At Computex 2016 event in Taiwan, in addition to announcing
its Zenfone 3 smartphones, Asus also introduced Zenbo, a digital assistant
device for family that's presented in the form of cute robot.
Asus Zenbo has a shape which almost looks like the Apple
iMac G4 or perhaps it will remind you to the Wall-E character. Zenbo has
animated eyes on its screen, and wheels on the bottom of its body, making it
look more interactive and attractive because it can run smoothly in the
house.
Zenbo can respond to voice commands and fulfill the needs of
all family members ranging from displaying recipes, reminding schedules,
shopping at e-commerce sites, playing music, reading stories, taking photos,
making video calls, and even capturing a video to show the condition of the house
and owners.
Zenbo is actually a smart home hub device, so it can be
connected with all smart home devices. This makes the owners can give voice
commands to Zenbo to lock the door, turn off or turn on other electronic devices
such as lights, television and air conditioner.
Asus chairman Jonney Shih explains that Asus has an ambition
to be able to provide a robot in every household. And Zenbo has been presented
to be a personal assistant, entertainment device, as well as a friend of all
family members ranging from children to seniors.
According to the plan, Zenbo will be offered at a price of $
599 for each unit, but no details of when and in which countries Zenbo will be
available.
Asus also provides SDK (software development kit) for
developers who want to develop applications and additional functionality for
Zenbo so this smart home hub robot will become more sophisticated and can meet
all the needs of its owners. Detailed information about the Asus Zenbo can be
found in its official website at Zenbo.ASUS.com.