Many techie types of a certain age and early adopter attitude will remember the AIBO, Sony’s robotic entertainment dog, first unleashed onto the public back in 1999, seeing a handful of iterations and upgrades until, in 2006, the prohibitive cost saw Sony put AIBO to sleep for good.
What many techie types of a certain age and early adopter attitude will probably not remember is the Sony QRIO, a bipedal ‘humanoid’ robot that Sony took to the prototype stage and which, one terrifying day at a Sony press conference in a hotel conference room in Paris, I witnessed ‘coming at me’ with all the unstoppable, unrelenting lack of mercy of a two-foot-tall Terminator.
However, the QRIO never made mass production and the world of domestic robots veered away from entertainment and focused on the functional, with robotic vacuum cleaners and the likes of lawn mowers becoming both affordable and acceptable.
But robots are on the rise again, beyond the realms of the subservient, now available to entertain, educate and even provide some basic level of computer-based companionship for the elderly and, I suppose, socially unpleasant alike.
Relax, the overthrow of humankind is not quite on the cards yet, but if you fancy getting an early in with our eventual robot overlords, welcome one of these personal bot beauties into your home now! What could possibly go wrong… go wrong… go wrong… go…
ROBOSEN K1 PRO Interstellar Scout
Best for: Bipedal personal robot perfection
Taking a meander down (failing) Memory Lane now for myself and some of our more antiquated readers, back to the 80s where robots were undeniably fun. We had the likes of Johnny 5 from the film Short Circuit, Metal Mickey from the eponymous and lovingly low-budget British TV show, and even the sass-talking space robot of the future in the shape of Twiki from the epic US series Buck Rogers in the 25th Century. Then the 90s suddenly arrived and all on-screen robots went from being dancing, sarcastic, plastic pal funbots to remorseless human-genocide-seekin’ killbots seemingly overnight.
Well, the good news is that I’ve spent the best part of three months with the Robosen K1 PRO Interstellar Scout in my home and at no point has it attempted to murderise either myself or my family, despite looking quite capable of giving it a good go. Instead, what K1 has done over those past months is prove to be an astonishing bit of kit. Described in some online quarters as a ‘toy’ robot, this is nothing of the kind. Easily one of (it not THE) most advanced personal robots on the market, the K1 PRO can be operated via voice commands (some 80+, in fact) or over its highly intuitive iOS/Android app.
But operation of what? Let me break it down with some Robosen revelations: Underneath the K1 PRO’s slick, matt Aluminium-alloy frame and ABS+PC shell sits some 40 separate Robosen-self-developed microchips and no fewer than 17 servos that allow this almost-automaton to not only free-walk, balance and move like the humanoid is so longs to be, it can also perform complicated physical set-pieces, such as dancing, fighting, flipping, forwards and backwards rolls, handstands and other such complex, high-brow pre-programmed performance pieces. But then the K1 PRO can also ‘pretend to fart’ (with sound effect), ‘take a pee’, ‘take a poop’, ‘play dead’, bark like a dog, meow like a cat and bust other such, erm, lower-brow but massively amusing moves. Yes, I am immature; but you knew that.
The K1 PRO can also be operated via remote control, to terrorise your pets as much as you please and, vitally, is also programmable, allowing all levels of expertise from beginners to programming pros to play with the K1 PRO, learn from its block-based programming system and, for those who have to justify such things to a significant other, use the Robosen to teach vital new STEM-style (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) skills to the next generation.
And there you have him: the Robosen K1 PRO Interstellar Scout – probably the most advanced, ingenious personal robot currently not planning to conquer the planet.
Control: Voice or App (iOS and Android)
Voice commands: 80+
Programmable: Yes
Battery: Rechargeable lithium-ion
Height: 19-inches
Weight: 0.94kg
Buy now £400.00, Game
UBTech Alpha 1PRO
Best for: Coding and Kung Fu fun
Another humanoid, bipedal bot offering now but with far more of a Sir Jony Ive eye for how top-end tech should look, the Alpha 1PRO from UBTech costs a good £55 more than the Robosen K1 PRO and does indeed share many of the K1’s attributes. At 16-inches tall, the Alpha is bit a shorter and has one less servo, but don’t let that put you off. For the Alpha 1PRO is also both love and fighter, capable of dancing for you and yours’ entertainment pleasure, but also equally able to demonstrate yoga, Kung Fu and various fitness routines to help educate in the way only a 16-inch mechanoid can.
But, what’s more, the included ‘drag and drop’ 3D desktop coding app it comes packing (iOS and Android compatible) has been specially designed to enable absolute beginners as well as advanced programmers alike, making it another essential extension to the STEM education of your progeny.
Again, akin to the Robosen K1 PRO, the Alpha 1PRO can move with the rapid fluidity and human-aping natural flow of, in essence, an actual person perfectly pulling off ‘the robot’ to Daft Punk’s Technologic on a dance floor in 2005. What’s more, when it staggers off that dance floor, its Integrated Sensor Technology and Motion Control mean it can react to users and the environment about it, walking with directional navigational and not simply repeatedly bashing his advanced face into a wall like some deranged robomoth and lightbulb combo.
Featuring a rechargeable, detachable battery with optional spares available you can keep the Alpha 1PRO going for longer, meaning programming and playtime need never end until your own power runs down.
