Do we really want Rosie the Robot?

This week on The Vergecast, the co-founder and former CEO of iRobot, Colin Angle, joins The Verge’s smart home reviewer, Jennifer Pattison Tuohy, to discuss what the ideal home robot is. Are we close to creating a Rosie the Robot — an all-in-one humanoid robot that can take care of our homes, or should we take an entirely different approach to home robotics? They dive into the advances in technology powering this shift and ponder what purpose robotics in the home should really serve.

Then, Jen takes a journey back into smart home history to help us understand its future. Grant Erickson, Principal of Nuovations, a former Apple, Nest, and Google engineer who was part of the team that developed Thread, joins the show.

He shares the story of how and why, back in 2011, the Nest team, led by Tony Faddell and Matt Rogers, decided to create a smart home protocol. It involves a thermostat, fragmented ecosystems, and one of the best smart home products ever made.

They discuss how Thread became the foundation of the Matter smart home standard — an unprecedented industry collaboration with a herculean task — to make the smart home simpler.

To close out the show, Grant sticks around to help answer a Vergecast hotline question (call 866-VERGE11 or email vergecast@theverge.com) about how Matter manages your data.

Further reading:

Maybe I don’t want a Rosey the Robot after all

Amazon left Roomba with a huge mess to clean up

Figure will start ‘alpha testing’ its humanoid robot in the home in 2025

Amazon Astro review: too much Alexa, not enough arms

Samsung is finally releasing Ballie

This Pixar-style dancing lamp hints at Apple’s future home robot

iRobot’s founder is working on a new kind of home robot

iRobot OS is the newest ‘brain’ for your Roomba

Amazon bought iRobot to see inside your home

I tested a robot vacuum with an arm, and my dog may never forgive me

Inside the Nest: iPod creator Tony Fadell wants to reinvent the thermostat

Nest CEO Tony Fadell on Google acquisition

Fire drill: Can Tony Fadell and Nest build a better smoke detector?

How big companies kill ideas — and how to fight back, with Tony Fadell

Situation: there are too many competing smart home standards

Matter’s plan to save the smart home

Nest’s home security system costs $499 and comes with magnetic door sensors

Google says Matter is still set to fix the biggest smart home frustrations

Thread is Matter’s secret sauce for a better smart home

Nanoleaf launches a smart switch after eight years of trying

Thread count: Ikea is stitching together a smarter home

Why Thread is Matter’s biggest problem right now

The four changes in Thread 1.4 that could fix the protocol

It could be 2026 before all your Thread border routers work together

Matter will be better in 2025 — say the people who make it

The Nest Learning Thermostat gets its biggest upgrade in over a decade

killedbygoogle.com

Google’s ADT partnership finally has a new home security product to show for it

Google discontinues Nest Protect smoke alarm and Nest x Yale door lock

Google discontinues its Google Nest Secure alarm system

Appliance makers are teaming up to reduce your electricity usage — and save you cash

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices