Alpha 2

Your Robot Companion

By Anca Gagiuc on Dec 23, 2015 in Technology

A new species is evolving—the humanoid robot. The family of human-like robots adds a new sibling with Chinese Ubtech Robotics’ crowdfunding campaign for Alpha 2—its newest humanoid companion-bot.

The little fellow is “designed for practical household service and companionship,” because Ubtech felt that the need for human-like, responsive technology is growing.

Alpha 2 is the brainchild of James Chow, Ubtech’s CEO. Made from aluminum alloy, PC + ABS housing, this small domestic drone is designed on the same premise as today’s smartphones — a responsive, intuitive and attractive platform on which to develop intelligent and useful functionality. Indeed, the Alpha 2 is fully programmable, operates on an open-source OS, and offers some impressive sensory inputs, including ultrasonic, touch, and pressure sensors.

The robot companion may be small, but he is pretty smart. His brain is connected to the cloud, which allows it to leverage more visual and audio processing power than what could be physically implanted in a plastic skull.

Alpha 2 can perform a series of activities (so far). It can manage weekly calendars and provide verbal reminders for scheduled tasks; his conversation skills make of him a tutor or interpreter, and he can also follow verbal instructions. Of course, he can take high quality photos (8 million-pixel camera with auto-focus and built-in powerful visual computing systems and smart technologies) and can also post them on social media. Alpha 2 can perform home security monitoring and alerts, entertain your children, guests, and even pets. We couldn’t really grasp exactly how the robot can entertain pets, hopefully it doesn’t involve letting the cat push it off the table.

The 17-inch tall alloy family companion is equipped with 2GB of RAM memory, 16GB of storage, and a Samsung Exynos 5260 six-core processor. The five-pound robot will run on Android 4.4 (KitKat). Furthermore, Alpha 2 has 20 joints with flexibility to simulate the movements of the human skeleton (it can dance and even do yoga with you!)

Setting up Alpha 2 is quite easy: you connect it to the Wi-Fi network (it can also connect via Bluetooth), teach it to recognize your face and voice, and then see what you can ask it. Download the VAPP (Voice Apps) to control Alpha 2 and add additional functions. The apps will be downloaded from the Alpha Store that will open around the date of the first Alpha 2 deliveries. The gadget will have its own mobile app and can be downloaded for free on smartphones compatible with iOS and Android.

Alpha 2 won’t be ready for the holidays. The company has just started an Indiegogo campaign to raise money for its development, aiming to deliver the robot in the second quarter of 2016, with an anticipated asking price range between $1,500 and $2,000. Early backers will be able to pre-order one for a price of $500.