Press. voanews.com
The robot
revolution has arrived at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas this week.
Among those on display are a robotic arm that plays table tennis with a human
opponent, and a larger-than-human robot that plays the word game Scrabble
against another player.
Many tech
companies from around the world are developing robots that act as social
companions that can be a part of the family. Imagine a mobile device, such as a
tablet, with a moving body and personality. Many social robots have faces with
blinking eyes and moving mouths and different expressions. One robot even
yawns. Some speak in various languages while one sounds like R2-D2 in the Star
Wars movies.
Companions and
safety
“This year, I
think is the first year we can touch this revolution,” said Rodolphe
Hasselvander, founder of Blue Frog Robotics, a French company that created the
robot named Buddy. Several robotic social companions that interact with people
will be available for sale this year. “This is like
humanoid. It’s good for maybe the elderly, for children and for adults to have
interaction,” said Sean Wang, general director of the Industrial Technology
Research Institute International Center.
They can do what
a smartphone can do and more. Some robots can entertain children. The robot
Buddy can patrol the home when the residents are not home and contact a
person’s phone if it detects an intruder or fire. Many of the robots have
cameras that act as eyes. For those concerned about someone hacking into a
robot to peep into a home, there are safeguards to look for when purchasing
one.
“When the camera
is activated, we will show it on the screen and specific lights so you know
that someone is using your camera,” Hasselvander said about Buddy. He said 2018
is the time when people are ready to accept social robots into their homes. “This
kind of robot is the next step because Amazon Echo, Google Home, can’t move.
They’re not alive. It’s not a character you know. So it’s the next step. I
think this robot, I hope it will be Buddy, but this kind of robot will be
adopted by everybody in the next few years,” Hasselvander said.
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