Why robots are not quite ready to take over the housework

AMONG the many tasks that could one day be performed by robots, few will be sad to see the back of mundane household chores.

But for those looking forward to the day they no longer have to toil in the kitchen and bathroom, a new exhibition at the V&A museum might be about to dash their hopes.

While robots are now capable of performing backflips and holding face-toface conversations, one of the stars of the Future Starts Here exhibition takes 15 minutes to perform the simple task of folding a towel.

Brett, a hi-tech robot designed by engineers at the University of Berkeley, will appear among innovations ranging from clothing that charges phones to a solar-powered aircraft with a wingspan of 131ft at the London museum’s showcase of some of the world’s most advanced robotic creations.

Curator Rory Hyde said: “It is the cutting edge of artificial intelligence and yet it is fascinating to watch how hard it is for a machine to do something that we do almost without thinking.

“The robots are coming but they’re not coming that quickly.”

Other prototypes due to go on display include Aquila, a huge aircraft run on solar power, which is being designed by Facebook in a hangar in Somerset. The project is part of a drive to make air travel affordable and to help link developing regions of the world with limited connectivity.

“It sort of redefines your notions of progress,” Hyde told the Guardian.

Hyde and fellow curator Mariana Pestana also plan to display a shirt capable of charging a mobile phone, a drone ship that can clean up oil spills, and an automated baby seal to help elderly people suffering from dementia.

The exhibition, opening in May next year, is the first major show produced by the Sainsbury Gallery’s design, architecture and digital department.