I received an invite from UBTech to visit Alpha 2 at CES this year and the more I read about this the more it interests me. Alpha 2 is pitched as “The First Humanoid Robot for the Whole Family”. A pretty tall order so I will be adding this to my “must-see” list at CES, which will be held in the Las Vegas and Sands Convention Centers as well as at other various locations on and around the Las Vegas strip.
Alpha 2 can do a lot once connected to your Wi-Fi network. He’s intelligent, interactive, and expandable. Apparently, the robots we dreamed about as kids are here. UBTech claims it is smarter than your smartphone. He has legs for mobility and is capable of social interaction.
The project is on Indiegogo and has currently raised $1,170,000 of its 1.25 million dollar goal. manufacturing has begun and shipping will begin in February 2016.
Here’s a list of what Alpha 2 can do;
- As an office assistant, he can make and receive phone calls
- Record and playback voicemail
- Print or FAX
- Reminders, Alarms, and Alerts for the whole family
- Send messages and emails
- He can be your photographer or videographer
- Face Recognition
- Post to Facebook
- He will teach you to do yoga
- He can read to your kids
- Serve as a tutor for your kids
- Simultaneous interpretation
- Free Talk
- Storytelling
- Processes an intelligent voice
- Health management reminders
- Provides the weather
- Assists with Handyman projects
- Download Apps by voice
- Control smart appliances in your home
- Remote security monitoring
- He’s a DJ, Dance, and Singer
- He has 20 joints that replicate human motion
Since the Alpha 2 is an Open System – the platform is expandable so, even more, capabilities will be added. The developer provides an SDK that includes the following;
Voice Kit
Provide voice dictation, speech synthesis, semantics understanding, and other powerful and intelligent voice features.
Motion Kit
Provide access to alpha2’s motion list and other motion features for developers to establish a humanlike relationship with their users.
Hardware Kit
Provide powerful hardware feature interfaces to enhance the performance of third-party developer apps.
VAPP
A cross-platform app in iOS and Android. Not only a robot control center but also an app publisher and distribution center.
From what I see on Indiegogo, Alpha 2 will be making its way into a number of homes in 2016.
