Most people today are aware about the advances in robotics. Although most of them find themselves in industry and manufacturing, it will only take some time before they get into our homes, imagine a home similar to the Jetson’s with a robot housekeeper. That may be quite a stretch for now, but that may be coming sometime in the future. What we have for now is the robot vacuum cleaner. Now it only needs more social interaction with the people at home. That part of the equation may be coming very soon as a company recently introduces Jibo, said to be the world’s first family robot.
Jibo is a unique type of robot in that it was designed to interact with its owners. Of course it offers many useful functions such as a digital camera, receive text and email messages, functions as an educational tool for kids and many more. But what makes it interesting is that it has its own virtual personality. It generally responds to voice commands and provides voice reminders and messages with its own voice. It is also designed to have a rotating head with a display screen for a face. it might be quite scary for some to have Jibo around and interacting with it. But maybe that can happen when something new and innovative is introduced in the market.
For now Jibo is a stationary robot that doesn’t have arms or legs for mobility. But it can provide a level of social interaction that makes it one of its kind so far. Another interesting feature for Jibo is that it is built as a platform, allowing owners and other parties to develop other features and functions for the robot. Apps can be built in the future to make Jibo more functional. Soon enough, there will be more mobile robots to come. For now, people can pre-order their own Jibo at an Indiegogo site for $499. Interested owners can add $100 to the price to get the developer edition of the robot. Delivery date for the robot is expected sometime in December of 2015.
Image Source: Indiegogo
