Categories
Robots/Drones

The Robelf is the least threatening home alarm system ever

The vision of the autonomous robot in the home is a long-time marker of the crowdfunding world. Years ago, teams around the world were trying to peddle that idea and now, it continues with better equipment and more robust feature sets.

Another entrant into the segment is the Robelf from Taiwan, an odd-faced roving home robot that features a range of abilities to help facilitate everyday life. For one, its main purpose is to serve as a home alarm system. Its moving monitoring function has it patrol the home and notify users through its Wi-Fi connection of abnormal activity with the help of its 5MP front camera. When it is low on battery, its iBeacon-based Bluetooth transmitter signals Robelf to return to it charging dock and continue monitoring from there.

Categories
Imaging Robots/Drones

The Moorebot robotic assistant leaves you wanting more

The applications for robots at home, work, and business make the idea of having robotic assistants compelling, but none thus far have been truly capable of combining a truly responsive interface with personality. The closest thus far may be Amazon’s Echo, but it doesn’t get across the illusion of emotion quite like most would like it to.

The team behind the Moorebot made sure that was its main priority, designing a small, charming robot with a single, blinking eye that learns quickly and can engage in light conversation with users. It was created to work in a variety of settings with customizable, upgradeable behavior. In a shop, it can serve as a greeter and customer service agent that can answer questions about inventory, a store layout, specials, and promotions. At work, it can send messages and remind users of important events, read notes and reports, keep track of the home from afar, record video emails, and even entertain in times of boredom. At home, it’s the consummate entertainer, singing, dancing and playing with kids.

Categories
Robots/Drones

AMY shows the way to the future of helpful home robots

A few years back, robots weren’t very much a part of the crowdfunding world. Those that were being pushed simply weren’t ready for what people expect of them. Fast forward to now, and there are still a set of companies trying to push that vision of an autonomous robot that can help around the house — a robot like AMY.

In many respects, AMY is set up as a standard home robot, capable of getting around by itself to offer news, calendar reminders, and alerts to the entire family. Its Wi-Fi connectivity lets it use a built-in HD video camera to facilitate video calls, lets users control connected devices in the home using voice control, and lets users ask it questions about the weather, for instance. (There’s no mention of the types of questions users can ask.)