14 DAY TRIAL // Robots have captured the imagination of a lot of Sci-Fi writers and movie makers throughout the years, but in recent times we're seeing how the concept becomes reality.
More specifically, chip giant Intel seems to be cooking up something quite interesting in the robo-department.
Their project is called “Jimmy” and “he” is a social robot adopters can put together themselves. The robotic companion was showcased at the Intel Future Showcase 2014 in New York city.
Jimmy will arrive in the form of a DIY kit made up of parts like servo motors, batteries and other components. But the interesting part comes here. Jimmy will be assembled around an exoskeleton which is 3D printed so each robot is unique. Therefore, your Jimmy won’t look like your sister’s Jimmy.
With Jimmy, Intel hopes to capture the attention of DYI enthusiasts across the globe and will be selling the robotic friend for $1,500 / €1,102.
The price isn’t that high if you think about it, especially since little Jimmy will be able to handle tasks such as turning on the lights, picking up the newspaper and – wait for it – even sustain conversations, tweet and dance.
And for those of you who like to throw parties, Jimmy can be turned into an excellent waiter because he can apparently pour you a cold beer.
It’s like Intel is trying to capture Hal’s intelligence and embed it into a 45-inch / 1.1 m little man. Jimmy uses two distinct cameras in order to analyze images, so it can identify objects.
Intel plans to make Jimmy a real open-source project, so it’s making available the design files for adopters in order to encourage them to create a humanoid companion suited to their needs.
The company will make use of a RealSense 3D derivative tech, which is capable of identifying facial features and even “understand” a person’s state of mind.
Anyway, expect the robo kit to go on sale starting this fall.