Kryten is correct and it was a cleaning robot. I
happen to
have two of the 'Red Dwarf' series books here. 'Red Dwarf: Better
Than Life' is one of my favorite sci-fi books, alongside '2001' and
Heinlein's 'Friday' and 'Have Spacesuit, Will Travel'.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Awesome book; the ever-present terminals in this future provide
functions much like the Web does today. Quite visionary. I also
think his vision of a fragmented United States will come to pass
(many are ready for The Republic of California, but I dread the
Midwest Kingdom).
-dq