2050: The year the housewife is obsolete? Futurologist says robots could take care of cooking while clothes could clean themselves

It is often said that a woman’s work is never done.

But the days of cooking, cleaning and picking up after the children may soon be over.

In 2050, the traditional role of housewife could be obsolete, with robots taking care of all arduous tasks around the home.

That is according to a report by ‘futurologist’ Dr Ian Pearson, which also predicts furniture will adapt to a person’s body shape, clothes will clean themselves and it will even be possible to redecorate a room in the blink of an eye.

A century after home appliances freed housewives from back-breaking chores, artificially intelligent androids will run our homes, enabling us to spend more time having fun and less doing chores.

Dr Pearson, who advises companies on advances in science and engineering, said: ‘The more advanced technology becomes, the more we can focus on being human.’

He forecasts that in 34 years’ time, housewives or househusbands will no longer need to slave over a hot stove.

Instead, robot ‘chefs’ could prepare meals by communicating directly with a microwave-like device.

Robots will order the weekly shop, while drones with bacteria-blitzing UV lights clean kitchen worktops.

Housewives and house husbands will have no need to tidy their home, with 80 per cent of houses predicted to have emotionally intelligent robotic servants in 2050.

Dr Pearson’s report on the home life of 2050, for the clothes and homeware store Matalan, said: ‘Miniature robot tidiers are also likely, waiting until rooms are empty and then scurrying around picking up small objects.’

The use of self-cleaning fabrics will mean clothes will need washing less often, and Dr Pearson predicts driverless ‘pods’ will do the school run.

Drones with Freed from the drudgery of the school run, parents will be able to get on with their work, which they will probably do from home.

‘People won’t need to work as much – we’ll have a nicer lifestyle with more time for relaxation,’ he said.

In the 1950s, it was expected ‘homemakers’ would decorate as well as clean the house.

But 100 years on, they could redecorate in the blink of an eye thanks to ‘active’ contact lenses that could alter a room’s decor to suit a wearer’s taste, by beaming images onto their eyes.

Sofas will be able to wrap round people’s bodies for comfort and fabrics with tiny lights will be able to change colour to alter the appearance of a room, the report predicts.

Dr Pearson said: ‘In many ways a 2050 home will resemble a 1950s home, with little visible technology clutter taking up space. It will be there, just invisibly’.

Without constant chores, householders will have more time to relax.

Instead of watching television, homebodies could don a virtual reality headset linked to their nervous system to visit a beach without leaving their sofa and feel the sand between their toes.

And instead of going out for coffee, friends could be beamed into the home in the form of life-size 3D holograms, making socialising easier.

Pills will keep us slim, while virtual reality could let people using gym equipment experience climbing a mountain or paddling down the Amazon River, for example.

And if all that relaxation and fun becomes too much, the report says we will be able to control our dreams by 2050, conjuring up believable fantasies using a remote control.