Product test
Cozmo: artificial intelligence for the games room
by Ramon Schneider
Anki Vector: A big brother for Cozmo
10.8.2018
Translation: Jessica Johnson-Ferguson
Things are happening in the robot universe. According to a recent announcement, Cozmo is getting a big brother. His name is Vector and his mission is to make the interaction between humans and machines even more intuitive. The only fly in the ointment: He won’t be available in Switzerland for a long time.
Anki is one of the leading companies for consumer robotics and artificial intelligence. After Cozmo, Anki is taking yet another step towards a science fiction future with Vector. The robot is independent and constantly active. With Vector, Anki is aiming to introduce an affordable and lifelike robot to millions of households.
«For over five years, Anki has brought together a team of experts across various fields to create the world’s first affordable, character-rich robot capable of surprising and delighting humans.»
What’s changed compared to Cozmo?
The most striking change is the robot’s overall look. At first glance, Vector looks like an adult Cozmo because of the matt black finish. The material used was also adapted, giving Vector a more high-quality feel. The size has changed only slightly, making him just a little heavier than his brother. Other than that, not much has changed in terms of looks. The design is very similar.
On the inside, however, a lot has been going on. For one, Vector is equipped with four built-in microphones. This means he’s no longer steered via your smartphone but can carry out orders via speech recognition. Similarly to Google Home, speech recognition is triggered by saying «Hey Vector». Vector will help you out in all kinds of situations and answer your questions. You could ask him what the weather’s like or tell him to set the timer. Or you could play a game of blackjack with him and ask him to take a photo of you while you’re placing down your next card.
When Vector is tired, i.e. when his battery is low, he takes himself back to the docking station for a charge. Thanks to a built-in Qualcomm processor, Vector is constantly connected to the Cloud and automatically feeds himself with updates and new features. The advantage here is that your wee robot permanently increases his intelligence and makes sure he’s up to date without you lifting a finger.
When will he hit the shelves?
In the US, Anki has launched a 30-day kickstarter campaign. This will allow the company to get first opinions and feedback on the robot before its official market launch. What's more, it's a chance for them to carry out potential updates before the release. However, the campaign is exclusive to inhabitants of the USA. The official market launch in the United States is 12 October 2018. Vector will also be available in Canada, New Zealand, Australia and Great Britain.
To date, there has been no mention of a release date for German-speaking countries. We will just have to be patient until Anki develops its voice controls in German and enters our market with Vector. I think we can safely assume that this will not be happening this year and Vector will be available in Switzerland in 2019 at the earliest. I will keep you posted. One thing is for certain: As soon as Vector rolls onto the Swiss market, he will be available right here from Galaxus.
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