• Video

Robotic companion Kiki shows us love in a feature demo

Via Zoetic's deep learning engine, every Kiki has its own personality that we can shape as we bond with it.

Charles Singletary Jr

January 25, 2019 2:15 PM

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At CES 2019, we got a moment to stop and check out the pet robot Kiki from Zoetic. Kiki is powered by the company's deep-learning personality engine, giving each Kiki their own needs and wants. Interacting with the robot companion will help to develop its personality.

Kiki the pet robot is touch sensitive all over its head, neck, and body so you can pet, rub, and scratch under its chin to get a response. Holding both sides of its face even gets it to wag its robotic tail. Interactions like that are only the beginning, though. There's a companion app for Kiki and it taps into information from over 50 million data points, recognizing nearly anything that is drawn in it. For instance, the demonstrator above drew an apple and we were treated to the sound of it eating and calling out what the item was. The demonstrator also tried to feed Kiki a cat, but she recognized what it was and refused. Good Kiki.

In addition to the touch sensors, Kiki features an IPS screen to show off various expressions via digital eyes, a 4-microphone array with noise cancelation for interaction, a wide-angle camera that helps Kiki recognizes different users, various movement motors and gears to show off non-verbal-communication, a recharging station, and a sensor that lets Kiki know when it's being picked up, flown around, or put down. Kikis can also connect to each other via Bluetooth and interact.

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Charles Singletary Jr

News Editor

Charles Singletary Jr keeps the updates flowing as the News Editor, breaking stories while investigating the biggest topics in gaming and technology. He's pretty active on Twitter, so feel free to reach out to him @The_CSJR. Got a hot tip? Email him at Charles.Singletary@Shacknews.com.