Complete Review of Anki's little companion robot smart health innovation

You cried in front of Wall-E? Did you melt in front of the little BB-8 droid from Star Wars? Then Cozmo is for you. It’s a small intelligent entertainment robot. He has his own personality that will amuse children and soften adults.

Mark : AnkiCategory : Robot companionSign in : WirelessCompatibility : Android and iOSPrice : $ 179.99Tested with : Samsung Galaxy Grand Prime

Buy Cozmo :

(embed) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g3uHKlXy5Yw (/ embed)

Unboxing by Cozmo

Cozmo is delivered in a reinforced cardboard box which carries the color code of the small robot: white and yellow. From the packaging, we realize that the communication that is created around the product.

The goal is to highlight the personality of the robot. His mischievous side of Disney character is accentuated through close-ups on his eyes which suggest grimaces, or funny positions (hidden behind part of the box, for example).

Once the main housing is removed, we can see the robot fixed on its base ; then the rest of his accessories: three cubes that will be used to play with Cozmo, the charger, and the user manual.

The manual is pretty clear on how Cozmo should be started. It also takes up the playful and fun theme of the product with its case on which one can read: “Hello you.” (“Salut toi” in French). It's about appearing as friendly as possible: in all product descriptions, a sympathetic and playful tone is used to create empathy towards the little robot, and it works.

Cozmo design and ergonomics

Cozmo looks quite different than what we usually see in the robot market, especially those who present themselves as companions. When you first see it, it’s hard to imagine it’s an interactive game.

It is rather small, and fits easily in the hand. He may not weigh very heavy and have caterpillars, it remains subject to the same restrictions as most devices of this type and works best on a flat surface without obstacle, forget carpets or rugs.

Its compact body and small size make it easy to carry. This is also the case with its accessories: the cubes and the charger. It will be very easy to take it where you want to play with it.

In terms of aesthetics, it's difficult to locate Cozmo. It is not particularly beautiful and not necessarily cute either, at first glance. But what gives it its touching aspect are above all its eyes.

Cozmo's face is a screen that, when it lights up, displays different emotions that instill a lot of personality in the little robot. This is helped by sound effects similar to those of the BB-8 droid in Star Wars and the music streamed by the app, which adapts to situations. She is sometimes cheerful and cheerful, sometimes sweet and relaxing; but still matches the robot’s engaging attitude.

Cozmo application

The application is very comprehensive and allows you to get Cozmo up and running very quickly and easily. We feel that it was designed to be accessible for children. The steps are very precise, even for those that take place outside of the application itself.

Cozmo diffuses are its own WiFi, on which you have to pair your smartphone to then use the application and have access to the different functionalities of the robot. The app is in the form of a screen health home similar to that of a ehealth game, which is reminiscent of Anki’s other product: the Anki Overdrive smart health connected racing circuit.

On this health home screen, you have access to your profile, available mini-games as well as various information related to the game like the various resources that are obtained while playing and allow you to unlock new skills for Cozmo.

As with the Overdrive, Anki has integrated ehealth game elements to make his robot really interesting and not just a forgotten gadget. The application thus proposes goals to be reached every day in order to encourage you to play with the little robot.

Use of Cozmo

Playing regularly with Cozmo is also recommended, because he learns very quickly. When you play mini games for the first time, you may feel like you are easily beating your mechanized opponent. Beware! Because it will take your level into account very quickly in order to try to fight, and it will get there more easily than you think.

One of the games is played with two cubes: when both display the same color, the one who presses his cube the fastest wins a point. As you play, Cozmo will press more and more quickly and make fewer and fewer mistakes, ultimately becoming very difficult to beat.

It pairs very well with the app’s progression system, which allows you to teach your companion more movement as he gets stronger with different games. As for the Overdrive, we see that Anki manages the game side very well ehealth of its smart health connected product.

Apart from these mini-games, Cozmo stands out from the competition by a very “pet” side. Once lit, he moves alone and observes the surroundings, plays with his cubes and emits robotic sounds, as if he had his own will. It will even offer to play certain games by looking at you directly and sending a message on the application.

You can also take control of Cozmo with the app and manage it from your smartphone. You will then be able to see through his eyes; a front camera that displays a deliberately average quality to add to the cachet of the object. The image is therefore blue, and streaked with sputum in order to give you the impression of infiltrating somewhere.

It is quite simple to control Cozmo, the controls are indicated on the screen and are, moreover, very intuitive. Once again, the robot's personality will make everyone happy: it will react according to the movements you make it make and make funny noises if you make it go fast or go around in circles.

Another interesting feature: the robot is able to recognize the faces of people who play with it. In fact, via the application, you can enter your name and then face the robot directly. The latter will then analyze your face and once done, it will say your name. Thereafter, he will be able to recognize you and call you when he sees you.

Last thing, if you feel like a programmer, Anki has created a free development software called Cozmo SDK which allows you to customize your companion with new features. It can, for example, wake you up in the morning or even give you the weather for the day. The most gifted can even have fun with his pathfinding program (which calculates the path traveled by Cozmo to get from point A to point B) or with facial recognition to make him more agile or to improve his vision !

Cozmo facing the competition

Cozmo places itself on a rather specific market in the world of robotics. Indeed, the vast majority of robots have specific goals: they help you with specific tasks, monitoring your health home, clean, cook, or even teach your children things. But very few of them are intended only for entertainment.

In addition, although many toys are based on a robot profile (like the Sphero BB-8 for example), there is no interaction with these kinds of products. They do not have their own personality and only interact with you according to programs very precise and fairly limited.

Another robot made a stir on KickStarter

The only robot that can be compared to Cozmo is the companion project developed by Toyota: Kirobo. It's also for the sole purpose of keeping you company, but it is much less interactive, has no mini-games included, and cannot move around, while costing $ 450.

Another robot made a stir on Kickstarter, little Codey Rocky. It allows children to learn to code with ease. Additional packs allow it to integrate modules like light, humidity and many more. It allows the little ones to understand the smart health connected objects around them. He also proposes to create augmented reality programs.

(embed) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LzHvt0UncEE (/ embed)

Robots to learn computers

More and more robots or applications teach children to code. There are many examples, Cozmo, Codey Rocky or Cubetto already exists today. Future generations will probably know how to code on a computer before they can write. Future little budding computer programmers will emerge in the years to come. Learning to code has never been easier. It really became a breeze.

The Cozmo is therefore a very original robot and has serious arguments to convince those who would like to offer a mechanized companion to their children, or to discover another facet of robotics that would be more geared towards human relations.

Conclusion

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Good points

• Very easy to handle

• Smart ehealth game functions

• Not so expensive for its functionality

• Strong personality: he is a real companion!

• Very touching

Negative points

• Entertainment only

Design and Ergonomics – 7

Features – 8

Application – 8

Getting started – 8

Value for money – 7

7.6

Design and Ergonomics : Cozmo has a rather special design and is not necessarily very beautiful, but exudes a real personality by its facial expressions. It is also very easy to transport.

Application : The application works very well thanks to its very ehealth game inspiration, which allows it to be fluid and organized.

Features : At the same time everyday companion, toy, and ehealth game, it offers many different features.

Getting started : It is very easy to handle. The application and the manual are very descriptive in order to allow anyone to use the robot.

Quality / Price ratio : The price may seem high but is not that much compared to the competition. The robotics market remains accessible only if you have a budget to allocate. The Cozmo is worth its price when you see the different functionality it offers and especially its own personality and personal actions that make it really endearing.

AB SMART HEALTH REVIEW