For only $599, consumers will be able to bring home their own robotic computing technology.
Asus took the stage in Taipei at the Computex trade show this week and unveiled its adorable new Zenbo robot, which is talking robotic technology designed for consumers to be able to use at home and priced at $599.
According to the announcement from Asus, Zenbo was designed to enable “robotic computing for every household.”
The Zenbo robot is meant to be a kind of digital, talking and cute personal assistant that will help in reading to children or taking care of elderly relatives. However, the first impressions shared by the media have included some rather mixed opinions so far. While some think it is an incredible first step toward bringing robots into the home environment, others feel that it has fallen short to an important degree.
The Zenbo robot rolls around on wheels and is about two feet tall, with connected technology features.
The new Asus robot can either show an animated face on its display or it can be used for any of a number of other features such as streaming movies or making video calls. This robot technology was demonstrated in Taipei at the Computex trade show by Jonney Shih, the chairman of the company. Shih demonstrated the way that Zenbo could receive voice activated commands as it rolled around the stage answering questions and conducted certain tasks.
For example, Shih asked the home robot “Hey Zenbo, is it true you can take pictures,” to which it replied “Yes, I can take photographs.” He then directed the Asus robot technology to snap a picture of him with the audience, positioning himself on the stage in order to pose for the image. Zenbo proceeded to roll over to where he was and did indeed take the picture.
As of yet, while the estimated price of $599 has been revealed for the Zenbo robot, there has yet to be any word as to when it will actually be available for purchase. Moreover, when an Asus spokesperson was asked about the ship date, that individual was unable to respond. At the moment, the consumer technology company is hoping that developers will sign up to receive the robot’s software development kit (SDK) in order to make it possible for mobile apps to be developed specifically for the robot.
