Will We All Have Our Own BB Droids or R2D2's Soon?

Hey Steemians

As you may or may not know I'm pretty interested in concepts like robots, AI and Machine learning and where we're going to take this technology over the next 30 - 100 years. It's probably one of the most exciting fields to work, apart from space travel at the moment in my opinion. Combining science and space travel has only been a thing of fantasy, reserved for movies yet we're slowly starting to make these concepts a reality, one of those concepts being fast-tracked is voice assistant robots.

If you're a Star Wars fan you should have a soft spot for robots because really who doesn't love C3PO, R2D2 or BB? Can you even hate them? Is that even possible? We'll soon find out once Kickstarter company Anki releases Vector on the market. This cute little voice activated robot is far from the scary Boston dynamics type robots @techblogger is fond of posting about and I have to say its kind of adorable, suckering us into a false sense of security while they devise a plan to drive humanity onto the brink of extinction. lol

What is Vector?

Vector, a “home robot with personality” much like Siri or Alexa would you can talk to it, it can speak to you, display answers on its face and move around the table tops with ease. Its square “face,” which looks like an old CRT monitor, is remarkably expressive as it blinks its big green “eyes,” emitting a series of squeaks and beeps, and answering questions in spoken English. It plays games and even “dances” to music. It really looks like it has a life of its own and plans to take the concept of voice robots and make it fun.

Sure Alexa and Siri are helpful at times but it can't do much in terms of information delivery, while Vector gives you the feeling you have your own BB droid at times.

“It’s the first truly smart, interactive robotic character for the home that you can live with 24/7,” said Mark Palatucci, co-founder of Anki, the well-funded San Francisco startup that developed Vector.

What can Vector do?

Vector can see, hear, feel, think and roam its environment. It’s always on and connected to the cloud and with the help of AI and machine learning so it can keep improving, as well as look up information online. Vector takes the concept of a chatbot and combines it with the robot form factor, giving it a sense of life as we know it

I think more people will enjoy a sense of companionship with a robot that can understand verbal communications and can reply in kind. The device makes eye contact with humans, looking at them as they “converse.” where other voice assistants are cold and robotic.

What will it cost to get your hands on a Vector?

Initially, Anki isn't aiming for general public consumption on its first entry into the market but rather pursuing a tech-savvy audience: early adopters on Kickstarter. These tech aficionados can order Vector for $200 for 30 days starting Wednesday, with delivery on Oct. 9.

Vector will hit the mass retail market Oct. 12 for $250; a free developer’s kit, for those who want to customize Anki with their own software, will be out next year.

Check out vector in Action

Have a look at some of these clips interacting with Vector and what it can already do. The fact that it always on and connected to WiFi means it can receive updates to its software and who knows what this thing will be capable of in the future.

Here's also a review of Vector, doesn't it kind of remind you of Wall-E?

Have your say

What do you think of Vector and droids as personalised assistants? Would you want one? Do you think this concept will take off?

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Sources:

• SF Chronicle
• The Verge
• Spectrum IEEE