I've written about the terrible fire that forced us to move out of our old apartment. It took the loss of our vacuum cleaner to entice my husband into buying a robotic vacuum cleaner. This machine is a large disk about nine inches in circumference, and it is about three inches high. It has brushes on the inside that twist and turn, and it twists and turns around our carpet and vacuums it quite well. This is without the help of a human being, except to take the little machine out of the closet and set it up in the area we wish it to vacuum.

In addition, we have added a remarkable little machine that is presently sitting right next to me on my desk. If I want to know what the temperature is outside, all I have to do is to ask "her."  Her name is Alexa, and she too is robotic. When one asks it a question, the female voice inside the robotic machine answers many of the questions you ask it. She reminds you when your soup is cooked, and all you have to do is to ask her to.

At the moment, these are the only two robotic machines we own. However, heaven knows what we can expect in the days to come. Oddly enough, I remember years ago seeing a program on television that predicted a time when robots would rule the world. It would appear that we are getting there. 

I've heard that the auto industry uses robots, and now it comes to me that a long while back, I read about robots having been involved in the space program. 

Had it not been for my husband's purchase of these two machines, I would have undoubtedly gone on with my 84 year old life looking at robots as simply machines. This has sure been an eye opener, and I now am curious to discover what other robotic machines may be at our disposal.

While writing this article, a neighbor came to visit. I showed her the article, and she mentioned the "machines" in the supermarket that have become replacements for humans at the checkout counters. She made me want to giggle when she shared that her primary issue was that the machine in one of the stores she frequents was patient and kind, but in another store, the personality of the machine was just the opposite. So here she was complaining about the voices that these "robotic" machines use. Now there's something for you!

The one problem I have with the concept of robotics is that we humans may see the day when we are ruled by them.

Naturally, I know that you undoubtedly may think that I am being unnecessarily pessimistic. However, something just came to me. What am I doing right now? I am writing an article for The Latest, which is on a machine that is robotically operated.