What Can We Expect from Future Robotic Nannies?

Parents are always looking for ways to juggle their daily responsibilities and care for their children efficiently. Though many parents can look to family members and friends for additional support, these helping hands can’t always be available whenever you need them. As artificial intelligence and smart technology advance, developers are looking for ways to digitally address home care and child care.

Robotic nannies and care support robots are becoming a more attractive prospect to parents who are looking to have extra help around the house while boosting their children’s emotional and physical well-being. Let’s take a deeper look into the duties these future robotic nannies can fulfill and how safe of an option this could be for parents.

Why Robotic Caregiving is Appealing to Parents

Hiring in-home help to assist parents with common household needs isn’t cheap and can far exceed any budget a traditional family has for childcare expenses. For a full-time nanny, parents can expect to pay between $2,564 and $3,765 per month. With the median household income in the US being just under $75,000, many parents realistically cannot afford the help they actually need.

Robotic caregiving could first and foremost reduce these expenses to a fraction of the cost. Though it is likely many tech developers will have parents pay for a subscription-based service to use any software that allows robotic nanny hardware to function properly, it will still be much cheaper than paying for a person to help out with childcare.

Beyond the budget-friendly benefits of robotic nannies, parents are also interested in how these AI machines can be directly optimized to fit their child’s specific needs and learning requirements. It can be difficult to find a nanny who has the right training and experience to deal with your child’s unique needs. AI caregivers would retain the data presented to them and learn how to navigate your child’s requirements to come up with the perfect care strategy. 

What Will Robotic Nannies Look Like?

An interesting aspect to consider about robot nannies is the physical design of these automated helpers. It’s fun to consider these machines will mimic the Rosey-esque design of the beloved robot housekeeper from The Jetsons, equipped with housekeeping tools in her metal abdomen. But, the design will likely mimic a child-friendly toy that will appeal more to the kids than the adults. Current robots for child wellness are furry, small, and cute, such as Nissan’s Iruyo robot which is used to calm and entertain children on the road.

Robot nannies may look more like children at first so your kids are more comfortable. iPal, a robot created by AvatarMind Robot Technology, is a child-sized humanoid bot that plays with your child while helping them out with bedtime responsibilities like brushing their teeth. Eventually, as the average child becomes more comfortable with these humanoid machines around the home, they may evolve to look more like parents, especially as technology refines enough to allow parents to leave their children in the unsupervised care of robots.

Physical and Emotional Support from Robotic Nannies

One responsibility of future robotic nannies is to tackle the common physical caregiving tasks that parents and guardians struggle to fulfill due to their busy schedules. This includes tasks like dressing the kids for school, mealtimes, diaper changes, and common cleaning duties. They will also assist with ensuring the safety of children around the house. They will likely perform similarly to current carebots on the market such as Honda’s ASIMO, which is used in Japan to assist older folks with navigating their home efficiently.

Ideally, robotic nannies will evolve to do these tasks with ease and without supervision. On the initial rollout of these more sophisticated models, we will likely see an increased emphasis on emotional support and care. This type of tech has already been implemented through robots like Moxie, a toy-like machine that promotes social wellness and development in children ages 5-10. Moxie prompts children to engage in conversation that allows it to present games and activities that address a child’s social weaknesses and improve them over time. Future robot nannies can work in conjunction with emotional care plans outlined by health professionals to address emotional development in ways parents simply can’t due to time restraints.

Maximizing Safety with Robotic Nannies

Safety is incredibly important for caregivers to maintain, and future robot nannies can stay on top of this with ease. They can assist with childproofing the home, reviewing each space to identify toxic products, addressing fire hazards, and gently shifting your child away from sharp objects like work tools or kitchen items. Robot nannies can also monitor your child’s health, assessing things like blood pressure, glucose levels, heart rate, and anxiety symptoms by encouraging thoughtful physical interactions through consistent play.

Childcare provider abuse is also a huge concern for many parents. Robotic nannies can come equipped with audio-visual recording technology so parents can easily monitor all interactions. This can be great for those who still want to employ a human nanny and want an interactive companion to oversee the care.

Outside of the home, there’s even the possibility that these robots could interface with systems such as smart street lights, which improve safety in cities. The robotic nanny could receive data on environmental safety and use it to optimize care for the child — this could even go as far as real-time updates on crime incidents and dangerous situations. Robotic nannies will be primed to keep kids out of harm’s way.

Preparing for a Robotic Future

Since robotic nannies are imminent in many ways, it’s important for parents to get familiar with this technology. You could introduce some of the modern tech outlined above to your home so you can see which elements are most appealing and beneficial for your household. Using these toys with your child is a great bonding opportunity that boosts tech literacy and increases comfort with society’s evolving enmeshment with AI.