The robots of CES 2017
I, for one, welcome our new robot overlords.
Mayfield Robotics Kuri
The Kuri robot nanny comes with Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, a 1080p cam, facial recognition and sturdy wheels designed to traverse any interior flooring. Plus, it sounds like R2.
Lego Boost
Lego Boost, coming later this year, turns all your usual Lego constructions into robots. Excuse me while I excitedly scream for a while.
Leka
The Leka is designed to help special-needs children. The interactive robot helps children better understand social and visual cues, and multiplayer games aim to improve their social skills.
LG Hub Robot
LG's new Alexa-powered smart home assistant proves that circular faces are in vogue. Oh, and that 2017 is going to be a big year for smart homes.
LG's lawn-mowing robot
Also from LG is a new robotic lawn mower. It looks quite similar to a robot vacuum, although it's significantly larger and presumably it'll use sensors to track your yard and keep your grass tidy.
LG Airbot
You won't find one in your own house, but LG also announced the Airbot. It'll debut in Korea, but this robotic helper will act as a guide for travellers in airports.
Nudge your Neato
While the Neato robot vacs aren't newcomers to the scene, CES 2017 saw the introduction of a cool new feature: It'll now respond to commands via Facebook messenger.
Black & Decker Smartech Robot Vac
Yeah, robot vacuums aren't setting the world on first any more, but the Smartech range from Black & Decker is coming in at around half the price of some competitors.
Ubtech Lynx
Ubtech's Lynx robot helps Alexa get mobile. No longer will Amazon's assistant be tethered to your Amazon Echo. Now Alexa can come find you.
Ewaybot MoRo
Chinese robotics company Ewaybot took to the CES trade show in Las Vegas with MoRo, a robotic assistant that is designed to simplify your life. Capable of moving around indoors and outdoors, handling objects and listening to voice commands, the MoRo is nearly 4-feet tall, weighs close to 80 pounds and has up to eight hours of battery life. It also costs a hefty $30,000, so the dream of a robot butler isn't quite there yet.
Emotech Olly
Social robot Olly is an attempt to bridge the divide between smart home hubs and smart home robots. The key is a combination of personality, movement and interaction, according to Hongbin Zhuang, the London-based founder of social robot Olly. Deep learning means that Olly will learn how you want to interact with it as it responds to your questions and controls your connected devices.
Aristotle by Nabi
OK, so it's more of a voice assistant, but the Aristotle gets a special mention as Alexa for kids. It's a baby monitor, it answers questions, it orders diapers and new parent and CNET editor Sean Hollister said, "it could be the most exciting thing toymaker Mattel has ever produced."
Laundroid
Sick of folding clothes? The Laundroid was back at CES this year, and it was able to not only fold, but also sort your clothes. Granted, it takes five minutes to fold a shirt. But I think we can take the hit.
Pepper in the US
Softbank's Pepper turned up at CES 2017 after making a huge showing overseas last year. The poster child for robotics has appeared in shopping centers, cruise ships and airports. So, naturally, we played Cards Against Humanity with it.