June 15, 2017 at 10:10There will be no hunt for Sarah Connor, or Kiki's robot is in a hurry to help
Robots have always attracted the attention of the public. How many children worried about Werther’s robot when he died saving a man. And how many people were worried about Sarah Connor when the T800 started hunting for her. Some 3 decades have passed and humanized robots meet you at the bank, advise you at the exhibition and open new car dealerships.
Today I want to talk a little about the Russian robot girl Kiki.
The first time I saw this funny robot girl at the exhibition, when she drove up to me soundlessly and offered to talk. Indeed, the feeling was created that I was talking with a person, but the lack of intonation and the “mechanical” notes in my voice betrayed that I was still communicating with the robot. Later, I learned that the robot can work offline, and can be controlled by the operator.
You can see and hear how the robot behaves.
What is it for?
At each exhibition, any company is trying to attract attention. Once at a photographic equipment exhibition, one of the companies built a stage on which stood an umbrella reflector with a diameter of almost 3 meters. At another exhibition, someone loudly announced a win-win lottery. And each time at the exhibitions you can see different degrees ofnaked women dressed, who should attract the attention of the public and invite to visit the desired stand. They are photographed, trying to get to know each other and moving on. Sometimes girls give out flyers or invitations to the stand. It is pleasant to the eye, and the number of visitors at the stand is not growing.
And then I saw the crowd. Everyone looked, someone laughed, someone took a selfie. The robot attracted everyone's attention! Even more attracted by the fact that the robot girl was actively communicating with visitors.
Opportunities for Kiki's Promoter Kiki’s
robot is doing 100% the job of a promoter. She can turn and turn personally to a specific person, blink her eyes, smile and stretch to make “hugs”. Actually, as Kiki herself said: “I can do anything, I just need to be taught.” In a conversation with engineers, it turned out that a robot is not just a toy, but a rather powerful hardware-software complex.
For example, while working offline, Kiki can independently move along a given route and greet all the people who meet along the way. She can remember the faces and names of visitors, and at the next meeting, greet a person by name. In addition, the robot girl is able to determine the sex, age and emotional state of a person. We add to this that she is able to give an answer instantly and automatically to a number of standard questions. And only in a non-standard situation, when a question was asked for which an answer was not programmed, the operator can intervene. The operator himself, as a rule, sits a few hundred meters and calmly drinks coffee with pies in the nearest cafe. If necessary, he can take control of the robot and answer any tricky questions. In addition, the robot may well give presentations independently: she has a touch screen on her chest, which can have a company logo, a slide show, or even a video. The latter is used less often, as it distracts attention from the eyes, but this is also possible.
Robot or human?
Telepresence robots appeared a few years ago. They allow you to remotely indicate the presence of a person. There are specialized robots for performing specific tasks, such as clearance or passing through pipes. But the robot, which itself will be literally walking advertising and entertainment, and will also be able to conduct a full-fledged dialogue with a person, is something new. Not even that. This is the embodiment of the advertiser's dream: it attracts attention, does not get tired and is not capricious, it works 24 hours a day. Well, the fact that the robo-girl is made of plastic and does not have any actual resemblance to a person is a plus - I think that without preliminary preparation, people would rather be scared when a cyborg approached them. For lovers of exotic, there is even a variant of the “tanned” Kiki.
So, who attracts more attention at the exhibition: long-legged girls or Kiki's robot? Girls are photographed, smiling and moving on. Around the robot they stop, take pictures, linger and talk. The robot definitely entertains and lures visitors better.
Conclusion
It turned out that robotics in Russia not only did not die, but was also at a very high level. True, this level is supported exclusively by private capital. There is an advantage: a very quick feedback to any needs. Just recently, one of the banks decided to put such a robot to meet visitors in one of its branches, and this requires specific changes to be made to Kiki's behavior. Private developers will be able to make such edits in a matter of days. What else I liked was the flexibility of interaction: there is no communication with a search engine that answers questions, but there is no feeling of communication with a person. A similar symbiosis of man and robot leads to the fact that the communication of information turns into entertainment.
