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Sony's Kaz Hirai: 4K and HDR are here, robots are coming
By all accounts, Sony played it safe at CES this year. Outside of an OLED TV that projects sound from its screen, the company was light on game-changing product announcements. So when I sat down with Sony CEO Kazuo Hirai for an exclusive interview, we focused on the topic that's been on everybody's lips this week: artificial intelligence. Last July, Hirai announced that Sony was reinvesting in AI in a big way for the first time since cutting funding in 2006. He says its ambitions go far beyond a refreshed Aibo, but not to rule out the possibility of robopup resurrection. As to whether we should be worried about our autonomous K9s turning into agents of a robot uprising? Hirai says it's up to companies like his to keep the AI hounds at bay. Click here to catch up on the latest news from CES 2017.
Panasonic's companion robot is a cute projector trapped in an egg
Have you ever wanted to talk to a projector? No? Well, Panasonic wants to change that. It's showing off a proof-of-concept desktop companion robot here at CES that can respond to commands to project images and videos on a wall or your desk.
LG made a couple of robots just for airports
Get ready for some friendly robots in your airport. LG made two different ones -- one is the Airport Guide Robot while the other is a Cleaning Robot. The Airport Guide robot, well, guides you through the airport. Simply feed it your boarding pass and it will tell you how to get to your gate and when your flight is going to take off. It can also respond to your voice, tell you the weather of your destination, and offer directions in one of four languages: English, Mandarin Chinese, Japanese and Korean. Oh, and there's a giant display where it shows you where to go. It can even walk you to your gate, if you prefer.
Moro is basically a four-foot Amazon Echo with arms
In-home assistants like Amazon Echo and Google Home are handy, but their functions are limited: They can tell you where to find a can of soda, but they can't actually bring one to you. Enter Moro.
LG's robots control your home and guide you through the airport
LG said it had big plans for its robots at CES, and it wasn't kidding around. The tech giant has unveiled a handful of robotic helpers that clearly go well beyond vacuums. To start, it's introducing the Hub Robot and its Mini-size counterpart. They can control your smart home devices, play music, offer advice on commuting times and otherwise make your life a little easier, all while offering a friendly face. It basically amounts to an Amazon Echo with cute expressions, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. And, importantly, they're not alone -- they have a much bigger sibling.
Lego Boost teaches kids how to bring blocks to life with code
If you've ever wished your childhood Lego creations could come to life, your dreams are now closer to reality. Lego has just unveiled a subbrand called Boost that promises to do just that. The base set contains a combination of sensors, motors and a unique companion app that teaches kids how to code so that they can program their new robot friends. Lego's Mindstorms could let you do this too, but that's a decidedly more advanced system aimed at young adults. Boost, on the other hand, is designed for kids ages 7 and up. The Lego Boost base starter set is priced at $160 and will be available later this year.
Kuri home robot can read to your kids and watch your home
You may not have to wait for the likes of ASUS' Zenbo to cross the ocean before you can get an affordable home robot. Mayfield Robotics (one of Bosch's startups) has taken the wraps off Kuri, a 20-inch-tall robot companion that promises to play nicely with your smart home. It can answer questions with a humanlike touch (facial expressions, head gestures and sounds), watch over your home with a 1080p camera and play audio, whether it follows you around with music or reads to your kids. It's reportedly easy to program, and you can use IFTTT to have it talk to other smart household devices.
The PowerRay underwater drone finds fish and films them in 4K
If you're heading out to the coast or the lake for a spot of fishing, you can have the best gear and the perfect bait but you won't land anything if you're set up in the wrong spot. Experience can only guide so you so much, so PowerVision -- the company behind the incredible PowerEgg drone we saw last year -- has built an underwater robot called the PowerRay to help find and lure in your next catch.
Watch Korea's mech take its first steps with a pilot on board
That real, life-sized mech Korean company Hankook Mirae debuted recently isn't just for show. Its designer, Hollywood SFX veteran Vitaly Bulgarov, has posted a video on Facebook showing the robot taking its first steps. And, yes, it had a pilot on board. The 13-feet-tall, 1.3-ton machine was created to work in extreme conditions where humans cannot go unprotected. It won't be able to go on rescue missions anytime soon, though -- not without a power source that's portable enough.
