Anki Vector: The Smart Home Robot with Personality

So far, home robot s use have been rather boring – they do nothing but their jobs, like cleaning the floor or playing music. They are far from being a true home companion. Now, however, consumer robotics and artificial intelligence company Anki has announced Vector, a home robot with “personality.” A Qualcomm APQ8009 processor enables it to be smart, approachable, and autonomous. A 120-degree field of view camera allows it to see the world and recognize faces, while an array of four microphones lets it hear and understand each individual in the room.

There’s no need for a smartphone to be tethered to the home robot – it is only needed for the initial setup of the robot. Vector can display different animations on a color IPS display and reacts to its environment in a way that’s full of personality and meaningful. It even responds to human touch, thanks to the capacitive touch sensor built on its back. Vector is also able to play games like Blackjack. If it hears music, it may even dance to the beat. And when it’s feeling tired or low on energy, Vector can locate and roll back to the charger. The initial price for the home robot will be 250 Euro.

Image Credit: Anki

 

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