Buddy robot wants to be a companion for your family

The Buddy robot features a camera, ultrasound, infra-red and thermal sensors, a range-finder sensor, a temperature sensor and ground detectors (Credit: Blue Frog Robotics)

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We may still be some way from having lifelike humanoid robot helpers, but there's no doubt robots are getting more helpful, friendly and domesticated. Blue Frog Robotics' new Buddy robot is designed to be an affordable family companion. It can help with communications, home security, edutainment and even elder care.

Buddy boasts many of the same features as the JIBO family robot that we featured last year, give or take. The one big difference, however, is that Buddy can move around of his own accord, whereas JIBO is static.

Buddy is mounted upon three motorized wheels that allow him to move around and turn autonomously. He can move at up to speeds of 70 cm / second (28 in / second) and can even negotiate increases and decreases in ground-height of up to 1.5 cm (0.6 in), such as low steps, transitions between carpets and trailing cables.

The robot is 22 in (56 cm) tall and weighs 5 kg (11 lb). He is controlled by an 8-in tablet that also acts as his face and an interface, has 16 GB of local data storage and a battery life of 8-10 hours, as well as built-in Wi-Fi and Bluetooth Low Energy connectivity.

A variety of sensors help to deliver the various functionalities provided. These include a camera, ultrasound, infra-red and thermal sensors, a range-finder sensor, a temperature sensor and ground detectors. Other inputs and outputs include a microphone, an audio output and speakers.

The sensors, coupled with Buddy's mobility, means that he can learn about and interact with the world around him. He's able to map a user's home in real time and avoid collisions and obstacles autonomously.

Buddy can also detect, recognize and track objects and faces, as well as hear, speak, see and make coinciding head movements. He can recognize speech and speak text, with French and English being his two preloaded languages and downloadable support available for Japanese, Mandarin Chinese, Korean, Italian, German, Portuguese, Spanish and Russian.

All this technology naturally means that Buddy is a multi-talented chap. He can make phone or video calls for users, tracking faces with his head and following people around as required. He can also acts as a calendar, alarm clock and reminders system.

When users are away from home, Buddy can patrol the premises and detect any fires, floods, burglars or other unusual activity. Users can log in to Buddy and control him remotely via an accompanying iOS, Android or Windows app, viewing their home through his "eyes." Buddy can also monitor appliance and energy usage.

For kids, Buddy can play games, such as hide-and-seek, and test them on their homework. He also acts as a means of introducing children to robotics and the digital world.

Blue Frog says he can also provide social interaction for elderly people, although that seems a touch far-fetched. More realistically, though, he can provide can provide reminders for them, detect falls and unusual situations, and easily connect them to family members and friends via phone, messages or video.

On top of all that, Buddy's technology platform is open-source, meaning that developers can build applications for him. The hardware too is modular, with accessories such as arms able to be swapped out for projector units.

自動翻譯僅供參考

Buddy機器人希望成為你家人的好伴侶 Buddy機器人希望成為一個伴侶您family

哥們機器人配有攝像機，超聲波，紅外線和熱傳感器，測距儀傳感器，溫度傳感器和地面探測器（來源：藍蛙機器人）

圖片廊（7張）

我們仍然有可能從具有逼真的類人機器人助手，但毫無疑問機器人越來越有幫助，友好和馴養。藍蛙機器人的新伙伴機器人被設計成一個負擔得起的家庭伴侶。它可以幫助溝通，家庭安全，寓教于樂，甚至老年護理。

好友擁有許多相同的功能，作為家庭際博機器人是我們的特色，去年，給予或采取。一個很大的區別，但問題在于，巴迪可以移動自己的協議，而際博是靜態的。

Buddy是安裝在三輪摩托輪子，讓他走動，把自主。他能夠以高達速度70厘米

秒（在秒28）移動，甚至可以協商增加及減少的高達1.5厘米（0.6英寸），如低階的地面高度，過渡地毯和拖纜之間.

機器人是22（56厘米）的身高，體重5千克（11磅）。他由一個8平板電腦中同時充當他的臉和接口控制，具有16 GB的本地數據存儲和8-10小時的電池壽命，以及內置的Wi-Fi和藍牙低耗能連接.

各種傳感器有助于實現所提供的各種功能。這些包括照相機，超聲波，紅外線和熱傳感器，一個測距儀傳感器，溫度傳感器和地面探測器。其他的輸入和輸出包括麥克風，音頻輸出和揚聲器。

傳感器，再加上好友的流動性，意味著他可以了解和他周圍的世界進行互動。他能夠映射實時用戶在家中，避免碰撞和障礙，自主

好友也可以檢測，識別和跟蹤物體和面孔，以及聽，說，看，并一致頭部運動。他可以識別語音并朗讀一段文字，用法語和英語是他的兩個預裝的語言和下載支持可用于日語，漢語中國，韓語，意大利語，德語，葡萄牙語，西班牙語和俄語。

所有這些技術自然意味著Buddy是一個多才多藝的第一章。他可以電話或視頻通話的用戶，跟蹤的面孔與他的頭，并根據需要圍繞下面的人。他也可以作為一個日歷，鬧鐘和提醒系統。

當用戶遠離家鄉，好友可以巡邏的前提和發現任何火災，水災，小偷或其他不尋常的活動。用戶可以登錄到好友，并通過附帶的的iOS，Android或Windows應用程序遠程控制他，通過他的觀察他們家的“眼睛”。好友還可以監視設備和能源使用。

對于孩子，好友可以玩游戲，如捉迷藏，尋求，并測試他們在他們的家庭作業。他還充當引入兒童機器人技術和數字世界的一種手段。

藍蛙說，他也能為老年人社會交往，雖然這似乎是一個觸摸牽強。更為現實的是，雖然，他可以提供能提供提醒他們，發現瀑布和異常情況，并輕松地將它們通過電話，郵件或視頻連接到家庭成員和朋友。

在最嚴重的是，巴迪的技術平臺是開放源，這意味著開發者可以為他構建應用程序。硬件太是模塊化的，與配件，如武器能夠被換出的投影單元。