ATR (Advanced Telecommunications Research Institute) has come up with the robovie-mR2, which is a cute looking robot, small enough to fit comfortably on your desk. Measuring in at 30cm tall and weighing 2kg, it sports an iPod touch dock in its chest, allowing you to control the robot via a wireless gamepad, or send it updates. The robot also sports a CCD camera, 2 microphones and a speaker to communicate with you. The robot has 18 degrees of freedom, which includes moving eyeballs, making it look much more realistic. ATR is still deciding whether they should market this robot, though there isn’t any possible price point mentioned just yet. Check out a video of this robot in action in the full article.
Robovie mR2 is a 30-centimeter-tall humanoid robot developed at Japan’s ATR Robotics and Communication Laboratories. It speaks Japanese (in a kind of creepy-cute voice) and can communicate info from an iPod Touch that you insert in its stomach.
According to ATR, it is not only possible to control Robovie mR2 by touching the screen of the iPod Touch, but also via Wi-Fi (802.11b/g) or Bluetooth.
Think of it as a modern-day Teddy Ruxpin. Instead of cassette tapes, this robot can speak what’s on your iPod. Considering the ubiquity of Apple handheld devices, there is a potential market for these kind of products.
And while iPod products tend to be used by teens and adults, there are some interesting scenarios for eBooks and learning games to make this robot enjoyable for gadget lovers and kids alike.
Robovie is a research platform created at ATR’s Intelligent Robotics and Communications Laboratories in order to develop communication functionality such as voice dialog and skin sensing in robots.
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