Robots are making great strides not just in the science world but also at home. Photo: Bloomberg

At the end of every year in recent memory, it seems, high-tech optimists have predicted the next year as the one when robots will finally lift from our shoulders the burden of dreary domestic tasks.

Think washing floors, scrubbing the grill, cutting the lawn, watering plants, changing cat litter, vacuuming the carpet - and, for good measure, pacifying the baby and entertaining the older children.

That was certainly the case at the close of 2013, said Dan Kara, a robotics analyst with ABI Research. "This was supposed to be the year where everything was going to be different," Kara said. "Again."

And while that home-robotics revolution didn't exactly come to fruition this year, Kara said a handful of interesting robotic debuts in 2014 brought consumers one step closer to the chore-free home of the future.

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That sentiment was echoed by two others who closely follow the consumer robotics industry: Erico Guizzo, editor of the Automaton blog of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, and Andra Keay, managing director of Silicon Valley Robotics, an industry group. Based on recommendations from these specialists, as well as some firsthand tests, here are 10 notable robots that made their debut this year.

Neato Botvac: Vacuums constitute the biggest and most competitive consumer-robotics category in the marketplace, and they're getting better. The earliest models were criticised for their over-reliance on humans to maintain them. ("I had to constantly clean my cleaning robot," Guizzo said.) Owners also had to drag the bots to their charging stations when the batteries died, and move furniture that the robots couldn't squeeze beneath. The Neato Botvac ($899 to $999) requires less cleaning than the earliest robotic vacuums, and it features good pickup power and a low profile that helps it sneak under couches. My favorite feature: when the battery is low, the Botvac returns to its charging station. When Dyson's much-anticipated robot appears next year, watch for similar features.

See the rest here:
Ten home robots to lighten your domestic chores

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STORY HIGHLIGHTS

Washington (CNN) -- John Philip Sousa IV has a mission: Convince a retired neurosurgeon with no political experience to run for President -- and then help him win.

Sousa, 67, launched a super PAC last year that has raised millions in an effort to urge Dr. Ben Carson to explore a White House bid. Since the launch, Sousa and his team have proven to be a fundraising powerhouse, raising a whopping $12.2 million from more than 100,000 donors. That even edged out the effort by Hillary Clinton's supporters, who have raised $12.1 million for the "Ready for Hillary" super PAC.

Sousa's group, dubbed the "National Draft Ben Carson for President Campaign Committee," is laying the groundwork for a presidential campaign in early voting states with plans to open a second office in Iowa later this month.

If Sousa's last name sounds familiar, that's because it should. He's the great grandson of John Philip Sousa, the composer known for his patriotic music.

Sousa's effort is adding to the buzz surrounding Carson, who catapulted onto the national political scene at last year's National Prayer Breakfast by delivering a stinging rebuke to Obamacare -- with President Barack Obama sitting just a few feet away. He has captivated some Republicans with stories of his difficult childhood and placed second behind Mitt Romney in a CNN/ORC poll last month that asked the GOP about their preferred presidential nominee.

Carson himself has said he has been considering a run after seeing the outpouring of support.

"It definitely seems to be having an impression," said Adam Waldeck, a spokesman for the American Legacy PAC, which Carson chairs.

Federal election rules bar Sousa from coordinating with Carson, who hasn't yet said whether he'll run in 2016. But Sousa talks about a potential run in the same unvarnished style that Carson embraces.

Sousa recently visited CNN's Washington bureau. Read the interview below, which has been edited and condensed for clarity:

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Inside the push to draft Ben Carson for president