14 DAY TRIAL // Coming to show just what a robot can do by achieving just a fraction of the concept's potential, a certain product from Sanyo has been formally launched, powered by an OS usually found in smartphones and tablets.
The IT industry has spawned many things over the years, from small and single-purpose gadgets to large, powerful systems and appliances.
The small things in life like smartphones and tablets are, right now, reliant, for the most part, on a certain operating system known as Android.
It so happens, however, that Japanese company Sanyo has devised a very different use for this very same software solution.
Instead of making some new consumer electronic or another, at least in the traditional sense, Sanyo loaded it onto a robot.
Granted, the robot itself doesn't truly fit with the standard idea of a robot, that of an at leas vaguely humanoid or shaped like any other living thing capable of movement.
Instead, the Mirai SANZO Smart Home Robot is more of an appliance and has a spherical shape, even coming with a smiling face for good measure.
The purpose of this happy-looking, greenish thing is to take charge of as many power-connected products in the household as possible and manage them in such a way that power consumption is reduced.
Then again, boosting convenience is also something within the prime directives of the Mirai Sanzo, as it is supposedly capable of handling the air conditioner or filling the bathtub with water of whatever temperature users might choose.
What's more, in order to bring the issue of security into the mix, the robot is designed with the ability to send cellphone alerts in case of fires or alarms getting triggered.
Unfortunately, in addition to the unlikelihood of worldwide availability, the other piece of bad news is that no pricing details exist for now.