NEC's new PaPeRo is 40 cm tall, capable of recognizing 650 phrases and willing and able to help you solve relationship problems it might cause.
Now there's a thought. If you're a gadget addict, a personal robot would probably keep you occupied for days while exploring it, possibly leading to some serious relationship problems (given you're in a relationship, that is). NEC's design team must have anticipated this, as the PaPeRo - short for Partner-type Personal Robot - will recognize a fight when it hears one, and try to mediate. Although we suspect the robot will ultimately end up taking a beating for doing so, it's a noble and noteworthy attempt to fix a problem the unknowing PaPeRo might have caused to begin with.
 | | NEC's PaPeRo might help you solve relationship problems there's a good chance it helped create itself if you're a gadget lover |
The robot is completely self-sufficient, and all processing is done inside the shell as there are no means of communications with external processing units. Its predecessor, the Personal Robot R100 had all processing done on a PC that communicated wirelessly with the robot, but for a robot to become completely stand-alone, all processing must take place inside the shell.
With the help of its three ears (ok, microphones), the PaPeRo is able to recognize over 650 phrases and speak more than 3000 phrases itself. It also has two CCD cameras, enabling it to recognize its owner, and in a combination with ultrasonic sensors this is also what enables the robot to walk around a room without bumping into any obstacles.
The PaPeRo will wander about the house until it finds a human, or just for fun - and if it gets tired of doing so or fails to find someone, it'll even take a nap. If you call on it, it will look around for you, and if it has a message for a person in the household it will search for that person until it has delivered the message.
Interaction takes place through voice communication, and the little fella will also try to follow your face when talking to it using vision processing technology. It's also able to remember your face using visual recognition technology, and will react when you stroke or pat its head. The AI is programmed to have both emotions and preferences, and the robot will evolve based on your behavior towards it.
Also, it has a built-in IR TV remote control, so you better behave if you don't want to get tangled up in a zapping fight - we'll put our money on the little guy in case you do :)
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