I managed to get to the heart of AlfaRoboticsand look into the holy of holies - engineering workshop. But I’ll talk about what I saw there next time. If any details are interesting, then I will be happy to answer in the comments or add the following material.
Today I want to talk a little about the Russian robot girl Kiki.
The first time I saw this funny robot girl at the exhibition, when she drove up to me soundlessly and offered to talk. Indeed, the feeling was created that I was talking with a person, but the lack of intonation and the “mechanical” notes in my voice betrayed that I was still communicating with the robot. Later, I learned that the robot can work offline, and can be controlled by the operator.
You can see and hear how the robot behaves.
What is it for?
At each exhibition, any company is trying to attract attention. Once at a photographic equipment exhibition, one of the companies built a stage on which stood an umbrella reflector with a diameter of almost 3 meters. At another exhibition, someone loudly announced a win-win lottery. And each time at the exhibitions you can see different degrees of
And then I saw the crowd. Everyone looked, someone laughed, someone took a selfie. The robot attracted everyone's attention! Even more attracted by the fact that the robot girl was actively communicating with visitors.
Opportunities for Kiki's Promoter Kiki’s
robot is doing 100% the job of a promoter. She can turn and turn personally to a specific person, blink her eyes, smile and stretch to make “hugs”. Actually, as Kiki herself said: “I can do anything, I just need to be taught.” In a conversation with engineers, it turned out that a robot is not just a toy, but a rather powerful hardware-software complex.
For example, while working offline, Kiki can independently move along a given route and greet all the people who meet along the way. She can remember the faces and names of visitors, and at the next meeting, greet a person by name. In addition, the robot girl is able to determine the sex, age and emotional state of a person. We add to this that she is able to give an answer instantly and automatically to a number of standard questions. And only in a non-standard situation, when a question was asked for which an answer was not programmed, the operator can intervene. The operator himself, as a rule, sits a few hundred meters and calmly drinks coffee with pies in the nearest cafe. If necessary, he can take control of the robot and answer any tricky questions. In addition, the robot may well give presentations independently: she has a touch screen on her chest, which can have a company logo, a slide show, or even a video. The latter is used less often, as it distracts attention from the eyes, but this is also possible.
Robot or human?
Telepresence robots appeared a few years ago. They allow you to remotely indicate the presence of a person. There are specialized robots for performing specific tasks, such as clearance or passing through pipes. But the robot, which itself will be literally walking advertising and entertainment, and will also be able to conduct a full-fledged dialogue with a person, is something new. Not even that. This is the embodiment of the advertiser's dream: it attracts attention, does not get tired and is not capricious, it works 24 hours a day. Well, the fact that the robo-girl is made of plastic and does not have any actual resemblance to a person is a plus - I think that without preliminary preparation, people would rather be scared when a cyborg approached them. For lovers of exotic, there is even a variant of the “tanned” Kiki.
So, who attracts more attention at the exhibition: long-legged girls or Kiki's robot? Girls are photographed, smiling and moving on. Around the robot they stop, take pictures, linger and talk. The robot definitely entertains and lures visitors better.
Conclusion
It turned out that robotics in Russia not only did not die, but was also at a very high level. True, this level is supported exclusively by private capital. There is an advantage: a very quick feedback to any needs. Just recently, one of the banks decided to put such a robot to meet visitors in one of its branches, and this requires specific changes to be made to Kiki's behavior. Private developers will be able to make such edits in a matter of days. What else I liked was the flexibility of interaction: there is no communication with a search engine that answers questions, but there is no feeling of communication with a person. A similar symbiosis of man and robot leads to the fact that the communication of information turns into entertainment.
I managed to get to the heart of AlfaRoboticsand look into the holy of holies - engineering workshop. But I’ll talk about what I saw there next time. If any details are interesting, then I will be happy to answer in the comments or add the following material.
