RoboHon: Cute little Robot cum Smartphone

Japan has produced some of the craziest and most innovative robots so far, but this time they have taken robotics and mobile technology to whole new level .A Japanese company Sharp has recently launched a new kind of phone which is a hybrid of a robot and a smartphone. Shocking, right? But your shock will turn into an awe when you will find out how this adorable little robot cum phone can make your life tranquil.  

So far Sharp has only shed light on few of the features of RoboHon .But whatever they are claiming is no less than a miracle of technology. Its weight is 390 grams and is 19.5 cm in length (not exactly light weight and adjustable).It is equipped with a tiny two inch screen at its back to give you an experience of a smartphone. In addition to that it has Wi-Fi and LTE. Just like other smartphones it offers facial and voice recognition. Only this time the device that is trying to recognize you is not just a flat screen phone but a cute little robot.

Along with the capabilities of a smartphone it has all the features of a highly skilled and intelligent robot. It can sit, stand, walk, dance and raise its arms to notify you that something important has just come up. It will wake you up in the morning just like any of your family members would and at the same time read to you the list of activities you are going to perform that day. If you are busy in household chores and your hands are dirty, you can ask this adorable little creature to read your texts to you and send a reply. You can also instruct it to place a call to a person. If you have a habit of forgetting stuff you wanted to buy, right when you enter the grocery store, there is no need to worry anymore because this cute tiny friend of yours will remember all the items for you.

RoboHon is a helping hand in you daily routine. It can call a taxi for you to get you to your work place. You can use it as a projector to present your work or watch pictures and videos anywhere you want. It can also act like your companion when you are feeling alone or bored. This feature of RoboHon was demonstrated at its launch ceremony, when the owner said “It is a beautiful weather” it replied in affirmative just like any other artificial intelligence, but definitely in a more charming way.

No smartphone is complete without a sophisticated camera through for taking pictures, making videos and creating memories on the go. RoboHon is also equipped with all these features but instead of a small camera lens it takes pictures by flashing its delightful round eyes. In order to take perfect pictures its developers has added some extra cool features in its software.

Some people might propose that it is not a very practical approach for a smartphone. Surely you will look goofy while holding a robot to your ear for attending a call. But then again modern technology is moving towards a more unconventional approach which can provide you both comfort and entertainment.       

For more details watch this video.

RoboHon: Cute little Robot cum Smartphone

08:43 artificial intelligence, Robots, Smartphones, Technology

Victory for Korean Robot in DARPA Challenge

With multitudinous advances being made in technology day by day, along with our increasing desire to maximize output by delegating tasks to machines to both save time and work in places where there are great hardships for humans.

Just last month (on the 5th and 6th of June), in Pomona, California, the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Agency (DARPA), held a competition, where the participants were to design a robot that could aid humans in times of disasters, whether man made or natural; which saw a Korean team walking away with the two million dollar prize. The team’s DRC-HUBO won after clocking in at a time of slightly less than forty five minutes. Basically, the design followed a humanoid shape, but could also be shifted into a kneeling and wheeled position, providing both speed and stability.

Inspired by the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster, an aftermath of the earthquake and tsunami that ravaged Japan in 2011, DARPA held the first edition of this event in 2012. The main concept behind this competition was to work on robots that could be a major help in disaster relief, especially to venture out to places that are not safe for humans.

The competition was task-oriented, with robots being given eight tasks and evaluation hinged on completion of tasks, for which they were given two chances and, the time taken. The required tasks were: driving a utility vehicle, exiting the vehicle, opening a door, cutting a hole in a wall, walking over a pile of rubble , walking up a short flight of stairs, and along with a surprise task, which varied according to the day.

Twenty five teams from all over the world participated, and day one saw the Carnegie Mellon University's CHIMP (CMU Highly Intelligent Mobile Platform) robot take the lead, as it was the first team to complete all eight tasks in around fifty five minutes. German team NIMBRO RESCUE's robot Momaro and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory's Robo Simian robot, each scoring seven points, followed CHIMP on the leadership board for the first day.

However, it was on the second day, when, the robot by South Korea's team KAIST, managed to secure the first place as it completed all eight tasks, as well as the surprise task of unplugging a wire and then plugging it into a different outlet, in lesser time than the CHIMP, at forty five minutes. The Running Man robot from Florida's Institute for Human and Machine Cognition, also taking part on day two, secured second place, when it took fifty minutes to complete all tasks, leaving CHIMP to finish at third place. Both the second and third position also received prizes of one million dollars and five hundred thousand dollars respectively.

"Today was incredible. It was everything we hoped it would be and more," Gill Pratt, the DARPA program manager in charge of the challenge, told the press.

Victory for Korean Robot in DARPA Challenge

01:25 DARPA, Robots, Technology