; others wanted their domestic robots to act like a personal assistant and remind them about important things; a smaller number of people wanted the robots to help with the elderly, disabled, or to function as babysitters. In fact almost 41% said that they would opt for a loan to pay for a domestic robot.
Some respondents said that robots must have a more humanlike voice, but must not sound too old or young. About 51% of respondents preferred that the voice must be neutral, neither too masculine nor too feminine. It must be more colorful, humanlike, round and allow for personal design.
However, about 29% of respondents said that they would not purchase a robot; 28% wanted the robot to cost less than $999; another 20% would shell out up to $4,999; 10% would be willing to pay about $14,999; and another 13% would pay over $15,000.
The survey shows that there is definitely a market for domestic robots. However, it would take some time before they come into the market.