2 4037 Listen and read. Which chores in the pictures does the text mention? Q What will the house of the future look like? When people predict the future, they often focus on the negatives, but it isn't all bad news. Robots are changing the chores that we do every day. Sarah James is an *ICT expert and her work involves designing smart home technology. She assures us that there will definitely be a lot to look forward to in the home of the future. 38 'Smart home technology will certainly become more common as the 21st century continues,' says Sarah. Some modern houses already have smart technology. In these homes, the owners can control devices such as the cooker, lights, heating, or TV with their smartphones. And more people are using virtual assistants (VA). These devices use voice recognition. They are connected to the internet and can answer your questions. 'I couldn't do without my VA,' says Sarah. 'If I want to know the weather or a bus timetable, for example, I simply ask and it answers. I don't waste time looking for information online.' ICT companies like Sarah's are designing robots that will do the chores. Soon, you may not need to wash your clothes. You will just hang them in a smart wardrobe and it will clean and dry them while you are sleeping. A smart machine will clean the windows and another will sort the recycling. But that doesn't mean that you won't have to do any housework! Robot vacuums already exist, and they might become more efficient. But you will probably still need to clear things off the floor before the robot can do the vacuuming. Some household chores are surprisingly complicated for robots. For example, it may be a long time before a robot can clean the bathroom or do the ironing. And there might never be a robot that can walk the dog. According to Sarah, robots probably won't do everything, but they will definitely replace us for many boring, repetitive tasks. And that can't be bad! *ICT = information and communications technology Unit 3 Miejsce zamieszkania Nauka i technika.
