A China-based company, UBTech, already earned itself a good name in the robotics industry after developing an impressive line of humanoid robots. All the robots built were equipped with various AI technologies. However, this year they raised the bar even higher with the launch of Walker at this years CES. Walker is the world’s first biped robot and has functional arms and several interactive control features. UBTech gave Walker the look of Stormtrooper from Star Wars, which was indeed a wise decision to make it stand out among other country’s humanoid robots.
UBTech’s spokesperson said, “We focus on humanoid robotics. That involves limbs and walking. That’s something that we do well. Stormtroopers are universally identifiable. You see more Stormtroopers at Comic-Con than probably any other character.” After achieving the humanoid robot concept of balancing the form and function, it was indeed a nice decision to give Walker the look of Stormtrooper.
The company also made another clever move and set Walker for sale on 15th December. It was the same day when the latest Star Wars movie was released worldwide. Here are some of the specification of Walker – The Stormtrooper;
- Sensors are installed in its suite for motion detection, light monitoring, and IR detection. The IR detector prevents Walker from going over the table edge. There is also a gyroscope accelerator in the suite.
- A built-in camera in the helmet. The camera can be accessed through an iPad app to see through Walker’s eyes.
- 3 onboard mics which have voice command capability
- A linked app that allows Walker to join various Star Wars mission through Augmented Reality (AR) contact.
- It can monitor video and security surveillance
- It has Personal Assistant Functionality that can notify for a calendar, schedule management, real-time e-mail integration and video calls or conference calls.
UBTech CEO James Chow shared his views about Walker saying, “Walker bridges the gap between technologies that were once only available in scientific research institutions and everyday people. It has been specifically designed to have a tangible and positive impact and provides services that families have never had access to before. As the world’s first biped robot of its kind, Walker exemplifies UBTECH’s commitment to creating technologies that will make a difference and have a positive impact.”
The robot is being sold at $299 at the moment. Seeing Walker’s capabilities this seems to be a fair price. UBTech intends to continue focusing on research and development in the next months on Walker. Apart from Walker, the Lynx with Amazon Alexa, Cruzr, Jimu Robot, and Star Wars First Order Stormtrooper Robot were also displayed at CES 2018.
Something very interesting about this year’s CES was that most of it was focused on AI and data. Along with the amazing range of tech-driven products showcase and inspiring speeches, many companies were interested to share the vision of their transformative power. The way all these companies are working on AI robots, it seems like the world will be witnessing much advanced AI enabled bots in near future.