The robot servants that FOLLOW you: Droids designed to help you with everyday chores (and can even snap a selfie of you)

Sci-fi fans have long dreamed of having a robotic assistant like R2D2 or Rosie the housecleaning robot in The Jetsons.

And while some of the droid’s functions may be a few years off, a new generation of helpful robots have arrived and can act as everything from personal assistants to camera operators.

While they may be designed to do different jobs, a handful of the robots featured at the RoboBusiness conference in Boston have one thing in common – they are designed to follow their leader.

A robot called Budgee is designed to follow people to carry heavy items, such as shopping (illustrated). It is able to carry 50lbs (23kg) of shopping and follows at a comfortable distance from its owner

To make Budgee follow, its owner will wear a small device and uses an app to set the distance between them and the following robot.

The helpful droid will be able to tail its owners at speeds of up to 2.4mph (3.9kph) and send them a text if it can’t keep up. Sensors prevent it from falling down steps or bumping into obstacles.

Budgee will come in different sizes, be able to be folded up and weighs 20lbs (9kg), while it will be capable of carting around 50lbs (23kg). It will go on sale in January from $1,400 (£879).

While some of C3PO and R2D2's functions may be a few years off, a new generation of helpful robots have arrived and can act as personal assistants to camera operators. The Star Wars droids are shown

While some of C3PO and R2D2's functions may be a few years off, a new generation of helpful robots have arrived and can act as personal assistants to camera operators. The Star Wars droids are shown

For golfers, there’s a smart cart called CaddyTrek that follows behind them with golf clubs. All they have to do is to wear a module on their belt, which includes a remote control, so the cart doens;t get too close to them when they are taking an important shot.

People may want a machine for more vain needs. The Iris+ drone is designed to follow its owner and has onboard cameras to capture them from above, working like a robotic cameraman.

A similar model called AirDog is billed as a ‘pet’ drone and will automatically follows its owner who will wear a small programmable remote.

The drone could be fitted with a GoPro camera to capture high definition footage of extreme sports, tracking everything from skateboarders to BMX riders.