The next evolution of smart homes isn’t about smarts – it’s about personality, thanks to some new initiatives by companies like Apple, finds Satyen K. Bordoloi.
Remember that adorable lamp hopping over Pixar’s logo? Apple just turned that bouncing bundle of curiosity into reality! While we were busy teaching our smart lights and fridges to connect to the internet, Apple was cooking up something far more delicious – they’re teaching our home gadgets to have actual personalities. And they’re hardly the only ones.
This is 2025, where your lamp doesn’t just light up your room – it’ll try to brighten your day! Apple’s latest brainchild, ELEGNT (that’s Expressive and Functional Movement Design for those keeping score), is basically a charm school for house bots. Instead of just having machines that do stuff we want them to, Apple is trying to turn them into companions that can throw attitude your way.
Picture this: A desk lamp that doesn’t just illuminate your late-night reading but does it with style. Apple’s test subject is basically Luxo Jr.’s (the lamp in the logo) cousin – a sophisticated 6-axis robotic arm topped with a light and projector that can swing, sway, and maybe even grove with you a little. It’s not just about turning on and off; it’s about turning heads – and its own, and turning mundane tasks into fun ones using AI.
The magic lies in ELEGNT’s approach to movement. Traditional robots only care about getting from point A to point B and doing the task assigned. ELEGNT, on the other hand, is like a cool coach who knows it’s not just what you do but how you do it. The framework teaches robots to move with intention, attention, and emotion—three things we never thought we’d associate with kitchen appliances!
During testing, people weren’t just impressed by what the lamp could do; they were charmed by how it did it. The difference is between someone mechanically waving a hello and a friend’s enthusiastic greeting. The lamp leans in when “listening,” bobs excitedly when completing a task, and even droops sadly if it can’t help. Gear up to buy a lamp based on its body language, not just how bright it can light up your table.
But why stop at lamps? Imagine your Roomba taking a cute victory lap after cleaning up the house or your smart TV giving you a cheeky wink before starting your favourite show. And why not have a coffee maker do a morning stretch as you reach it to brew the first cup of your day? This is using science to animate objects—almost like turning our home into a real-life Pixar movie set.
The implications go beyond making you feel like your home is ‘alive’. Imagine an education robot that can express enthusiasm when students get answers right. In healthcare, imagine one that can express patience listening to your old parents. And wouldn’t a shopping assistant robot that swirls with joy when it finds you the perfect product inspire customers to hit the mall?
Of course, Apple isn’t the only one doing cool robot stuff. Boston Dynamics has been making robots move in ways that can put some TikToker to shame. Their robots Spot and Atlas aren’t just agile; they’re practically ready for Jhalak Dikhla Jaa. Proof? The viral videos of their robots doing synchronised dance routines. Boston Dynamic wasn’t showing off. They were, but not just that. They wanted to show that robots can move in ways that can make us smile as much as they can get the job done.
And let’s not forget two pioneers who paved the way: Nao and Pepper. These two adorable humanoid robots acquired by SoftBank Robotics, have been working the charm offensive since before AI was as desirable as bun-muska with hot Irani chai. They – since 2004 for Nao and 2014 for Pepper – have proven that robots don’t need to look human to connect with humans – they just need relatable movement and gestures.
The timing couldn’t be better. 2025 is shaping up to be the Year of the Robot, with the first wave of humanoid robots slated to hit shelves soon. And thanks to frameworks like ELEGNT, most of them won’t just be doing their stipulated tasks but perhaps make you feel less lonely than you are.
Yet, the real game-changer would be about how this could transform our relationship with technology. Instead of homes filled with cold, efficient machines, we just might be surrounded by helpful companions who understand and respond to our emotional needs as much as our work commands. A house need not be filled with lifeless gadgets but be a place of dancing, joyful machines working together to make your life not just easier but more entertaining.
Call it the rebirth of the Internet of Things, IoT 2.0 – where your devices don’t just connect to the net; they make the effort to connect with you. And it’ll be a rebirth of your home as well. Won’t you feel happy to come back to a house full of gadgets that compete with your dog about who’s happier to see you? The challenge, of course, is to make gadgets charming without making them creepy. Yes, I’m talking about Uncanny Valley. No customer should be left stranded there.
The second task would be finding that sweet spot between engagement and efficiency. What’s the use of personality if they can’t get their jobs done? We want gadgets, not politicians.
The robot revolution is coming. And it’s a delight knowing that it’ll not be led by monotonic bots the likes of which we have seen in sci-fi films, but by ones with personalities of their own. With frameworks like ELEGNT leading the way, the future would see us with homes that have a heart versus one’s today that are merely ‘smart’. The choice, I believe, is as inevitable as the virality of Boston Dynamics’ dancing videos.
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