Tech

Asus Offers A Small, Cute 'Companion' To Users

Karen Lawson
First Posted: May 31, 2016 09:41 AM EDT

Are you an Asus user? You may never be alone again-if you will try their latest offering.

PC maker has introduced a new "companion" to its users that can sing, talk, and even dance. And it comes in the form of a small robot.

Dubbed as Asus Zenbo, it serves as the company's try to "enable robotic computing for every household". It was shown during the press event of the Computex IT trade show by Asus chairman Jonney Shih.  The company noted that Zenbo is intended for children and seniors.

Users need to say "Hey Zenbo" before it can follow any voice command. It can do several tasks including monitoring the household, and notifying the homeowners if there are emergencies. It can also tell stories to children.  

Mashable shared that the small robot can also remind users of their appointments with their doctors. It can do various things that can lighten the load of homeowners as it can turn off the television, dim the lights, or even control other appliances inside the house. It has a built-in camera and can be controlled remotely. Its touchscreen, animated face can also show users different emotions.

Some may think that Zenbo could be similar to Siri-but on wheels. However, Asus' little robot is not programmed to answer knowledge or random questions.

Asus, however, did not give much technical details about Zenbo. After Shih introduced and gave a demonstration, an executive from Intel also joined the press briefing.

According to Shih in an interview with PC World, "For decades, humans have dreamed of owning such a companion: one that is smart, dear to our hearts, and always at our disposal." He added: "Our ambition is to enable robotic computing for every household."

Zenbo has a price tag of $599. Unfortunately, there are still no details yet on when and where it can be bought in the United States as of press time. 

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