Cozmo: Artificial intelligence for the playroom
11.10.2017
Translation: machine translated
Video: Stephanie Tresch
This toy robot with artificial intelligence and its own personality is revolutionising the toy market. It takes human-machine interaction to a new level with its lively appearance. I am thrilled.
Cozmo is a high-tech powerhouse. It brings state-of-the-art technology into your home in the form of a caterpillar vehicle. Like a mini Mars rover, it independently explores its surroundings, makes its own decisions and displays various emotions. Thanks to its integrated camera and facial recognition, it always knows what is happening in its surroundings.
Needs of Cozmo
Like a real living creature, Cozmo also has certain needs that must be met. The longer you don't spend with him, the greater his need for affection becomes. His three needs are playing, eating and tuning. The app shows how strong his desire for each of these is. The app is available free of charge for iOS and Android in the respective app store.
Playing
Cozmo loves to play. If it were up to him, he would do nothing but spend time with you from morning till night. On the main screen of the app is a yellow indicator that shows his current need to play. The more you play with him, the happier Cozmo is. For my test, I let this indicator drop all the way down. It almost hurt me, as Cozmo became quite depressed. He no longer had any vigour and was grumbling to himself all the time. If you don't play with Cozmo enough, he's no longer happy to see you. However, playing with Cozmo is incredibly enjoyable. That's why I was able to fill up the display again within minutes.
You can interact with Cozmo via the following games:
- Catch me! - Cube must be pulled away quickly
- Remember me! - Memorise a certain sequence
- Hit me! - Be faster than Cozmo
In the beginning, it's still quite easy to win against Cozmo. Over time, however, he develops his skills and becomes faster and more cunning. I now have almost no chance of winning. My Cozmo beats me in almost every game. His emotions are unsurpassable. If he wins, he's really happy and laughs at me gleefully. If he loses, he's offended or angry with himself.
Cozmo can also keep himself busy and is not always dependent on your intervention. Cozmo plays the following games independently:
- Stacking cubes
- Turn the dice
- Singing
- Catch your finger
- Fist bump
Food
If you don't feed Cozmo regularly, he won't have enough energy for games. He will look sadly into the distance and run out of energy. To feed him, shake the cube until all four bars light up blue. You can then place the cube in front of Cozmo so that he can eat. To do this, he moves in front of the cube, raises his arm and munches away. Cozmo may get the hiccups if he eats too quickly. To alleviate his hiccups, you can turn him on his back for a short time.
Tuning
From time to time, his joints need to be readjusted. The red bar in the app shows you its mechanical condition. If you wait too long to tune Cozmo, he will have too little control over his motor skills. When you carry out the tuning, Cozmo first creates a scan of itself. Once the scan is complete, you can see which parts are no longer working properly. These can be his head, the lifting arm or his caterpillars. To readjust these, you can click on a specific sequence of movements in the app, which will make Cozmo readjust itself again.
More functions in the app
Under the "Discover" tab in the app, you can access other functions that can be performed with Cozmo. The following things can also be done with Cozmo:
Get to know each other
Here Cozmo can get to know you. He looks at your face and memorises it. To do this, you have to sit close to Cozmo. After he has scanned your face, you can tell him your name. After this step, Cozmo will be able to identify you. When he sees you, he will be happy and greet you by name.
Code Lab
In the Code Lab, you can access all of Cozmo's main functions and have its entire robot technology at your disposal. You can programme Cozmo individually by simply dragging and dropping individual code blocks. The principle of this code language is the same as the Lego Boost.
Exploration mode
In this mode, Cozmo works like a remote-controlled car. You have access to its camera and can see everything Cozmo sees on your smartphone or tablet. You can also drive him around at will, move his head and operate his lifting arm.
Voice output
Cozmo is able to say words or even whole sentences. To do this, you can type your desired text into a field and Cozmo will repeat it. Surprisingly, Cozmo is also quite good at Swiss German. Sometimes he emphasises the words a little incorrectly, but it's still impressive what he's capable of. However, I realised that Cozmo refuses to pronounce a few words. He doesn't want to say curse words. I think that's actually a pretty good solution from the manufacturers. So Cozmo can't be misused for swearing. Almost! I found out that if you deliberately include spelling mistakes, he will still say the word. But shhhh! 😀
Accessories
By default, Cozmo is equipped with black caterpillars. If you want to give your new best friend a little makeover, you can buy caterpillars in a range of colours. The "rubber tracks set" contains four different caterpillars. The caterpillars are available in blue, green, orange and red. I have given my Cozmo red finches and he looks much bolder as a result. However, I think the price for the few rubber tracks is a bit exaggerated. They are only intended for visual optimisation and probably only cost a few cents to produce. Anki could lower the price a little more.
Anki has a suitable box for transporting the Cozmo. At first I thought it was completely superfluous. But I was proved wrong. This transport box is extremely practical. It already has prefabricated recesses for Cozmo and its cubes. There's even room for the power supply unit. The box is a little expensive, but the workmanship is really good. The part feels pleasant and also makes a good visual impression.
Conclusion
Anki has created a sensational toy with the Cozmo. With its own personality, it makes contact with you in a way that no other robot has ever done before. Its personality is not perfect. He makes mistakes and reacts to them. This characteristic makes Cozmo seem alive. It moves around, recognises your face and follows your movements. Similar to a pet. What I particularly like about Cozmo is that he always surprises me. He does things that I didn't expect a robot to do.
Cozmo's price is not exactly cheap, but it's worth every single franc. In my opinion, this robot is revolutionary as far as today's toys are concerned. It is a pioneer when it comes to toys with artificial intelligence and shows a new way of looking at how we can interact with robots.
Want the full Cozmo and accessories right away? Then we have the right set for you here:
Riding my motorbike makes me feel free, fishing brings out my inner hunter, using my camera gets me creative. I make my money messing around with toys all day.
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