InGen dynamics unveils 'aido', a balancing smart-home robot

the latest offering from the world of robotic personal assistants, InGen dynamics has unveiled ‘aido’ a balancing, vacuum-shaped home bot. dubbed an ‘interactive personal home robot’, aido aims to take home connectivity to the next level, becoming an indispensable part of your daily life and a natural extension of your existing devices.

aido is certainly one of the more interestingly shaped home-robots we’ve encountered. ergonomically designed, aido gets around by balancing on a ball, allowing him to easily manoeuvre himself around your home while overcoming minor obstacles. a central facial interface — complete with gleaming blue eyes — is the main mode of interacting with the bot, and allows him to call up recipes, piano lessons, video feeds from the internet or simply express his emotions through a series of symbols. an integrated projection system allows aido to throw these displays onto a nearby wall or surface, meaning you can easily view emails, facebook, photos or videos — or engage in a portable skype conference.

‘since day one, the goal of InGen dynamics has been to build a useful, affordable and an advanced home robot’, say InGen, who were keen to create a truly functional, integrated assistant. ‘a beautifully crafted home robot that is a showpiece for robotic innovation. the next phase of the consumer robotics revolution is truly underway, and the next five years would set the stage for how these robots could fundamentally transform our homes and daily lives.’ investing in this change, aido is capable of syncing with compatible smart home devices, and can be programmed to control such things as room temperature, air conditioning, lighting and home security.

the team also promise facial recognition, allowing aido to identify each member of your family individually and adjust to their preferences, as well the ability to play simple games such as hide and seek. inside, aido will be capable of running on both android and linux, and will be able to support all android applications. already having raised over $37,000 on its startengine page, the friendly droid is looking likely to more than meet its target. visitors to the page are reminded however, that aido is still a work-in-progress, with exact functionalities and final product specification subject to change.

wondering how aido and others are going to affect your life in the future? check out designboom’s 2017 robotics predictions for more info on what we think is in store for our helpful metal friends.

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