Meet Cozmo, The Game-Playing AI Robot Love Child Of Wall-E And Eve

by Brandon Hill — Monday, June 27, 2016, 10:59 AM EDT

If you've ever wanted to know what the offspring of Wall-E and Eve would look like, the answer has just been birthed thanks to the help of Anki. If you’re familiar with Anki’s Overdrive — which is a modern take on slot car racing — then you know that the company has a penchant for designing intelligent, robotic gadgets that appeal to both kids and adults.

The Cozmo is no different, bringing with it a Pixar-inspired design and the ability to interact intelligently with its handler. Capable of fitting in the palm of your hand, Cozmo looks somewhat like a miniature forklift, or as Anki calls it, a “supercomputer on treads.” The Pixar similarities extend to Cozmo’s OLED face, which is a dead ringer for Eve’s mug (a former Pixar animator is on Anki’s design team which explains the similarities). It’s here that you’ll be able to see Cozmo’s emotions; hundreds of which can be put on display to mimic human behavior.

Those expressive LED “eyes” are capable of detecting a human’s presence and even remember individuals. When Cozmo first encounters you, the accompanying iPhone/Android app will prompt you to input your name. From that moment forward, the tiny little robot will call you by name, follow you around and store any interaction that it has had with you in the past to draw from on future encounters.

“Smarts aside, Cozmo’s heart and soul rests within his emotion engine, which evolves as you develop a bond,” writes the Anki team. “He’s brought to life with complex facial expressions, a host of emotions, and his own voice and language. His dynamic soundtrack matches his mood and corresponds with the games and activities, elevating playtime to a uniquely cinematic experience.”

Cozmo uses this knowledge to engage you with games and challenges. Each retail device will come with a set of blocks (or Power Cubes as Anki calls them) that can be used to play games like Quick Tap, Memory Match, and Keepaway. Cozmo is a conniving little bot and will quickly learn your weakness (and learn from its mistakes) to beat you in future encounters. And it performs all of these interaction with humor and spunk, which will keep children coming back for more — not to mention adults that haven’t abandoned their inner child.

The Anki Cozmo will ship this October, and will be priced at $179.99 in retail stores. However, you can preorder Cozmo today and save $20 (you’ll also receive the bot two days ahead of general availability). In the box, you’ll find Cozmo, a charging dock and three Power Cubes – and hopefully enough varied and enjoyable interactivity to justify its price tag.

Tags: Robot, AI, cozmo, anki, wall-e

Brandon Hill

Brandon received his first PC, an IBM Aptiva 310, in 1994 and hasn’t looked back since. He cut his teeth on computer building/repair working at a mom and pop computer shop as a plucky teen in the mid 90s and went on to join AnandTech as the Senior News Editor in 1999. Brandon would later help to form DailyTech where he served as Editor-in-Chief from 2008 until 2014. Brandon is a tech geek at heart, and family members always know where to turn when they need free tech support. When he isn’t writing about the tech hardware or studying up on the latest in mobile gadgets, you’ll find him browsing forums that cater to his long-running passion: automobiles.

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