Can Taiwan make robo-maids?

Taiwan is poised to become a key developer of consumer robots that perform household chores thanks to its expertise in producing technology products and computer chips, experts said earlier this week.

"We are currently looking at establishing partnerships in Taiwan to produce home appliances," Philippe Millieret, a spokesman for French technology developer Wany Robotics said in a telephone interview last weekend. "Taiwan has the technological know-how in personal computers and peripheral products that has applications in robotics."

Taiwan is also a stepping stone to Asia's largest market.

"Taiwan is the main point of access to China," Millieret said. "One specific thing about Asia is its hunger for technology. Asia is more advanced in this respect than countries in Europe and North America."

One product many and potential Taiwanese partners could work on is a robotic camera that can roam freely round the home looking for naughty children that are not doing their homework, Millieret explained.

Using infrared sensors the camera avoids obstacles, and artificial intelligence software allows it to locate and recognize specific individuals. If the kids are playing hooky, the camera sends a message to the parent or guardian via e-mail, short messaging service (SMS) to a mobile phone, or a pre-recorded audio message. Mom or pop can then call home and tell the kids to hit the books.

The robotic smart camera could also be used for home security.

Homes could soon be populated by other bionic maids. Wany is launching a smart vacuum cleaner that also recharges itself when its batteries are low at the beginning of next year, and chip designer VIA Technologies Inc (威盛電子) is working on a range of robots with Stamford Research Institute in a program called CentiBots.

"Robots are becoming very useful in many applications, not just defense and disaster recovery," VIA's chief executive officer and president Chen Wen-chi (陳文琦) said at the VIA Technology Forum in Taipei on Wednesday. "In the future if you want coffee, you ask your robot instead of asking your spouse who might resent your demand. The good thing about a robot is that it never complains."

VIA designs chips that use very little power and do not get hot when performing complicated artificial intelligence calculations, VIA's robotics spokesman Timothy Brown said in an interview last week.

The robotic vacuum cleaner is already on the market. For US$250 you can buy the Roomba from iRobot, a spin-off company of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Artificial Intelligence Lab and part-owned by Acer Inc. Since its launch last year, 200,000 Roomba's have been snapped up, CEO and founder Colin Angle said yesterday.

"The exciting thing about the Roomba is that the technology is very acceptable to everyone," Angle said. "If you care about a clean home, you're a potential customer for the Roomba."

But to reach the US$250 price tag, Taiwan lost the Roomba to manufacturers in China -- even for the computer chips.

"Something iRobot is proud of is getting performance at a low price using Chinese microprocessors and manufacturing," Angle said.