Aibo's rival? Cat-shaped robot "Macat" automatically controls home appliances

Sony's robot dog "aibo"

Sony's dog-shaped robot "Aibo" is an entertainment robot that allows you to enjoy daily growth through communication with the owner (the purchaser) just like a real dog. Its adorable appearance is like a real dog. The first AIBO appeared in 1999 and disappeared from the market in 2006 when Sony withdrew from the robot business. I was there. In 2016, it reappeared as "aibo" and continues to be introduced. [Photo] Macroact is developing "Maicat" Animal-shaped robots are under development in South Korea as if to compete with this aibo. "Macat" developed by Macroact is a cat type robot. Like aibo, it is a cute robot that you will want to accept as a member of your family. Equipped with an autonomous learning function, Maicat learns from its owner's daily affection and grows into a unique cat. Maicat's face has a camera in the nose and a microphone in the ear. The camera analyzes the owner's facial expression with AI to determine the situation in which he is talking to Maicat, and from the microphone, the AI ​​similarly determines the owner's words and tone of voice. And with the touch sensor on the main unit, it will respond to actions such as the owner stroking the Maicat. Just like aibo, Maicat will grow as you interact with it on a daily basis. Maicat is said to recognize 100 faces when connected to the Internet and 10 faces when not connected. You can take it outside and distinguish yourself, your family, and your friends even in places where there is no internet connection. It seems that it has not been decided at this time whether a monthly subscription service will be required. However, since it is a robot that grows by collecting information on a daily basis and learning by AI, it will be a system that pays a basic monthly fee like aibo. Looking at the concept and functions of Maicat, it looks like a product that is not that different from aibo. Although there are differences between dogs and cats, both products are headed in the same direction in terms of pet robots. However, Maicat is not only that, it is also planned to be equipped with a function as a product that makes the house smarter. Maicat exhibited at CES 2022 in Las Vegas in January and won the event's Innovation Award. At the time of the award, Maicat was awarded as a smart home product, not a robot. The Maicat roams freely around the home when no one is around. As a result, information such as where the furniture and home appliances are located in the room is memorized. Also, since it is equipped with a camera, when you want to check the status of the room from outside, you can immediately check the room through Maicat. At that time, if there is an obstacle, you can avoid it and move to another room. It also learns the owner's preferences from daily communication with the owner. For example, if the owner wakes up at 7 o'clock every morning, Maicat will automatically set an alarm at 7 o'clock in the morning, and depending on the owner's side (in some cases, it may climb on the owner from the futon). ) will wake you up. If you drink coffee every morning, Maicat will automatically turn on the power to the smart coffee maker, and the coffee will be ready when the owner wakes up. Current smart homes are equipped with an app on a smartphone, and operations such as turning on/off the power and selecting menus are performed via the app. Eventually, AI will also be able to judge user preferences. However, smart home apps do not operate except when using home appliances. Therefore, even if it learns individual preferences, the frequency is not very high. On the other hand, Maicat learns the owner's behavior every day by treating it as a pet. The act of "petting" is born precisely because it is a pet, and information on the user's preferences and life patterns is accumulated from there. Aibo has already released a function to link with home appliances. It is said that it can be linked with Hitachi home appliances and Sony TVs. Since Maicat is a Korean product, it is also expected to work with Samsung and LG products, which have already released many smart home appliances. In smart homes, users control their home appliances using their voices or apps, but in a few years the time may come when pet-type robots will take the place of themselves and create a comfortable indoor environment.

Yasuhiro Yamane