When I last took Anki’s Cozmo for a spin, I introduced him to my rabbit, Lucy. Both parties seemed fairly uninterested by the whole interaction. And while I’m bummed that rabbits are nowhere to be found on the plucky little robot’s list of software upgrades, and some pet owners are getting a little love.
Anki’s got a handful of new features coming to the ‘bot this week, including, “Part of the Pack,” which adds dog and cat recognition to his back of tricks. No word on precisely what the interaction entails, but I’m suspect that a robot the size of Cozmo isn’t going looking for any fights, particularly around canine companions, though he’ll apparently speak directly to them, which ought to perk up an ear or two.
Also of note is the addition of night vision to the robot’s explorer mode, which lets users controller Cozmo manually through a point-of-view camera. The company has also added some new games to the mix and increased the robot’s ability to learn language, like a tiny electronic parrot – though, the company notes that, “There are words a robot shouldn’t repeat, and Cozmo knows them,” which means, sadly that you won’t be able to get him to curse like a small robotic sailor. Though I do eagerly await the inevitable YouTube videos of Cozmo swearing up a storm.
Here’s a full breakdown of Cozmo’s December upgrades. For now, Anki seems to be keeping its promise to continually update the robot’s skill set.