Amazon popularized the idea of ambient computing with its Alexa line of devices – place some Echo smart speakers and displays in key areas of your home and you can interact with them by talking, with no need to pick up and hold a device. The new Amazon Astro takes that idea in a very different […]
robot
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Jibo’s robot-shaped smart speaker becomes even more useless as servers are shut off
Smart speakers powered by Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant are so common today that it’s easy to forget that the original Amazon Echo was introduced less than five years ago. At the time voice assistants were, at best, things we used on our phones. But Amazon wasn’t the first company to announce plans for a […]
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Bloomberg: Amazon is developing robots for the home
For a company that started out as an online book store, Amazon has become one of the biggest players in the tech industry. Amazon Web Services powers much of the web. The company’s Echo line of devices effectively popularized use voice assistants around the home in a way that Apple’s Siri never did. And the […]
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Sony Xperia Hello is like a $1300 Amazon Echo on wheels (for Japan)
Part of the appeal of Amazon Echo and Google Home-style speakers is that you can place them anywhere in your home and interact with them just by talking. Sure, you can use Siri, Gooogle Assistant, or Cortana on your phone. But not having to actually pull out and unlock your phone makes the feature a […]
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Asus Zenbo robot hits the FCC (complete with teardown photos)
It’s been more than a year since Asus unveiled its Zenbo robot, and it’s currently up for pre-order in Taiwan. So when is Zenbo coming to America? I have no idea… but I do know that the robot butler/smart speaker-on-wheels passed through the FCC this week. Documents posted to the FCC website include a user […]
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Asus Zenbo robot goes on sale in Taiwan Jan 1st for $620 and up
Zenbo is a robot from Asus that responds to voice commands, has a touchscreen display that functions both as a face and information screen, and wheels that allows the robot to follow you around the house. Asus first unveiled Zenbo in May, and about half a year later the robot is just about ready to […]
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Omate is building an Amazon Alexa-powered robot (crowdfunding)
After building a smartwatch with support for Amazon’s Alexa voice service, Omate is taking the next (il)logical step and building an Alexa-powered, voice-controlled robot. It’s called the Yumi, and Omate will be running a crowdfunding campaign for the project starting November 15th. During the campaign on Indiegogo you’ll be able to reserve a Yumi robot […]
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Jibo “social” robot to ship in October, will compete with Asus Zenbo, Amazon Echo
Jibo is a “social robot” designed to hang out in you house, respond to your voice, and recognize your face so that it can tell you about appointments or incoming messages, tell you stories, snap photos or let you engage in video calls, and much more. The folks behind Jibo raised 3.7 million dollars for […]
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$599 Asus Zenbo robot is an anthropomorphic smart home hub
Asus wants to sell you a robot butler. At a time when bots, voice-activated virtual assistants, and smart home tech are starting to gain traction, Asus has packed all of those features into robot that can roll around the house to follow you from room. It’s called Zenbo, and Asus plans to sell it for […]
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Sharp’s phone that looks (and acts) like a robot launches for $1,800
Sharp’s RoboHon isn’t your typical smartphone. Yeah, you can use it to make phone calls or run Android apps. But it looks like a small robot, walks like a robot, and even dances like a robot. For some reason it also has a built-in projector. Sharp introduced RoboHon in October, and now the company is getting ready […]