Anki Cozmo Review: This is an Artificial Intelligence toy with ‘life’
Anki Cozmo
149.99
Pros
- Like a real version of Wall-E - small, cute
- Rich and varied gameplay for users of all ages
- Artificial intelligence technology makes it very smart
- Can be programmed to achieve more features
Cons
- Expensive
- Wi-Fi setup is cumbersome and needs to be connected all the time
What is Anki Cozmo?
You may be impressed with the robot Wall-E in Andrew Stanton’s movie “WALL-E” because it is cute and is a robot with “life”. Today’s protagonist Cozmo is an artificial intelligence toy robot from Anki, I also believe that you will not be stranged with another product Anki Overdrive of this company.
Cozmo is a super smart and extremely cute desktop rover that you can imagine as a realistic version of Wall-E, and it takes your care and plays games with it.
Anki Cozmo's design
Cozmo is very small in size: 7.2 x 5 x 8 inches. The exquisite appearance will make you lament the advanced of the manufacturing technology, the petite body can be carried with the belt, and there is a special carrying case. It’s design is also very interesting, with a tank track on the bottom and an interesting forklift/dozer attachment on the front.
It has a camera that can recognize you and call your name to greet you. The face is a 128*64-pixel display that shows what it uses to express emotions, and it also can do a lot of other things with its eyes. His powerful technology lets him survey the world, explore it, and make some decisions based on his mood.
Artificial intelligence technology gives Cozmo its own unique personality. It may feel boring and will become grumpy because of losing the game. It also can make like human response based on the surrounding environment, and then makes a cheer or a scream, which is very real. Just like the official promotion: So call him self-aware, call him almost human. Just don’t call him a toy. He’s a supercomputer on treads.
Get ready to get along with Cozmo
Out of the box, you need to place the Cozmo in the included cradle and ensure that the bottom contacts are fully in contact and then recharge it with USB connection. This takes about 30 minutes and can be maintained for about 90 minutes of full-time work.
You also need to download the App to use the Cozzo. The easiest way to find out if your device likely works with Anki products is to search for, find, and download the App in the Apple App Store, the Google Play store, or the Amazon Appstore.
The more annoying thing is the Wi-Fi connection problem. When you load the application, it needs to connect through the hotspot created by Cozmo, then you will see a very long digital code on the face of Cozmo, I have to say this design is very frustrating because the screen is too small to display complete information. In addition, your Cozmo needs to be connected in the cradle, at the same time you need to disconnect your device from the Internet Wi-Fi. This means that when Cozmo needs to update its firmware, it requires you to go back to the Internet connection to download.
Make Cozmo interesting
You need to place the Cozmo on a clean desktop with enough space, although you will be told that it should be smart enough to prevent yourself from getting out of the edge. However, you still need to prevent this drop and avoid damage to the parts.
The first use requires enough energy for Cozmo. The energy comes from the three power cubes, all you have to do is shake it until you hear and observe that the energy is growing to full. Then you can put the cube in front of the Cozmo and let it draw energy from it. This scene looks great and the sound is very good.
In addition, these three cubes are also Cozmo’s self-entertaining toys, which can use its forklift to move and place these cubes freely, even stacking them perfectly. Of course, when it is in a bad mood, it will also use the cube to vent their emotions.
The first game you can play with Cozmo is called Quick Tap. You need to put a cube in front of the Cozmo and put a cube in front of you. When the LED lamp on the two cubes illuminate, and if their colors match, you will need to click on your cube before Cozmo. If you beat it and do it better, there will be multiple levels update of difficulty on each cube.
Anki is constantly launching new games, and when you play with Cozmo it will unlocks more. For example, when you are not playing with it, it may sing its own little tunes alone. At the same time, Cozmo will also show its dependence on you, for example, sometimes it will sneak up on you and squeeze your finger with a forklift. It sounds may disturbing, but it can be confirmed that it will not cause any harm, and it is fun.
More from the App
I have introduced the Feed and Play features provided by the App. In fact, we will see some other features in the App.
Tune Up
I am still not sure what this is doing for or why it is needed, but in the official statement says “Like any fine piece of robotic technology, Cozmo needs the occasional tune-up”. Keep him in tip-top shape by regularly scanning him with the diagnostic tool and Tune up activities. Here are options for calibrating lifts, tracks, and even tracks.
Code Lab
With Code Lab, you can access Cozmo’s core functionality and real robotics technology. You can learn the basics of coding while using your imagination to create your own content for Cozmo.
Explorer Mode
What’s the world like through Cozmo’s eyes? You can find out the answer in Explorer Mode. Guide Cozmo into his environment using your smart device, you’ll see what he sees, prompt him to near people and pets, or use his lift to move Cubes.
Is Anki Cozmo worth buying?
In general, this is an exciting artificial intelligence toy, which seems to prove to us that electronic toys are gradually beginning have “life” and can communicate and interact with us close to humans. However, as a try new product its price is a bit expensive, unless you use it as a gift or playmate, I believe it can bring you surprise and charm.
