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"Mit seinem Projekt AERO versucht er, nicht nur seine Ideen und Visionen umzusetzen, sondern auch, ein Robotersystem zu kreieren, dass bald ein nützlicher Helfer in jedem Haushalt sein könnte." -Dana Neumann robotwelt.de
AERO is a intelligent and friendly robot that can assist you on a daily basis, help your kids learn new languages and can bring a smile to your face. AERO is intelligent and flexible, which means that you could shape his personality to match your living style and preferences. He is also incredibly fun and lively and will reanimate your living space as soon as you power it on for the first time.
How can AERO improve out lives?
How the robot becomes your friend
AERO creates unique user experiences from the moment you open the box. The holistic design is aspired by the simplicity of natural communication between parent and child. There are no start buttons, UI or complicated menus. Instead, you are being greeted by a friendly smile the moment you start your robot.
AERO can bring a smile on your face
AERO is incredibly fun and playful. Part of it's comprehensive set of acts and performances are derived from over 1000 jokes and standup comedies that can transform your living space into a comedy lighthouse. AERO can also stream and recognise songs or dance to the beats of your favourite band. By downloading additional content the robot can learn how to play games and sing with your children. Your friends and family will be impressed by the variety of humour and entertainment offered by your robot.
The most simple intuitive way to interact with the robot
An innovative framework for natural interaction sets a new standard for future development with a human-centered approach for communication with our devices. To achieve this ambitious task, several sensor technologies are integrated into the robot so that it can interact with you using spoken natural language. It can also identify our moods using a Facial Action Coding System (FACS) . The absence of any input devices, wire connection or plugins makes every interaction with AERO a simple and intuitive process. This innovative framework ensures that even a baby can interact with your robot.
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AERO can answer all of your questions
With a cutting edge framework for distributed computing, machine learning, including a databank of human knowledge (dictionary, encyclopaedias newswires etc.), the robot can provide answers to your questions. AERO can encourage children’s natural curiosity, leaving a lasting impact on the way they learn, play and interact with the world.
Imagine having a personal assistant
Well, you don't have to imagine anymore. The algorithms embedded into the robot system are designed to give an unprecedented amount of queries based on preferences, keywords and user history. For instance, you could ask the robot to inform you about certain events, television shows, specific topics or news leads and it will automatically notify you either by streaming content to your preferred device (TV’s, tablets, smartphones etc.), or by natural sounding text-to-speech services.
Your kids will now learn while they play
With added support for third party
add-ons and applications, AERO can expand his in-build functionalities to
offer specialised services as a teacher. For instance you can download and
install learning modules for shape and colour recognition that
support several different languages. You can sync your preferred device
with the robot and instruct AERO to help your kids in the learning
process. While there are many applications that support
these features, the robot can recognise your children and communicate with
them only on your preferred language. This will allow them to learn this
language naturally.
Your family will love AERO
While elderly people may benefit from medicine reminders
and technology aids like setting up accounts etc., kids may need a whole
new approach with emphasis on learning modules, story readings
and interactive games. The robot can also improve the quality of life of
the most vulnerable part of our society, acting as a therapist to children with
ADS, dyslexia or other learning and speaking disabilities.
AERO has several features that make it truly unique
- It is the first autonomous robot that doesn't have any input connectors, wires or plugins (not even a start button). Interaction with the robot is achieved naturally using voice and gesture commands which allows everyone regardless of their age or technical prowesses or disabilities to be empowered by the latest technology.
- Every robot has individual traits that distinguish them from the rest of the product line. A slight difference in voice pronunciation or other randomly generated variables adds another dimension to the concept of mainstream manufacture. It ensures that there is no robot like your robot.
- AERO can adapt to your living style and preferences and become part of your family. It's child like behaviour and learning capabilities provide the foundation for It's cognitive development. After the end of the product life cycle users can transfer his source to a new version, allowing a whole generation to be influenced by the same robot. Recent advances in assistive technology have allowed us to transform these ideas into reality.
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How does it works?
Shell
A layer made of transparent plastics using preferred 3D printing or Stereo-Lithography (SLA) technology protects the main frame of the robot. A scratch resistant film on top of the substrate provides additional durability and anti-static properties. With these features the robot runs smooth and quiet and can overcome small obstacles within the real-world environment.
