INTRODUCING VECTOR, THE AI-POWERED ROBOT OF THE FUTURE

Designed by Redpepper, the AI-powered robot drives like a tank and features an expressive LCD face. 

Two years after the release of the Cozmo robot, San Francisco-based startup, Anki, returns with Vector; an autonomous smart home robot that is designed as a robot companion and helper and could give virtual assistants like Siri or even Alexa a run for their money. The AI-powered mini-bot can detect the user’s face, answer your questions and play games too.

However, do not expect too much: The root has a tiny voice and can barely push a coffee mug around. Vector comes with a 720p HD colour camera stream, facial recognition and over a thousand world-class animations. It requires an app for setup, but after that, all interactions with Vector are done with eye contact and talking.

Perfectly suited for a kitchen counter, side table or desktop, Vector has four cliff sensors on each corner that stop it from rolling off the edge. Its little arms can lift only a special plastic block, but Anki says that Vector is good with engaging with people. The robot creates a 3D map of its environment as it moves about the space, detecting and mapping obstacles.

The robot is powered by Qualcomm's Quad-Core APQ8009 processor, which includes support for the robot’s AI capabilities, which includes responding to a series of voice commands and recharging itself by returning to its dock.

You can see Vector in action in the video below.