One of the biggest barriers to families having more children is the expense and difficulty of childcare.
If the parents are young, they typically don't have much money. And daycare is expensive, especially in urban centers.
For example, in New York City, the average cost of day care is $2,870 per month for 130 hours. (Care, 2024)
As of 2023, "[a] New York City family would have to make more than $300,000 a year to meet the federal standard for affordability — which recommends that child care take up no more than 7 percent of total household income — to pay for just one young child’s care. In reality, a typical city family is spending over a quarter of their income to pay for that care, according to the U.S. Department of Labor." (Shapiro, 2023)
Older parents typically have more money. But the bodies of elderly parents start to fail much earlier. Their energy levels flag, their eyesight dims, their muscles atrophy. A sleepless night caring for a colicky baby might leave a young parent groggy but functional. An elderly parent might become so discombobulated that they become a hazard to themselves and others.
Robot nannies offer the potential for both a) much lower cost of childcare b) and critical support for elderly parents whose bodies are beginning to fail.
The terms of the RoboNanny Prize are still being worked out. But the winner must meet all of the common terms of the Genesis Prizes and the following:
Change a diaper.
Prepare a bottle of milk / formula.
Lift and soothe a baby.
Identify dangerous conditions (not breathing, blue pallor) and alert medical authorities.
Put baby in a car safety seat.
Carry baby in backpack.
Push toddler on a swing.
Clean/dry/fold/put away a load of laundry.
Cost less than $20 K (2024 dollars)
Fit through standard North American doors.
Climb standard North American stairs.
Last 24 hours on a single charge.
Change its own battery pack.
Cook pancakes.
Make a smoothie / baby food.
Note, that the RoboNanny doesn't have to be a single robot that does all of the above. It could be two or more separate robots that specialize in a given set of tasks.
Footnotes
(Bryson, 2021) “The Future of Robot Nannies.”, Joanna J. Bryson, Ronny Bogani
IdeasDec 17, 2021
https://www.wired.com/story/roboto-nannies-ethics-liability/
(Care, 2024)
https://www.care.com/cost/child-care/new-york-ny
(Shapiro, 2023)
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/11/nyregion/child-care-nyc.html
Selected Bibliography
Inside Japan’s long experiment in automating elder care
https://www.technologyreview.com/2023/01/09/1065135/japan-automating-eldercare-robots/
"Japan has been developing robots to care for older people for over two decades, with public and private investment accelerating markedly in the 2010s. By 2018, the national government alone had spent well in excess of $300 million funding research and development for such devices. "
'This is awful': robot can keep children occupied for hours without supervision
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/sep/29/ipal-robot-childcare-robobusiness-san-jose
"The 3ft tall iPal has wide eyes, working fingers, pastel trimming, and a touchscreen tablet on its chest. It can sing, dance, and play rock paper scissors. It can talk with children, answer questions like “Why is the sun hot?”, and provide surveillance/video chat for absent parents.
“It’s a robot for children,” said Avatar Mind founder Jiping Wang. “It’s mainly for companionship.” The iPal, he boasted, could keep children aged three to eight occupied for “a couple of hours” without adult supervision. It is perfect for the time when children arrive home from school a few hours before their parents get off work, he said."
Ford made a crib that acts like a car
https://money.cnn.com/2017/04/07/technology/ford-crib-max/index.html?iid=EL
"The Max Motor Dreams looks like a designer bassinet from the outside, except with a large FORD logo. A speaker under the baby plays engine sounds. The base of the crib slowly rocks from side to side, simulating the sensation of a moving car. The rim of the crib is lined with LED lights that turn on an off, like passing under streetlights."
"A high-tech bassinet, called the Snoo, kept my son -- now almost six months old -- soothed all night. (He's since graduated to the crib).
The product was developed by famed pediatrician Dr. Harvey Karp, MIT-trained engineers and Yves Behar, whose industrial design firm has worked with companies like Samsung, Prada and Kodak.
The Snoo, which took five years to develop, recreates sensations experienced in the the womb. During those first few months of life, often referred to as "the fourth trimester," newborns are most comforted when they hear white noise, feel movement and are swaddled.
The Snoo does all three: You place the baby into a sleeper outfit securely attached in the bassinet. My husband and I referred to this as the "straight jacket" due to its lack of wiggle room. The Snoo senses when a child is fussy and moves from side to side until the baby is calm. You can set the rocking to continue through the night or turn off after eight minutes. You can also control the speed and white noise through the accompanying app."
https://money.cnn.com/2017/08/10/technology/gadgets/snoo-review/index.html
Design and experiment of online monitoring system for long-term culture of embryo
"In the study of embryo development process, the morphological features at different stages are essential
to evaluate developmental competence of the embryo, which can be used to optimize and improve the system for in-vitro
embryo culture. In this paper, an online monitoring system was designed for long-term culture of embryos, based on a
monitoring strategy of low-magnification search and high-magnification observation"
https://www.weaverobots.com/
"Isaac will autonomously tidy up endless messes, fold your laundry, and care for your home while you’re away.
Isaac acts when you give it a voice or text command, or when you program an automation in our app.
When Isaac isn't needed, its camera folds and turns off, its torso lowers, and it stows in the enclosure that's included with your order."
Unitree G1 - $16 K mass produced humanoid robot
Specs: https://www.unitree.com/g1
Official Website: www.unitree.com
Twitter: twitter.com/UnitreeRobotics
Youtube: / @unitreerobotics
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/unitreerobotics