Apple develops home robot!

After canceling its car project, Apple is exploring new market areas to find new sources of revenue, and intelligent robots may be one of the key areas Apple is studying.

According to Bloomberg reporter Mark Gurman, Apple’s engineering team is working on various home robotic devices as well as artificial intelligence software and features that might make home robots useful. This area has the potential to become the company’s ever-changing “next big thing.”

Apple engineers are considering developing a mobile robot that could follow users around the home, presumably acting as an iPad on wheels, people familiar with the matter said. A robot might be able to make FaceTime calls, monitor a home and the people in it, perform simple tasks and answer queries.

Meanwhile, Apple is further exploring artificial intelligence algorithms that will be used to help robots navigate cluttered spaces in the home.

There’s even a fanciful idea within Apple to have robots that can handle household chores, like washing dishes in the sink. But this would require overcoming very difficult engineering challenges and is unlikely to be possible for at least a decade.

Another Apple project is described as an “advanced desktop home device” in which a robot is used to move the display. The device is described as a robotic motor on a small stand that can mimic the head movements of a person during a FaceTime video call. It will be able to nod, or pinpoint a person during a group FaceTime call.

Gurman said Apple had some difficulties with weight and balance and wasn’t sure consumers would pay a “high price” for such a product.

It is reported that the research and development of intelligent robots is carried out within Apple’s hardware engineering department and its artificial intelligence and machine learning group, which is headed by John Giannandrea. Matt Costello and Brian Lynch, two executives focused on home products, oversee hardware development.

Of course, Apple is not the first company to research intelligent robots. As early as 2021, Amazon launched a robot called Astro. It has a built-in display that can be used to watch TV, make calls, set reminders, send messages, and more.

When the user is not at home, Astro is able to navigate the home and check in on specific rooms, people and things remotely. The robot is able to send an alert if an unrecognizable person is detected, or if there is an alarm-like sound. Amazon suggests it can be used to “remotely care for elderly loved ones.”

In addition, Tesla also launched the “Optimus Prime” humanoid robot in 2022, Sony launched the Aibo robot dog, iRobot launched the Roomba vacuum cleaner robot, etc…

With the rapid development of artificial intelligence, robots have become a practical AI application. Currently, the Apple robot is still in the early development stage, and the Apple development team is also exploring different concepts. It is still unclear in what form the Apple robot will appear ~