Anki Robots with Emotional Bond

Anki develops Vector, an apple-sized bot designed to work as a personal assistant.

19:58 13 August 2018

Anki, a company that aims to create robots that owners “can have an emotional bond with”, is launching Vector, an apple-sized bot designed to work as a personal assistant.

 

Mark Palatucci, co-founder and chief product officer at Anki, said: ”We're trying to create a different future, a friendly future where robots are not taking people's jobs or a threat to humanity but rather they're additive.

 

“They're fun, they're engaging and ultimately they do something useful.

 

“They're doing it in a way where you could have an emotional bond or affinity for this type of character.”

 

Vector has been designed to connect to the WiFi when users ask questions. It also displays various facial expressions through its digital Disney-sized eyes. It displays a “happy” expression when stroked.

 

Mr Palatucci added: “A lot of the bond that you have with a pet – how can we take that kind of emotion and psychology and build it into a physical machine and ultimately create better user experiences?

 

"Humans communicate in an emotive way, we understand people not just through language but also through emotions and facial expressions.”