Google may enter home assistant robot market, new patent says

Google is now seeking a patent for a new advanced home assistant robot as the Mountain View tech giant is looking for a potential entry to the home assistant robot market that can automatically move without your interference.

The US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) recently published a 27-page document that details Google’s plan. In its own words, Google’s potential new robot can help you communicate with others, move to specific locations within a room and then adjust its location and behavior based on your preference and the task at hand, and just more.

For instance, as Google describes, if you ask your robot whether your child is ready for school, the robot can go to the child’s location, ask them, and then relay the response back to you. It can also remind you to clean your bedroom or ask your child if they’ve cleaned theirs.

Google says that automated assistants often struggle with autonomous navigation and they can’t really assist with tasks that involve moving to different locations. And that’s where the idea of this robot patent was coming from.

“As computing devices facilitate interactions between automated assistants and users, most computing devices cannot autonomously navigate to various destinations without being manually controlled by a user,” the tech giant says.

Google, a part of Big Tech, is a leading player in the home assistant market.

Earlier this year, the company transitioned the Nest Protect smoke and CO alarm to the Hogle Home app so that alerts and controls are coming through Home, while keeping the Nest app in maintenance mode. The company is also now enlisted alongside Apple and Samsung to accept Matter certification for smart home products.