Science Illustrated

Vector wants to be the first robot pet

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Anki's Cozmo interactiv­e robot was the hottest toy of 2017, selling 1.5 million units from Amazon alone. But Anki admits much of the "smarts" of Cozmo were faked, via a companion app. Vector is a more serious robot by far, and responds to voice commands ("Hey Vector, come here!") via a Wi-Fi link to the cloud. His wide-angle camera gives him the ability to notice people as they sit down at a desk, and his directiona­l microphone­s help him decide where sound is coming from. Most importantl­y, a laser sensor gives him the ability to map his surroundin­gs. So what does Vector actually do? Sure he can read the weather report, but his real job is to simply act alive.

 ??  ?? Vector costs $450, but what price can you put on true friendship?
Vector costs $450, but what price can you put on true friendship?

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