Willow Garage’s Personal Robot 2 with two friends.

The good news is that, relatively soon,  it looks like there will be tech options — including in-home robots — that can help them stay put.

The technology is getting more adaptable and more affordable. Rethink Robotics sells Baxter, an industrial robot, for $22,000 now and, with the advent of a new software development kit, Baxter could be adapted for new markets. Rethink’s CTO and founder Rodney Brooks hopes that geriatric care will be one of them.  Speaking at the Techonomy Conference last week, Brooks said:

“I think absolutely elder care is going to be an incredible pull on automation technology, because people want to stay in their homes longer, and the demographics is much more older people. This, by the way, is true in China now too. You know, a young Chinese person now has two parents and four grandparents who don’t have anyone else but that person.”

So there’s … going to be a real pull for how technology lets people be independent longer. And I’m hoping that someone will come up with some provocative things with Baxter for that.”

 Research: Older Americans are receptive to robotic help

Technology is one thing. The willingness to use it is another. And new research out of Georgia Tech  shows that acceptance of in-home robot help among older people may be growing. Researcher Cory-Ann Smarr, a PhD candidate in Engineering Psychology at the school, said a survey of 21 people between the ages of 65 and 93, showed them open to using robots for some tasks — but also very picky about which tasks those would be.

“They were fine with a robot reminding them to take their medications but not so fine about a robot telling them what medications to take,” Smarr told me in a recent interview.

Most of the respondents — who were shown a video of the Willow Garage PR-2 robot performing jobs — seemed pretty tech savvy already.  Most were proficient users of cell phones, recordable and programmable devices like thermostats and coffee makers. Most (71.4 percent) said they used a computer so these respondents were not tech neophytes and may not be typical of older seniors in the broader population. Recent Pew Research on smartphone ownership found that just 11 percent of adults over the age of 65 have smartphones, compared to 34 percent of those aged 50 to 64 year. Still, it’s interesting that they did not shoot down the notion of a robot helper.

While there’s been talk of robots in the home for decades — Roomba helped blaze the trail — there’s really nothing out there that looks like a robotic butler or maid. But given the economics of aging, the option of staying in a home that’s paid for versus selling that home to pay for facility living is undoubtedly attractive. Since assisted care facilities can cost anywhere from $1,500 to $5,000 per month, the notion of buying a $22,000 robot — assisted at times by human helpers — might not be beyond the pale.

And more people will face that choice than ever. The most recent U.S. census data shows that the percentage of Americans over the age of 62 grew 21.1 percent between 2000 and 2010 — the second fastest growing demographic after the 45 to 64 year age group which grew 31.5 percent in that period. And, the AARP estimates that the number of US adults over the age of 65 will nearly double in the next 20 years.

Companies that can build adaptable and afforable robots to fill this growing need could be big, big winners going forward.

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The chips that power today’s smartphones and tablets are expanding to robots as Texas Instruments and iRobot announced a new partnership on Monday. TI’s OMAP platform will be used by iRobot — maker of the Roomba and Scooba service robots — to help develop new robotic technologies.

The partnership is a fitting match. Between its home and government service robots, iRobot has sold more than 7.5 million units, helping to move the robotics market forward. Clearly, it’s a leader in this space. And Texas Instruments is no slouch in the chip department. The company’s OMAP platform powers a number of currently popular mobile devices, such as the Samsung Galaxy Nexus, Motorola’s Droid Razr and the Amazon Kindle Fire.

So why does iRobot need a mobile platform like the OMAP from TI? It’s all about the sensors and chip capabilities. Here’s what TI says, via email, that the OMAP platform will bring to the table:

• Targeted accelerators for multimedia, graphics, imaging and display
• High-performance, dual-external memory interfaces with short path (POP memory)
• Wide bus architecture (direct memory access for processors, accelerators, peripherals)
• Hardware and software support for the most advanced power management techniques
• Multiple power and voltage domains for advanced partitioning
• Unmatched imaging features, built from TI’s years of experience in digital still-camera deployments: fastest camera interface on the market, and dedicated software libraries

But this shouldn’t be surprising if you’ve been following the mobile device market. I called this trend of smartphone guts powering robots in a detailed report back in August of 2010 (subscription required), saying:

Back in 2004, we added an R2D2 Interactive Astromech droid to our family and the li’l fella has provided hours of fun: He dances, plays hide-and-seek and of course plays back memorable sound bites from the Star Wars franchise movies.

So robots in the home aren’t necessarily a new concept, but the ones I envision in a not-too-distant future will leverage various technologies of the smartphone, thanks to advances in chips, various sound and sight sensors, wireless broadband and software.

I also pointed out several examples of leveraging smartphone technology to make smarter robots: Faster chips for better “brains”; integrated connectivity for advanced services and a way to tap vast information stores; and sensor support adding “senses” such as eyesight, hearing and touch to the next generation of robots.

While I don’t know specifically what new products will come from the iRobot and TI partnership, it’s a safe bet that the robots of tomorrow will be smarter, more autonomous and far more interactive than the carpet cleaner devices of today. And you can thank the maturing smartphone, and the chips that power it, for that.

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Miller: Hey, do you have anything you want a quick write-up on?

Gannes: Hm, let’s see. There must be some conspiracy blowing up on YouTube.

Miller: I think I heard about some kittens on Roombas.

Gannes: You mean Roomba Cat?

Miller: Nope. Kittens this time. Multiple kittens. I shall investigate.

Gannes: Perfect for Friday!

Miller: YES.

Gannes: It looks like a kitten redistributor. Like, “This is your stop! No really, get off!”

Miller: It’s a kitten streetcar.

Gannes: An insane roving kitten streetcar off its tracks.

Miller: WATCH OUT KITTENS THAT CABINET IS COMING!

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