Tech
Asus unveils Zenbo, the strangest robot ever seen yet
Tech giant, Asus has unveiled Zenbo, considered to be the strangest robot ever seen yet. The bot unveil is coming after Asus launched a slew of new laptops and smartphones, and clearly enjoying every second of its Computex 2016 keynote.
The chairman of Asus Jonney Shih closed Monday’s proceedings at Computex 2016 by dancing on stage with a robot.
A bit like SoftBank’s Pepper bot, but without the arms and legs, Zenbo is a multi-functional machine designed for the family home. Standing at little more than 60 centimetres and moving around on wheels, the diminutive robot has two main parts – a spherical base a little larger than a basketball, and a “head” comprising a digital display with enough space for Zenbo’s massive blinking eyes. It’s happy to chat in English, too.
Read also: Pope Francis reveals his favourite YouTube videos
The robot’s raisons d’être, apart from to make Asus a shed load of money, is to provide “assistance, entertainment, and companionship” for all members of the family. So, in an entertaining though indisputably offbeat short movie touting Zenbo’s features, we see the bot trundle up to Mom to remind her she has a family photo shoot at 5pm.
This sends her into a bit of a panic as she needs to make dinner first. We then see Zenbo reading out a paella recipe, with Mom able to ask for individual instructions as she goes.
In another scene, the seemingly omnipresent robot turns up beside Grandpa to tell him to take his medication. Zenbo’s face also transforms into a tablet touchscreen, and in the movie allows Grandpa to take instructions from his grandson on how to order some clothes online. And so it goes on.
Zenbo sort of does everything. Aside from the above, it can also entertain the kids, play music, take photos, and receive and make calls. It can link with smart devices, too, turning every appliance in the house on and off, unlocking doors, and controlling the air conditioner.
RipplesNigeria …without borders, without fears
Join the conversation
Support Ripples Nigeria, hold up solutions journalism
Balanced, fearless journalism driven by data comes at huge financial costs.
As a media platform, we hold leadership accountable and will not trade the right to press freedom and free speech for a piece of cake.
If you like what we do, and are ready to uphold solutions journalism, kindly donate to the Ripples Nigeria cause.
Your support would help to ensure that citizens and institutions continue to have free access to credible and reliable information for societal development.
INVESTIGATION: In Kwara, multimillion-naira milk processing plant is abandoned, converted to a chicken outlet
After the government spent millions of naira to establish a milk processing plant in Kwara State that would provided jobs...
SPECIAL REPORT: For Sokoto communities, promise of healthcare is akin to death sentence
In this story, ABDULRASHEED HAMMAD delves into the dire realities of Primary Health Care services in Sokoto State, shedding light...
ICYMI…SPECIAL REPORT: NNPCL hides behind PIA to frustrate disclosure, accountability
Nigeria’s major oil company, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL), in what appears to be a common practice of disregard...
INVESTIGATION: Multi-million naira Ekiti resort center remains uncompleted a decade after
The multimillion-naira project, expected to comprise recreational buildings, now consists of cassava farmland, a bush used for excretion, and a...
SPECIAL REPORT: Torturous experiences of students with disabilities in Oyo tertiary institutions
For students with disabilities in Oyo state-owned tertiary institutions, learning is a torturous and distressing experience, considering the building structures...