Jibo – The World’s First Family Robot

Meet Jibo, he is not an appliance. He is a companion for the whole family! It may sound like a simple concept, but it not. Dr. Cynthia Breazeal, the creator of Jibo, has spent years trying to build a robot that can work and live alongside humans: Jibo, the world’s first family robot.

Jibo is futuristic; he can interact with people on more of a human level than a robotic one. Dr.Cynthia Breazeal said: “In the world of entities, our minds have different ways, different psychology when you think of things that are governed by having states of mind and things that are governed by the laws of physics.”

So, what exactly can Jibo do? In the video of Jibo, the robot is seen as another member of the family. Jibo can do so much, take family photos, remind mom that she has plans later, read bedtime stories and do so much more.

So far Jibo has mastered some skills, like telling the story of “Three Little Pigs” and minimal voice commands. The robot’s most innovative feat is it’s telepresence app, when someone calls Jibo through the communication service, he can track people’s faces in real-time and swivel his orb-like head to maintain “eye contact.” Jibo will even lower his head when it is time to go to bed!

At first glance Jibo may look like an ordinary, boring desktop robot, but he has a wide variety of different skills…

Assistant – Politely reminds you of important tasks, events and activities to ensure you stay on top of things.
Messenger – Jibo can recognize every member of your household, so he can deliver the right message to the right people.
Photographer – Natural cues are used, like movement and speech and smile detection, to know when someone is posing for a picture.
Avatar – The see-and-track camera makes it easy for Jibo to turn and look at people directly, especially during a video call.
Storyteller – Storytelling can be responsive and interactive with sound effects, graphics and physical movements.
Companion – Physical presence with helpfulness and heart, Jibo can always make you feel better and put a smile on your face.

All this sounds great, Jibo could be really helpful and in the near future technology will have to step in and empower us in the home. So, Jibo could be the world’s first family robot that everyone loves, or he could be that creepy robot staring at you in the darkness when you get home after work.

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Written By: Christine Romans
CopyWriter at The Computer Guyz Cape Town