Control: App
Voice commands: Yes
Programmable: Yes
Battery: Rechargeable, detachable lithium polymer
Height: 16-inches
Weight: 1.65kg
Buy now £485.00, Amazon
Enabot EBO AIR
Best for: Keeping the kids/cats company
Life is a busy old affair. Just when you think you’ve managed to free up a nanosecond of time to yourself, some onerous fresh task rears its hideous head and rips your impending me-moment to ribbons like a rabid dog with a rag doll. But it’s not just you who loses out when time is not on your side, it’s also your kids, your pets and even any elderly relatives you may have knocking around. Which is why every household needs its own interactive family companion robot, such as the Enabot EBO AIR.
Okay, not bipedal and not designed to educate in the ways of coding, but rather to provide peace of mind by having your own iOS/Android-app- or AI-driven home rover, complete with a 1080p night-vision camera capable of motion detection, face recognition, and able to shoot at 30fps with real-time transmission.
Two-way audio means you can interact with who/whatever the EBO AIR is facing, while customisable automatic patrol time slots, automatic recharging and high-performance obstacle avoidance lets the little fella roam your house in AI mode, keeping an eye on your sleep-time security and sending alerts if and when required.
A clever bit of kit that takes remote interaction to the next level, the EBO AIR also features brushless motor technology to move silently as it goes about its smart business – but while nobody wants a droning droid disturbing the quiet, at only 8.9 x 9.6 x 9.6cm (H x W x D) in size, you’re going to want to keep a constant watch on where you’re stepping.
Control: App
Voice commands: No
Programmable: No
Battery: Automatic recharging
Height: 8.9cm
Weight: 310g
Buy now £170.00, Currys
Miko 3
Best for: Teaching coding to kids aged 5 to 10
Let’s face it, modern life can be increasingly difficult to navigate; and not just for we supposed grown-ups. With parents in the UK constantly distracted by the cost of living crisis and the savage unavailability of cucumbers, it can be difficult to lavish our kids with all the attention they need. But rather fob them off with smartphones and/or tablets, why not involve them in some advanced tech that can actually help engage them on both an intellectual and emotional level?
That’s the thinking behind Miko 3, an AI-driven, Wi-Fi-linked, STEM-learning coding-capable smartbot created with interactive companionship and education at its core.
Okay, first off, its wide-angle, 4.46-inch, high-res (1280 x 720), IPS touchscreen display is its ‘face’ through which it emotes different expressions to help emphasise with children. How the robot-devil does it do that? Well, thanks to advanced face and voice recognition, it knows who it’s talking to and addresses them by name, which is sweet, isn’t it? But then comes the combo of the HD camera and emotional intelligence engine that allows Miko to identify and recollect a child’s moods, helping it grow with every interaction, which is both terrifying and brilliant simultaneously.
Voice-controlled activities, coding apps and AI-based games will keep the kids enthralled, entertained and always learning, and you can check-in on how things are going at any time as that ‘face’ also allows for video calling.
With sophisticated sensors onboard to help Miko move about without ending up up-ended, a Miko Parent App that lets you look at logged time usage, plus data encryption, strict privacy norms, profanity filters, age-appropriate content, and culturally neutral suggestions, Miko 3 is 100 per cent both data- and child-safe.
Available in blue or red and moving about on three wheels, the Miko 3 is not the quietest when in motion, but then that means you’ll always know when its suddenly almost underfoot!
Control: App
Voice commands: Yes
Programmable: Yes
Battery: 2x lithium ion
Height: 25cm
Weight: 1.5kg
Buy now £268.00, Amazon
Robosen Elite Optimus Prime
Best for: Having your robot cake and eating it
What was it you wanted from the Robosen K1 PRO? A smart robot which could also transform? Well, you asked, so Robosen delivered!
Yep, the second iteration of Optimus Prime from Robosen, this new ‘Elite’ offering, is lighter, features 5000 components, 27 servo motors, 58 microchips, answers to 39 voice commands, can be controlled via smartphone app remote, and now features an added layer of software that… take a breath… allows it to auto transform into truck cab form at the touch of a button or vocal command.
Fully licenced by Hasbro and featuring the voice of the original OP actor, Peter Cullen, the Elite Optimus Prime can do everything the K1 PRO can, including allowing for entry-level voice programming, hand-guiding programming via an app, and also has block-based, 3D programming coming soon for full-on actions and voice customisation. So, it’s educational as well as cool as flip.
Control: Voice or app (iOS and Android)
Voice commands: 39
Programmable: Yes
Battery: Rechargeable lithium-ion
Height: 16-inches
Weight: 1.96kg
Buy now £699.00, Robosen
Petoi Bittle Robotic Dog
Best for: Programming dogged determination
Something a bit different now for the animal lovers out there, coming full-circle from where Sony left of with AIBO, the Petoi Bittle may not be as quite as cutesy as the original robo-mutt, but it certainly has more smarts in place when it comes to leading you on a walk through the coding countryside.
Palm-sized (depending on the size of your palm, clearly), what we have here is your own programmable pet which, using entry level scratch block-based coding or advanced Arduino IDE and C++/Python, you can develop and advance STEM skills exponentially, programming AI tasks that let Spot here sense and navigate the surrounding environment (although to get the full effect, you’ll need to invest in the optional intelligent camera module and/or other Arduino/Raspberry Pi compatible sensors).
Okay, so it may not be up to running with the big digi-dogs being developed at Boston Dynamics, but for offering an expandable education suitable for anyone aged 14 and over, the Petoi Bittle robo-rover is a pet project that keep you and the kids company for years.
Control: Remote control or app (Android and iOS)
Voice commands: No
Programmable: Yes
Battery: Rechargeable lithium-ion
Height: 110mm
Weight: 265g
Buy now £310.00, Amazon
