Chef, cheerleader, caregiver: A robot for your every need

From using voice command to play a favourite track to switching lights at the snap of a finger, humans are increasingly relying on technology to make their lives easier in this fast-paced world. And to fulfill their needs, companies are making better and smarter innovations. Robots are one of them.

While domestic robots are slowly becoming a part of busy households across the globe, here are a few unique and intriguing ones:

Gita Bot

Two-wheeled Gita carries your belongings so that you are free to walk without the worry of having to carry anything. Gita’s cargo bin allows you to transport up to 18 kgs, while Gitamini can carry up to 9 kgs, according to the makers.

“Gita’s following technology is the first (and only) of its kind. It uses computer sensor vision, allowing it to follow users both indoors and outdoors with ease. Gita’s sensors allow it to see, understand, and react to its surroundings… A 3-dimensional understanding of people, obstacles, speeds, and trajectories so that it can dynamically follow behind you (mirroring your speed and adapting its distance accordingly)… gita is polite, respectful, and highly intuitive to its user and the people around it,” according to the US company – Piaggio Fast Forward.

FoldiMate

The robot helps you to fold your laundry in under five minutes, claims its US-based maker. “Imagine folding a full laundry load (around 25 items) in less time that it takes to brew a cup of coffee!” it said.

FoldiMate will fold most types of shirts, blouses, or pants from age six to adult size XXL. It will also fold standard size towels and pillowcases.

Camello delivery robot

Singapore’s OSTAW Digital has developed Camello robot that can be used within larger facilities (such as malls, condos and gated communities) to transport goods, supplies, or other resources within the facility. The robot provides contact-less delivery to the customers including delivery of food, groceries and other consumer goods. It can also be used for small parcel delivery from postal or courier services, the company said.

It has 100 litres compartment volume, can carry up to 20 kg with a top speed of 5 km per hour. It has three hours’ running time and delivers through app or OTP authentication. This robot is delivering groceries to homes in Singapore.

FitBot

Worried about the size of a shirt or trouser not fitting you while you shop online? FitBot is here to help you.

“FitBot is the leading virtual fitting room technology. It helps customers buy the right size, increase the confidence in online purchase, and increase the sales for a retailer,” according to UK’s Robot Center.

This is a robotic mannequin that takes your body measurements and mimics your shape, so that you can see exactly how a piece of apparel would fit you, online. Fitbot has already shown promising results for clients: One German test-run showed that the robots increased sales 300 per cent, while reducing returns 28 per cent.

Murata robot cheerleaders

These robots are capable of maintaining their centre of gravity directly above the ground and ball. Also, they don’t lose their balance even when they move their arms. They are capable of performances that last up to about 1 hour within a 4 m to 4 m space. They can definitely continue cheering up until the halftime of a football match. A robot is 36cm in height and weighs 1.5 kg. Thanks to the technology that prevents them from crashing and enables them to maintain a certain distance from each other, they are capable of dancing as a group.

This robot is developed by Japan’s Murata Manufacturing Company Limited. It said that great teamwork will allow them (robots) to steer away from each other and they can continue to move around while maintaining beautiful formations.

Moley Robotic Kitchen

This robot can cook for you. Its company claims this is a “game-changing step” into the future of cooking at home. According to Moley, this is the world’s first fully robotic kitchen.

The Moley Robotic Kitchen allows you to save time, free up your day from routine cooking, plan and adapt your menu according to different diets and lifestyles, enjoy international cuisine anytime, control calories and get cooking tips and recipes from chefs around the world.

Not only does the robot cook complete meals, it tells you when ingredients need replacing, suggests dishes based on the items you have in stock, learns what you like and even cleans up surfaces after itself. “Our vision will turn your knowledge about cooking and nutrition upside down,” the company said.

The Moley kitchen is a fully automated kitchen unit, consisting of cabinets, robotic arms and hands, a recipe recording system, a connected Guided User Interface (GUI) screen with access to a library of recipes, and a full set of kitchen appliances and equipment that have been optimized for both for robot and human use.

TIAGo

PAL Robotics’ TIAGo assists older individuals in their daily routine, especially those who start suffering from dementia. TIAGo acted as a support for the seniors’ daily routine at home.

The robot is used as an alarm for appointments, to remind the medication time and suggest meals to follow a well-balanced diet. It also tracks the person’s temperature and sends the data to their doctor. Besides, TIAGo can also locate lost objects inside the house, such as the keys, wallet or mobile phone. This was possible thanks to the customisation of TIAGo, which integrated Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology and sensors. The robot also displayed memory games and physical activity exercises that were periodically suggested to the senior, the Spanish maker of the robot said.

Tapia

After a long day, Tapia will calm your heart with conversation and humour. Tapia’s video call brings you the smiles and voices of your far away loved ones. When you go out, Tapia will tell you the latest weather information. When you just want to relax, Tapia will play music to suit your mood. “Tapia is more than a device, Tapia is a companion to your lifestyle, the Japanese maker of the robot,” MJI Corporation says.

Tapia is a portable, household communication robot with a height of about 25 cm. Tapia is equipped with a camera, speaker, microphone, touch panel monitor, a built-in battery, and can use sim cards as well as wi-fi signals for phone and Internet access. In addition to speech recognition, speech synthesis, and face recognition you can enjoy everyday conversation with Tapia. The response of the robot changes depending on the pace of the conversation and the content, as well as the robot’s own ’emotional status’.

The company claimed Tapia has become the world’s first device to attain the “Microsoft Azure Certification for IoT devices” as a communication robot.