While Amazon’s voice-operated assistant Alexa permeated all sorts of future devices at the 2017 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, other technology giants did their best to offer a personal assistant of their own.
And they were much cuter than the chunky tube that answers to “Alexa.”
Here’s our roundup of personal and resourceful robots seen at CES.
Tamara Chuang
LG Hub robot
LG Hub: This little guy uses Amazon Alexa’s voice recognition technology to assist users by turning off the lights or air conditioner. There’s also a built-in screen that can show a recipe with step-by-step instructions, or stream music and offer weather updates on command. LG hasn’t committed to building Hub but wanted to show what the company is capable of creating.
Tamara Chuang
Sony Xperia Agent M
Sony’s Agent M: Another concept robot, the Xperia Agent M has one eye and links to a home’s smart devices. It can turn on the TV, project a slideshow on its belly and play music.
Tamara Chuang
Jibo recognizes users by face and voice. It also shakes its “hips” while dancing.
Jibo: This “social” robot uses voice and facial recognition to know who it’s talking to. It’ll play games with children, tell them bedtime stories and snap a photo or send messages to online friends and family. Jibo is under development following a successful crowdfunding campaign in 2014.
Tamara Chuang
Tend Insights added Qualcomm’s Always-On Vision Module so the Minion can interact with people.
Qualcomm Minion: The battery-powered minion isn’t really a robot, but the from Tend Insights uses Qualcomm’s Always-On Vision Module to interact with people based on what it sees.
Tamara Chuang
LG Airport Guide will tell travelers where their gate is — and even take them to it.
LG Airport Guide: Imagine robots gliding around the airport, ready to escort you to your gate — without judging. LG’s Airport Guide Robot will soon be roaming Seoul’s Incheon International Airport and will communicate in four languages: English, Chinese, Japanese and Korean. Scan a ticket to get necessary airport information plus the weather at your destination.
Tamara Chuang
With the proper outfit, Sphero’s educational Sprk+ toy robot can go for a swim. Photo taken at Sphero’s CES 2017 booth in Las Vegas.
Sphero Sprk+: Boulder’s own toy robot company Sphero created all sorts of accessories for its round robots. Pictured is the educational Sprk+ in some sort of swimsuit.
Panasonic
Panasonic’s companion robot can project a video on a surface.
Panasonic companion robot: This egg-shaped robot prototype pops up out if its shell to reveal a cyclops eye and twisty neck. According to Panasonic, the robot uses Wi-Fi and artificial intelligence to communicate. It also has a built-in projector.
