If current robot showcases are any indication, the robotic revolution will be straight up adorable. Going on this week in Shanghai, China, the massive tech showcase CES Asia is seemingly full of cute little personal robots that only want to help.
This is the first year that CES Asia will demonstrate new products within the realm of virtual and augmented reality and the Internet of Things.
With exhibitions from big names like Samsung, Volvo, 3M, and Honda, CES Asia promises and delivers the cutting edge of new robotic and intelligent gadgets and tech.
Robots at CES Asia this year include a smart, hands-free suitcase that will follow you around the airport like an excited puppy. Manufactured by Cowarobot, a Chinese robotics company, the R1 suitcase will hit the market at the end of the month for $700.
Ovo Technology's Smart Bin
And if you have $10,000 to spare, you can get Ovo Technology’s new wifi-connected, robotic garbage can that would always be there when you need it. Not unlike the hot dog-identifying app from HBO’s “Silicon Valley,” this garbage can can correctly tell whether or not you just threw away a bottle and, well, that’s about it.
The Winbot 950
While some of the tasks these robots would do for us seem menial, like the 2017 Innovation Award honoree in the robotics category — Ecovacs Robotics’s Winbot950 is basically a Roomba that can clean windows. Their designers are increasingly focused on making intelligent machines to which we feel a real emotional connection. Some of these robots, like Avatarmind’s $1,500 iPal, is designed to befriend children while teaching them math, though most of its technology is found on a tablet embedded into its chest.
These robots seem so real that you'll want to be pals on Snapchat.
While most of the robots on display are designed to be autonomous — like Amy the robot waiter who can work 20-hour shifts — so as to seem more like lifelike acquaintances rather than tools, CES Asia also boasts an incredible collection of drones, such as the PowerRay, a remote-controllable submarine that can give its users a remote, VR scuba diving (or fishing) experiences in real time. Designed by Powervision Robot Inc., the PowerRay will hit shelves at around $1,800.
Powervision's PowerRay drone hanging with some whales.
To see some footage collected during the robotics exhibition of CES Asia 2017, check out the reel below.
