Humans are a sociable bunch. As a result, we are pre-programmed to develop technology that enables us to maintain social connections. However, there are times when the connection is with the technology itself. Loona is a cute pet robot that will either win your heart or make a great companion for your smart home (or both, hopefully).
Loona appears to be exactly in the middle of the adorable Cozmo from Anki and the expensive Astro homebot from Amazon. There is unquestionably a focus on younger users here, but her enticements may entice children of “all ages.” It appears that Loona was also created to work well with any analog pets you may already own.
Loona has a regular camera for face detection and object recognition in addition to a 3D camera and edge sensors for home navigation. Loona has four microphones that let her find you when you call to her, and touch sensors that make her lean into your head movements with an eerie biological authenticity. It will respond to a slew of verbal commands and hand gestures at launch, and the company claims that more will be added regularly. A graphical programming tool will also be available so that you can create your own interactions and share them with a community.
Loona’s ability to express herself is one of her more endearing qualities. Loona’s digital eyes appear to be straight out of a Disney movie and are surprising articulate. The company indicated that custom expressions and emotions might also be an option in the future.
Loona can also serve as a home security and monitoring system in addition to being a digital pet. The advantage being you can guide her around your dwelling place and find where your IRL cat is hiding not normal for static pet-cams where you could demolish an weekend away driving back since you haven’t seen your cat show up for two entire days and you’re concerned yet it turns out she was simply dozing in one spot the whole time. It’s not a problem with Loona.
The fact that Loona was initially launched on Kickstarter and received funding totaling more than three million dollars demonstrates, if nothing else, that there is a significant amount of interest in this field. The robots are currently being shipped to backers, and they will be available for $449 on the company’s website by the end of the month. If you’re really interested, you can get one now for $359 on the IndieGoGo page.
