In the 1960s (Jetsons-era television), the prevailing view of the 21st century was that we’d all be waited on by robots. Robot butlers were a sure thing. As sure as flying cars. I don’t mean to complain, but here we are a full ten years into the 21st century and I have neither a robot butler nor a flying car. Even the robots we do have seem to require us to actually do something. For example, FuRo Robotics‘ Wireless Intelligent Networked Device (WIND) allows operators (that is, humans) to control robotic devices through the use of a wearable harness. The harness detects and tracks the movement of the wearer, translating it into commands for a remotely controlled machine that mimics human action. Great! So, in order for the robot to pour me a beer, I have to pretend to amble over to the fridge and mime the actions of opening and pouring?

I’m kidding- sort of- and actually love to see this type of step forward. It just looks like the first step towards having a robot suit, as worn by Col Quaritch (Stephen Lang) in Avatar, pictured below, rather than a step towards Rosie.

[via PSFK, DVICE]