From dogs to cats, goldfish to parakeets, and the Grey Dwarf Hamster to the Carpet Python, pets have always taken a meaningful role in the household. Some provide loyal and reliable security. Some, with their high and seemingly limitless energy, provide the perfect friend to play with. Others prefer a furry, fluffy, and sometimes scaly, companion to hang out with. Now, there’s a new pet in town, one that can do all of those lovely things while connected to WiFi. It’s EBO, the “family-friendly robotic companion.”
Capturing every little moment
Enabot, a Hong Kong-based robotics company that manufactures consumer-grade products, has been developing EBO robots for companionship and connectivity. Now, they are working on the EBO SE and slightly more advanced EBO AIR.
While EBO may not be fluffy, furry, or even scaley, they’re pretty close to a robotic version of a pet. In fact, they were first anticipated to monitor pets until the Enabot team realized their applications. According to Enabot, while it was “originally created to solve the issue of pet obesity and pet neglect, the EBO evolved to be much more. The EBO SE and AIR represent the next evolutionary step for the home robotic companion.”
With a 1080p HD camera, a microphone, speakers, and connection to a mobile app, these little EBOs “allow for real-life two-way communication using a Wi-Fi connection. Through EBO’s mobile app, parents can remotely interact with their kids and pets, and family members can connect with elderly loved ones from anywhere in the world.” They’re also entertaining to boot as they can “wheel, roll, and dance to entertain pets and people alike while capturing photos and videos of every special moment.”
The SE and AIR, priced at $99 and $169 respectively, provide the user with a myriad of features to play with. The camera includes its most notable enhancements. In addition to two-way communication which can allow users to check in on kids, pets, or older relatives allegedly with great ease, its HD camera can take high-quality photos and videos “so you never miss a moment.”
When it’s not chasing the kids around the house, the EBO can provide 24-hour video recording and motion detection. It even has infrared night vision. Enabot described that the “EBO monitors every corner of your house, and tracks every move, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Its compact size allows EBO to go places no CCTV system could ever reach.”
However, for the skeptics who aren’t comfortable with a little machine quietly driving around their house all day filming their lives, all the data in the EBO is stored locally with an expandable 16GB SD card. Additionally, when one doesn’t want their little robot to travel unattended, or when they want it to go to a specific location, the robot can be controlled remotely via the app.
Revolutionary AI applications
Its other sensors are nothing to shake a stick at either, not by any means. According to Enabot, “with exclusive AI technology, the EBO AIR is able to identify your family and pets and automatically record, track and follow them, allowing for fun interactions throughout the day.” To make this little bot even more lifelike, with bionic adaptability, EBO reacts differently to unique locations and environments using a “combination of movement, sound, and digital eye animations for life-like interactions.”
Its wide array of AI sensors and applications do so many other things as well, such as auto-docking when it’s low on battery and auto-cruise which lets users schedule rounds for the EBO to make during the day, dropping in on loved ones, or making security checks. It also has anti-drop sensors which detect a large fall and stop the bot before it goes careening towards tragic and certain death. However, even if the bot does somehow find itself tipped over after an accident, its built-in tumbler helps it to flip itself back over and get back to work.
Recently, the EBO SE and AIR had a successful campaign over at Kickstarter, so it’s likely that Enabot will start producing these things sooner than later, scheduled to hit homes in the Fall of 2021. According to Enabot, the goal in building these improved EBOs was connectivity in a time when so many people are still separated from each other, isolated emotionally and physically due to the pandemic or even just to the digitality of our modern age.
But that’s really what pets do, isn’t it? They provide affection, companionship, and connection. And while having a robot as the middleman for personal conversation isn’t necessarily as present as many would like to be, Enabot thinks the EBO is a step in the right direction.
YouTube: EBO Robot Buddy for Pets and People
Photo credit: The images used are owned by Enabot and have been provided for press usage.
