u/ricardianrhythm

TL;DR: What apps would you imagine to be built with Robots as the UX?

Home robots and IoT sensors are showing up fast, and I keep wondering what the app layer looks like on top of them.

My assumption: the hardware ships doing the boring stuff by default (dishes, tidying, folding laundry). Consumers are going to expect this to be like a roomba, no subscription. But everything beyond the basics could become paid apps people would happily buy, the same way you buy apps for a phone.

The twist: most apps today assume a screen. A robot doesn’t need one. Picture the robot as a living thing that has its own “phone” for viewing and processing, then turns around and interacts with you in person. The interface is the body, not a display.

Some directions I’ve been sketching:

Kids

• A Montessori-style cleanup app: the robot tidies alongside the child, turning cleanup into a shared activity rather than a chore it just does for them.
• A reading companion: instead of an iPad, the kid brings a physical book and controls the pace by turning pages (like Moxie, but tied to a real book).
• New non-screen, non-voice interfaces (like NFCs like Tonies: placing an object triggers a mode or story).

Seniors

• A nighttime sentry app: watches to make sure my grandmother gets to the bathroom safely, using the robot’s cameras for fall detection. These HW companies probably don't have to do HW anymore, but will the robot company want to do this?

I'm wondering what you all think. Purpose-built robots/HW exist but they don't seem to be doing phenomenally. But if general home robots become the platform, would those become apps instead of standalone devices? Would general robots become like the new smart phone?

What apps do you think are going to be built on this if you agree? What are apps that never would exist if it weren't for this new UX?

My 76-year-old father-in-law was formally diagnosed with MCI and lives alone in Maryland. We’re trying to keep him safely at home for as long as possible, but we’re starting to worry we’re missing opportunities to intervene before something major happens.

I watched my grandmother go through dementia, and one of the biggest contributors to her decline was isolation. I don’t want our family to repeat that mistake.

Some of the things we’re seeing:

• He spends most of his day watching YouTube.
• It took us almost three years to convince him to start going to tai chi at the local community center. He goes now, but he isn’t really socializing or making friends.
• His balance has gotten noticeably worse, especially from the hips down. He’s had several trips and near falls.
• On our last visit, he had a bruised lip. He had an explanation, but we’re not sure we got the full story. It made us wonder how many falls or near falls we’re not hearing about.
• I bought him a cane that I thought looked cool enough that he’d actually use it. That experiment failed spectacularly. He refuses to use it.

His personality also makes this harder. He’s pretty resistant to help. The only time he changes his behavior is when he feels like he came to the conclusion himself. Advice from family usually gets ignored.

We’ve looked at assisted living and memory care, but it feels like too much care for where he is today, and the cost is hard to justify. We’ve also considered moving him closer to us in California, but that’s even more expensive.

Right now we’re thinking about things like:

• In-home housekeeping or companion services.
• Wellness check-ins.
• Physical therapy or balance training.
• Anything else that could reduce fall risk or help him stay independent longer.

I’m hoping to learn from families that have been through this.

What actually worked?

Not just services that exist, but interventions that changed behavior or improved compliance.

How did you get a stubborn parent to:

• Accept PT or consistently do exercises?
• Use a cane or walker?
• Accept someone coming into the home?
• Spend less time isolated?
• Get out of the house more?
• Be more honest about falls?
• Accept help without feeling like they were losing independence?
• WTH do I do when he might need a walker?

I’m interested in every category of solution: technology, home modifications, paid caregivers, community programs, routines, behavioral tricks, conversations that finally clicked, or anything else that made a meaningful difference.

I’m trying to build a playbook before we’re forced to make decisions in a crisis.

We’re a new startup building a semi‑humanoid warehouse robot (2 arms on a mobile base) and are looking for mid‑sized 3PLs to run a free pilot in a real facility.

Our goal is to make the robot as easy to use as a laptop: no systems integrator, no long IT project. A supervisor or facility manager should be able to teach and direct one or more robots to do odd jobs, or have a robot run 24/7 on a single repetitive task.

We’re currently optimizing for tasks like:

• pick in place / pick‑to‑light
• machine tending (e.g., dunnage machines, feeding print‑and‑apply labelers)
• value‑added services (kitting, custom box erecting)

What we’re looking for:

• Mid‑sized 3PLs (ideally in the SF Bay Area, but we can consider others)
• Willing to run a small, time‑boxed pilot and share operational feedback
• Use cases where labor is tight or where you have repetitive “nobody wants this job” tasks (big and small)

What we provide:

• Robots and on‑site support during setup
• Safety assessment and training for your team
• A simple way to track ROI and performance (throughput, uptime, error rates, etc.)

We currently have 3 pilot sites lined up and would like 4–5 more to better understand what hardware configurations, workflows, and performance metrics matter most across different operations.

If you or someone you know might be a fit, please DM me with:

• Your role
• Facility size and type of operation
• A rough idea of the task(s) you’d consider for a pilot

Happy to answer any questions in the comments or via DM.