鈥淭HE more that you read, the more things you will know,鈥� wrote Dr Seuss in I Can Read with My Eyes Shut. So news that robots have taken their first steps towards literacy (see 鈥淩obots learn to read the writing on the wall鈥�) is a welcome development for anyone wanting a smart domestic robot.
While an illiterate robot has to be walked through every new task that it is given, a literate robot can read and follow instructions on signs to work out for itself how to perform new chores quickly and efficiently. At least, that is the idea.
But, as followers of our Feedback section will know only too well, signs can be a source of confusion. Literate robots might encourage us to rationalise the ambiguities in our language, or their inability to follow signs might become a new form of entertainment.
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After a robotic chef has cooked a meal, will it be confused by a sign declaring: 鈥淩efuse to be put in bins鈥�? Will a computerised concierge approach a door differently if it is 鈥渁larmed鈥�? And how will a shopping robot react to a sign that stipulates 鈥渄ogs must be carried鈥�? The mind boggles.