Remember the adorable scene of Einstein bobbleheads turning alive and conversing with night guard Larry Daley (played by Ben Stiller) in Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian? Well, wouldn’t it be nice to have a real, miniature version of the world’s most recognizable genius who could answer the questions you have in that wrinkly sponge of yours? I know right? If you are into science, you will wish for one and the good news is, you actually can – all thanks to robotic company, Hanson Robotics. The commercial robotic development company has released its first mass-produced consumer robot in the form of Albert Einstein Robot which you and I can buy.
The Professor Einstein Personal Genius Robot may not be as adorable as the bobblehead version and not as articulated (one thing for sure, the head does not bobble), but it does talking naturally, and as it talks, it is accompanied by Einstein’s facial expressions (over 50 facial expressions!), mannerism and even walks like Einstein. In short, this Einstein mini-me has teh genius’ personality. Like I said, it is not as cute as the make believed bobblehead version, but it is adorable enough to make any science nuts want one. Ok, maybe just science nuts’ children.
It can hear and respond to certain voice commands like Alexa or Google Home do and while it may not as sophisticated, children should find it more fun to interact with since it has a robotic form that offers a sense of presence and interaction with a ‘person’. I mean, it is a whole lot better than communicating with Hal 9000, right? You know. All cold and without feeling. I think you get the idea. And oh, little Prof here can see too – thanks to an integrated camera embedded on his tie and also, little Einstein goes beyond telling you what you have asked; it lets you in on the science bit of what you asked and it will even crack jokes if you ask. Hanson Robotics is on a mission to humanized technology and Professor Einstein Personal Genius Robot is just the beginning.
Professor Einstein Personal Genius Robot was successfully funded on Kickstarter in March, but fret not if you missed it because it is now on Indiegogo InDemand program where you can still procure a unit for $285, slated for delivery this month.
Images: Hanson Robotics.
via Circuit Breaker.
