Who can forget Rosie, The Jetsons’ beloved housekeeper? She was a humanoid robot who ran the family’s space home in the sky. Rosie was the engine that kept the family home running, the flying car working, and the Jetsons children clothed and fed. She was a bona-fide member of family, and as such, it was easy to forget that Rosie, in her frilly apron and brandishing a feather duster, was actually a machine.
Today, a future where Rosies run our homes still seems distant, if not completely implausible, but over the past decade, a small army of ‘smart’ home appliances has started to creep into our daily lives. Connected to the internet, these objects can tell us when our food is off, brew coffee just the way we like it, and even do our shopping. They’re not quite Rosies, but these convenient machines are starting to run our lives.
But as the conversations around privacy and data heat up, is the future of these objects might be in jeopardy. Just how much are we willing to trade for the convenience of automated coffee in the morning?
Icon editor Priya Khanchandani sat down with Panasonic’s Creative Director, Takehiro Ikeda, and Alexandra Deschamps-Sonsino, designer and author of the upcoming book ‘Smarter Homes: How technology has changed your home life’, at the Arper showroom in London to find out more.
