Tech

Bored With Long Drives? The Companion Robot From Toyota Will Be With You!

Hemal Vora
First Posted: Oct 04, 2016 05:30 AM EDT

Toyota  has recently announced, the communication partner Kirobo Mini will be on sale this year-end. For those who cannot wait to see them on store shelves, head for a Toyota dealership where some pre-sales are happening though the volumes are said to be low.

The Toyota's Robot, Kirobo is a robot that will snug fit into your cup holder and if some memories are haunting you about a similar gadget, you may be recalling the news of Toyota sending one of these cute little things into space a few months ago, to provide company to astronauts stationed on the ISS. So far, there have been no reports of any misbehavior from the robot and hopefully, the demeanor should continue. as reported by Reuters.

Toyota's Kirobo Robot

Driving alone, particularly long distance can be real boring and a companion for casual conversation can be a great addition to your car. When it is a robot you don't have to worry about security threats from strangers you may pick up on your way. Presently, the robot speaks only the Japanese language, but other languages including English must be in the pipeline.

The robot, when activated, turns its head to the driver (or the one who starts a conversation), make gestures and even analyze emotions with the help of an onboard camera. That gives a great opportunity to dabble about your new boss who is so terrible and Kirobo, the robot will adjust itself to be more sympathetic. Yes, who wants a robot yelling at them!

If you are enthused and ready to get Kirobo on board, you will need to cough up about $400. In the past, there were also whispers from Toyota that Kirobo can harvest data and relay it back to the HQ for further processing. However, there has been no mention of this feature now. But, when you decide to live together with Kirobo, just make sure that the Toyota's robot stays a robot and does not play little tricks to ruin your peace of mind.

See Now: NASA's Juno Spacecraft's Rendezvous With Jupiter's Mammoth Cyclone

More on SCIENCEwr