Rise of the ROBOTS
Big tech is throwing money and talent at robots for the home, writes
have Echo devices. The gadget will likely leverage some of the technology Amazon has used to build its Kiva warehouse robots.
Alphabet’s X division is working on robotics projects and underlying technology that could make its way to a Jetsonsstyle home robot. Engineers are exploring the ability for a robot to go up and down stairs and open and close doors.
Huawei’s home robot’s main purpose is to teach kids English and do live translations,.
The robot most akin to the vision big tech is pursuing is probably the Temi, a $1500 machine that follows its owner from room to room, placing video calls, controlling smart-home devices and other tasks. The company may begin shipping the bot by the end of the year and hopes to build 30 000 a month.
Anki, a robotics startup that became popular after demonstrating its toy car system at an Apple conference, is debuting a new home robot this month. And Bumblebee Spaces has debuted a robotic system for raising and lowering home items like beds and dressers to create more space in small apartments.
Charlie Duncheon, a robotics and automation expert, said Amazon had an advantage because it could combine the navigation attributes of the
Kiva robots scurrying around its warehouses with the voiceactivated smarts of Alexa.
But to really change the world, Duncheon said, Amazon and its rivals will have to master articulated arms and hands that can grip objects. Such technology exists and is getting better all the time, but getting the costs low enough for a mass consumer market will take several years.