Anki Vector – Siri’s cure little robotic competitor

Anki introduced a new smart robot called Vector a few days back on Kickstarter. Not only does it look cute, it also listens to voice commands and responds to them like Siri.

A Home Robot that pairs up with your iPhone

A lot of stuff goes behind the cute WALL-E face of Vector.

This little robot can answer questions like a virtual assistant, display animated weather information, serve as a timer or click a photo on demand by its HD camera. Just like Siri, Vector’s voice control reacts to “Hey, Vector”.

All this is made possible by the impressive amount of technology embedded in Vector. It has an HD camera with a 120-degree field of view, four microphones, and a Qualcomm 200 microprocessor.

Vector also has four infrared sensors on the underbody that protect it from falling from the edge of a table and a laser sensor that prevents collisions with obstacles.

 

It pairs up perfectly with all iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch models running iOS 10 or 11 firmware.

Over time, the smart robot will receive advanced new features such as smart home control, surveillance, notifications, calendar, to do list, etc.

Voice-enabled and always-on  

As with any other voice-enabled always-on device with cloud connectivity, you must put a good deal of trust in the manufacturer.

After all, Vector not only listens all the time, it also constantly peeps into your home with its high-definition camera. This makes the robot a worthwhile target for hackers and cybercriminals.

Price and Availability

Although production has already started, the manufacturer decided to launch a Kickstarter campaign to get initial traction. Since the smart robot market is rather small, the developers are banking on positive feedback from early adopters.

At the time of writing this article, the fundraising campaign has raised $1,112,782 and already achieved its $500,000 goal!

Anki Vector

You can support Vector by making a pledge on Kickstarter. Those who pledge $199 or more will not only get it cheaper but also earlier.

The product will be sold for $250 on release. Furthermore, Anki Vector will ship only to the United States, so you might have to wait a bit longer if you live elsewhere.

One Response

  1. luanhuu November 7, 2018

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