This babysitting robot gives company to China's lonely children
What's the story
China's young working parents are quite burdened, and have to face the pressures of taking care of their children without the help of large extended families, owing to the lingering impact of the country's one-child policy.
To ease their burden, Chinese robotics company AvatarMind has come up with a robot, dubbed iPal, which takes care of baby sitting.
Here's more on it.
iPal
iPal can babysit, teach maths, and tell jokes
The three-foot-tall iPal was unveiled last week at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Shanghai.
Besides being a babysitter, iPal can speak two languages (English, and presumably Mandarin), and, through its six-inch screen, give math lessons, and tell jokes to children.
It's meant to act like a four to eight-year-old, and parents can see and hear everything in iPal's vicinity via a smartphone app.
Quote
iPal isn't meant to replace parents or teachers
"The idea for this robot is to be a companion for children. I don't think the robots can replace parents or teachers. But iPal can be a complementary tool to relieve some of their burden," said Tingyu Huang, co-founder of AvatarMind.
Pricing, launch
The iPal has been priced at $1,400
Additionally, iPal can dance to entertain a child, can read stories and play games.
It also offers software lessons to teach basic programming to young children.
AvatarMind began shipping iPal to Chinese buyers in December 2017 itself.
The robot has been priced at $1,400 and its US release is scheduled for later this year.
There's no information yet about launches in other markets.
Robot market
AvatarMind will soon launch a robot for the elderly
The iPal is yet another example of how China's robot market is catching up to the needs of its numerous consumers.
AvatarMind also has a robot lined up for the elderly 'empty nesters' in China who prefer to grow old at home, rather that at old age homes.
The robot, reportedly, will talk to seniors, remind them about medication, and call hospitals if needed.