Clearly, this is only the beginning. Driverless cars are almost upon us. The so-called ‘internet of things’ will transform your home into a machine with a mind of its own. So, we are going to have to get more and more used to robots sharing our daily lives.

But what are the considerations when it comes to their design? The functional capabilities and societal implications of a robot designed to be in the home quickly become irrelevant if it transpires that nobody wants to buy it, let alone look at it or interact with it.

Like cars and trains and washing machines, robots aren’t just scientific – they’re aesthetic creations, too. As with any other gizmo, they’re at the mercy of designers, who strive to make them not just more efficient but more attractive and appealing with every iteration. “It is in essence a design issue,” says Fredo de Smet, one of the show’s curators. “Design has an essential role in the way we embrace technology in our future society.”

A good example is the drone, already well established for military and surveillance use and now used for all kinds of things, from disaster recovery to wedding photography. Trouble is, a lot of people tend to think of drones as sinister. They’re worried they’ll invade our privacy. Their construction often doesn’t help – angular, metallic, drones often resemble predatory insects. But what if we made drones out of curvy, pink plastic? There’s one in this exhibition. It’s only a prototype, but it could be the shape of things to come – subtle, aesthetic tweaks that aim to make these autonomous aerial robots more approachable.

The tweaks can be simple yet powerful. We’re already used to robots with friendly female voices. When Vecna Robotics, supported by the US Army, created a robot that could lift and carry troops injured in warzones, the company’s designers decided to give it a teddy bear’s face that would comfort wounded soldiers.