We have seen in many movies that robots are a member of a family. If you also dream to have a robot as part of your family, then it’s not too far. Cynthia Breazeal, an associate professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is trying to create the world’s first family robot called Jibo.
Jibo is a desktop robot. Jibo runs on Linux and is programmed in JavaScript. It weighs around 6 pounds (2.7 kg). It is 11-inch (28 cm) tall and has a round 6-inch base that plugs into a standard AC outlet, a slightly cone-shaped midsection and a round head with a flat front that sits on top of it.
Jibo is mostly made of aluminium and white plastic. It has a light system in its face. Whenever people talks to it, the robot looks at that person. And with the help of nice speech synthesis software, when Jibo talks, its screen shows a large “blinking” ball (the blink is like the closing of an eye).
Jibo’s face mainly consists of a 5.7-inch 1980×1080 touchscreen, but there’s a couple of stereo cameras, stereo speakers, and stereo microphones hidden away in there too. Its body is separated into three regions, all of which can be motor-driven through 360 degrees — and it’s all fully touch sensitive, too, so people can interact by patting it on the head, poking its belly, etc.
The robot can recognize and track the faces of family members. It may help people while they are doing a task like cooking. At least, Jibo could be a great companion while they are alone and doing something.
At this moment, Jibo is just a prototype. The Jibo makers are now collecting funds via Indiegogo. The team had a goal of collecting $100,000 by August 15, 2014 (11:59 pm, PT), but as of writing, team has already gathered $795,094 with 27 days in hand.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3N1Q8oFpX1Y
For more details, hit the source link below.
Source: Indiegogo
Thanks To: Mashable
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