Čapek’s 1920 play coined the word "robot" and imagined machines freeing humans—a fantasy that turns apocalyptic in the story. This Scientific American package asks why practical household robots remain limited while profiling Stanford’s TidyBot prototype. It also covers interoception’s links to mental health, a surge in detected celestial transients (20,000+ per year), and the threatened future of southern resident orcas, highlighted in the 25-minute documentary The Protectors.
Meet Your Plastic Pal: Why Household Robots Still Fall Short — and What’s Changing
When Czech dramatist Karel Čapek introduced the word "robot" in his 1920 play R.U.R., he imagined tireless "artificial workers" freeing humans from menial labor. In the play, that dream curdles into catastrophe: the initially unfeeling automatons awaken, revolt and bring about an apocalyptic end rather than a new aristocracy.
More than a century later, the fantasy of helpful household machines still captivates us. But reality lags behind fiction. Consumer robots can now vacuum and mow lawns, yet many struggle with simple, messy tasks—so much so that a prototype can smear pet food on a rug rather than pick it up. Why have fully reliable, general-purpose domestic helpers remained elusive?
Inside the Issue
Household Robotics: In this issue’s cover feature, journalist and former Scientific American editor Ben Guarino examines the technical and practical hurdles that keep household robots from becoming commonplace. He reports on Stanford’s TidyBot, a research prototype that aims to fold laundry and make beds. Guarino also reflects, with a touch of humor, on the awkward scenarios that arise when robots follow instructions too literally—such as tucking sheets so tightly they trap a sleeper.
Interoception And Mental Health: Diana Kwon explores interoception—our ability to sense and interpret internal bodily signals—and how differences in that internal awareness link to anxiety, depression and other psychological conditions. Emerging research points to novel interventions, from focused training to unconventional approaches like controlled sensory-deprivation sessions, to improve body awareness and mental well-being.
Cosmic Fireworks: Science writer Ann Finkbeiner dives into celestial transients: brief, brilliant astronomical events that flare with the light of entire galaxies and then fade. New wide-field surveys are now detecting more than 20,000 transient events per year, challenging astronomers to sort, classify and understand this flood of fleeting phenomena.
Orcas At Risk: Multimedia editor Kelso Harper embedded with biologists on a research expedition around Washington State’s San Juan Islands to document the precarious state of the southern resident orcas. These whales, long-time residents of the Pacific Northwest, are now teetering toward extinction. Harper reports that years of government budget cuts threaten to stall essential conservation studies at a critical moment for the population.
The Protectors: A New Documentary
One standout sequence follows Eba, a scat-detection dog, as she hunts down fresh killer-whale samples in the Salish Sea. Our multimedia team filmed that salt-sprayed pursuit for The Protectors, a 25-minute documentary made possible by the Caplan Family Foundation. The film follows researchers and Eba as they work to understand and conserve the southern residents; it is available now on the Scientific American YouTube channel. We thank Amy Caplan and the Caplan Family Foundation for their support.
Bottom Line: From robots that can’t yet tidy a chaotic home to breakthroughs in how we sense our bodies, and from sudden flashes in the sky to orcas on the brink, this issue explores where technology, science and conservation intersect—and why the next breakthroughs matter for everyday life.
