Have you ever wanted a little robot helper for your household? You know, a family-friendly ‘bot that could read your children stories, look up recipes, take family photos? Well, developed by MIT Media Lab professor Cynthia Breazeal, the Jibo can do all of that and more: set to be produced some time next year, it’s the world’s first “family robot.”
The “family” ‘bot comes equipped with facial recognition software, so it can recognize all the different members of your family. It can also express its own emotions through its circular screen—which is attached to a three-jointed stand that allows it to move. The Jibo can also record your messages, jot down reminders, and even carry on whole conversations with you. Apparently, it can even laugh.
“Jibo is a physically animate, physically present device,” said Breazeal on Gizmodo. “It's beyond the world trapped on a screen into world of atoms where people work and play,” adding that it’s sort of a cross “between a device today and your sci-fi version of a robot.”
While the Jibo is not a futuristic sci-fi butler—it can’t cook for you or wash your clothes, for example—Breazeal’s invention is certainly a leap forward for home robotics.
Although, once again, you may be disappointed with the price: it’s available for pre-order on Indiegogo for $499, $599 for the developer version. If you want to get a better idea of what exactly the Jibo can do before you shell out the cash, you can check out the video below:
Source Gizmodo
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