New personal robot could become next family member

Record ID: 85247

  • Title: New personal robot could become next family member
  • Date: 27th September 2016
  • Summary: SHENZHEN, CHINA (SEPTEMBER 12, 2016) (REUTERS) NXROBO CEO, DR. TIN LUN LAM, SITTING IN SIMULATED LIVING ROOM WITH BIG-I BIG-I'S 'EYE' BIG-I MOVING AROUND SIMULATED LIVING ROOM BIG-I PLAYING MUSIC LAM WALKING INTO OFFICE (SOUNDBITE) (English) NXROBO CEO, DR. TIN LUN LAM, SAYING: "We know that in every family the environment and also the family member is different. Also, each person may have some unique requirement. That means a preset device or robot cannot fit it very well. So we developed a robot with very high face visibility and every function or action of the robot is decided by the user so it is highly personalized." BIG-I TURNING OFF TELEVISION VARIOUS OF BIG-I TAKING A PICTURE OF LAM (SOUNDBITE) (English) NXROBO CEO, DR. TIN LUN LAM, SAYING: "For example, you can tell the robot, 'if the temperature is higher than 30 degrees please help me turn on the air conditioner'. So this is not a direct command to do it instantly, it's only to do it once the certain sensor have approached the certain value. And also you can let the robot (know) by saying that; 'if you see my son in the kitchen, please remind him to wash his hands before eating something'. So it can do lots of things."
  • Embargoed: 12th October 2016 11:51
  • Keywords: face recognition BIG-i NXROBO robots robot service robot
  • Location: SHENZHEN, CHINA/UNKNOWN
  • City: SHENZHEN, CHINA/UNKNOWN
  • Country: China
  • Topics: Science
  • Reuters ID: LVA00251CEJ4R
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: A new robotics company in China has produced what it's touting as the world's first personal robot.
    The robot, known as BIG-i, has been programmed to recognize faces, understand complex commands and even tell jokes in Mandarin and English.
    Shenzhen-based NXROBO CEO Dr. Tin Lun Lam hopes BIG-i will become part of the family.
    "We know that in every family the environment and also the family member is different. And also each person each have some unique requirement. That means a preset device or robot can not fit it very well. So we developed a robot with very high face visibility and every function or action of the robot is decided by the user so it is highly personalized," Lam said.
    With its facial recognition software, BIG-i knows who its most loyal friend is, and through the key person (also known as the "Loyal Friend"), it will establish a hierarchy of relationships.
    BIG-i will also consider people it has never met as strangers, so they won't be able to instruct the BIG-i until the key person introduces them.
    Once the key person introduces BIG-i to the family, it will learn their names, their preferences and more. The company says the more BIG-i learns, the cleverer it will be.
    The robot can also navigate by itself around an apartment and control appliances such as the air conditioner, music, lights and TV, all with a WiFi connection.
    "For example, you can tell the robot; 'if the temperature is higher than 30 degrees please help me turn on the air conditioner'. So this is not a direct command to do it instantly, it's only to do it once the certain sensor have approached the certain value. And also you can let the robot (know) by saying that; 'if you see my son in the kitchen, please remind him to wash his hands before eating something'. So it can do lots of things," Lam said.
    The company has also developed an exclusive open platform for BIG-i. It allows developers to create applications to integrate into their own BIG-i and share their creations within the community.
    The 12kg (26.5 pounds) robot can work for around five hours before automatically returning to its home base to recharge.
    Other skills of BIG-i include obstacle avoidance, map building, path planning, auto navigation, voice programming, voice messages, photo/video taking, remote monitoring, night patrol, appliances control, media players, storytelling, encyclopedia, weather forecast, and recipes.
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