Facial Matrix
Effective human-robot interaction is achieved through an array of SMD LEDs and diffusors. The design gives engineers and designers the freedom to use multiple modalities in the development process (speech, non-linguistic representation and facial expression). By integrating of audio-visual feedback (FACS) from real humans and actors, the system could develop various heterogeneous modules for natural human-robot interaction (HRI) for the purpose of communication, learning and entertainment. This will allow your robot to act and behave like a real human being.
Sensors
To be able to navigate through real-world environments, the robots needs to be equipped with depth and color CMOS sensors. An active gaze control is used to compensate for the limited field-of-view (FoV) of the sensors. With the recent advances of image and depth acquisition technology the system could potentially run at frame rates of up to 30 Hz. Other sensors like accelerometer, gyroscope and cliff sensors are used to steer the robot and to avoid unwanted collisions and falls.
Wireless Technology
A wireless module provides Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity with smartphones, tablets and other devices. With integrated wireless support and cloud services, the robot becomes part of worldwide distributed ecosystem that expands every day. It helps him to develop his in-build social faculties like a real human being. You can download and update his software and also make your own contributions to the open source project. This allows AERO to increase his natural-language capabilities on a daily basis.
System Design
The motor assemblies and electrical circuits are housed on a single-board. The system architecture enables parallel distributed processing and should account for multiple I/O from sensors (accelerometers, gyroscope etc.) and data communication channels.
Battery
A built-in battery and wireless battery charging system ensures autonomous operation without recharging for more than 7 hours. The system offers significant advantages in terms of convenience and eliminates the need of external power cords and wires. It keeps your robot up and running whenever you need it.
Teardown highlights and initial cost estimates
The project is in early development phase and will need early-stage (seed) funding to support the next development stages. The following teardown outlines some the major cost drivers of the prototype. Please note that it does not account for minor electronic components, manufacturing costs, R&D and others cost drivers, as it is difficult to make accurate projection in this early phase. The primary purpose of the teardown is to serve as a reference for the commercial feasibility analysis, not to provide complete cost estimates for a final product. Various optimizations for both component and system design could be made subsequently. Other dependent product variables are linked with custom configuration and should not account for more than 20% of the increase in total fixed cost.
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Project timeframe
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FAQ
What is the main purpose of the robot?
AERO is still in an early development (incubation) phase. The project will be run by a small team of dedicated experts. The goal is to design a small robot that can
revitalize our living environment, help our children learn new things, and make us
share our fun moments with family and friends.
We like the robot! When will we be able to buy it?
As previously mentioned AERO is still in early design stage
and will need to pass through several development phases before it is ready to
hit the market. The success of each implementation phase will depend on the
amount of support we receive from the community. The initial goal is to release a
testing/development version by the 4Q (of 2015) and launch the product in 2016.
How can we help AERO get to market faster?
AERO is an open source project, which means that anyone can
contribute to its development. The robot will rely on the support of the crowd
that can be divided into three main areas.
·
Funding- providing financial support through
crowdfunding and other seed funding options
·
Software Development- AERO will be based on Linux and will
allow developers to add their
contributions to the platform
·
Idea Submission- Harnessing the wisdom of the
crowd is one of the main principles that will make AERO your own personal robot.
Can we preorder?
Yes. Preorders will be available starting from $100 for
the limited edition.
What does the acronym
AERO stands for?
It stands for Autonomous Extropian Robot or AERO.
Few notes from the inventor:
The robot is still in a early development stage and it is up to you to decide whether it will receive the needed support to reach the next milestone toward completion. I have dedicated all of my time and resources in its making and would appreciate any kind of advice that addresses its future implementation and successful launch. I would be grateful for any feedback, both positive and negative, and I hope that together we can bring AERO to life.
The robot will be shipped with a wireless charger.
The teardown estimate and project timeframe should not be limited by the above described examples, but by all embodiments and methods within the scope and spirit of the invention. Patent applied for.
Sources/RFQ: IHS iSupply Research, March 2013, ComponentsMAX Inc., Cytron Technologies Sdn Bhd, Microchip
Technology Inc., Mouser Electronics Inc., StepperOnline Co.,Ltd.
